Jesus Christ

The central figure of Christianity turned water into wine, made blind men see, and rose from the dead. He has been influencing Catholic and Protestant beliefs for over 2000 years.

Mahatma Gandhi

The political and spiritual leader of India led the country to independence through a philosophy of non-violence. The Father of the Nation of India was assassinated in 1948.

David Miscavige

Scientology's chairman of the board upholds the works of the church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. He was also best man at Tom Cruise's wedding. Doesn’t get much more influential than that.

Oprah Winfrey

So Oprah may not have an official religion, yet, but the woman can influence people's decisions from choosing what book to read to which president to vote for. Can religion be far behind?

Mohammed

The last prophet of Allah and founder of the religion of Islam currently has 1.5 billion Muslim followers worldwide making it the second largest religion in the world. That's influence.

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict has been the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church since 2005. But he's come under fire this year over the church's molestation issues. Good thing he’s got that Pope mobile.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Many think of King more as a political leader than a spiritual one. But the Baptist minister led the country into the civil rights movement and is considered a martyr by Christian churches.

Moses

Although Abraham is the founding father of Judaism, Moses is considered the most important prophet. He led his people out of Egypt and received the Ten Commandments.

Desmond Tutu

The Archbishop won the Nobel peace prize in 1984 for his efforts to fight against apartheid in South Africa. He still works today to defend human rights and end poverty, racism, and AIDS.