1948 religious leaders - Events of 1949 - 1950 religious leaders - Religious leaders by year

Christianity

Catholic

• Roman Catholic Church - Pope Pius XII (1939-1958)
• Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites - Roman Maria Jakub Próchniewski (1945-1953)

Eastern orthodoxy

• Russian Orthodox Church - Patriarch Alexius I (1945–1970)

Oriental orthodoxy

• Indian Orthodox Church - Baselious Geevarghese II (1929-1964)

Assyrian Christianity

• Assyrian Church of the East-Assyrian Patriarch in Qochanis Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII (1920-1975)

Protestant and offshoots

• Church of England - Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher (1945-1961)
• Church of Sweden - Archbishop of Uppsala - Erling Eidem (1931–1950)
• Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - President John W. Behnken (1935 - 1962)
• The Salvation Army - General Albert Orsborn from 1946 to June 30, 1954

Other Christian

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) - George Albert Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from May 21, 1945 – April 4, 1951
• Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now called Community of Christ) - Israel Alexander Smith - (1946-1958)

Judaism

• Chief rabbi of the State of Israel
  • Ashkenazi-Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1948-1959)
• Chief Rabbi of the British Empire: Sir Israel Brodie (1948-1965)

Islam and its offshoots

Ismaili

• Nizari - Aga Khan III (1885-1957)
• Dawoodi Bohras - Syedna Taher Saifuddin (1915-1965)

Ahmadiyya

• Ahmadiyya Muslim Community-Khalifatul Masih II Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad (1914-1965)
• Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement-Maulana Muhammad Ali (Amir 1914-1951)

New religious movements

• Nation of Islam - Elijah Muhammad (1934-1975)
• Kimbanguism - Simon Kimbangu (1921-1951)
• Radio Church of God (now called Worldwide Church of God) - Herbert W. Armstrong

Buddhism

• Tibetan Buddhism - Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (Officially 1935-present, but not discovered until 1937. See explanation at Dalai Lama)