Comparative religion

Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions concerned with the systematic comparison of the
doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the
comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of
religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. Studying such material facilitates a
broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred,
numinous, spiritual and divine.[1]

In the field of comparative religion, a common geographical classification[2] of the main world religions
distinguishes groups such as Middle Eastern religions (including Iranian religions), Indian religions, East Asian
religions, African religions, American religions, Oceanic religions, and classical Hellenistic religions.[2]

There also exist various sociological classifications of religious movements.

Contents
History
Geographical classification
Middle Eastern religions
Abrahamic or Western Asian religions
Iranian religions
Indian religions
East Asian or Taoic religions
Comparing traditions
Baháʼí Faith
Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism
Hinduism
Islam
Jainism
Judaism
Paganism and Neopaganism
Sikhism
Taoism
Zoroastrianism
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
History
Al-Biruni and Ibn Hazm of the Islamic Golden Age compared the study of
religious pluralism and their works have been significant in the fields of
theology and philosophy.[3][4][5][6] Social scientists in the 19th century
took a strong interest in comparative and "primitive" religion through the
work of Max Müller, Edward Burnett Tylor, William Robertson Smith,
James George Frazer, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Rudolf Otto.[7]
Nicholas de Lange, Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Cambridge
University, says that

The comparative study of religions is an academic discipline

which has been developed within Christian theology faculties,
and it has a tendency to force widely differing phenomena
into a kind of strait-jacket cut to a Christian pattern. The
problem is not only that other 'religions' may have little or A statue of Ibn Hazm, father of
nothing to say about questions which are of burning modern comparative religious
importance for Christianity, but that they may not even see studies, in Córdoba Spain.
themselves as religions in precisely the same way in which
Christianity sees itself as a religion.[8]

Geographical classification
According to Charles Joseph Adams, in the field of comparative religion, a common geographical
classification discerns[2] the main world religions as follows:[2]

1. Middle Eastern religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and a variety of ancient cults;
2. East Asian religions, the religious communities of China, Japan, and Korea, and consisting of
Confucianism, Daoism, the various schools of Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhism, and
Shintō;
3. Indian religions, including early Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism,
and sometimes also the Theravada (“Way of the Elders”) Buddhism and the Hindu- and
Buddhist-inspired religions of South and Southeast Asia;
4. African religions, the ancient belief systems of the various indigenous peoples of Africa,
excluding ancient Egyptian religion, which is considered to belong to the ancient Middle East;
5. American religions, the beliefs and practices of the various Indigenous peoples of the two
American continents;
6. Oceanic religions, the religious systems of the peoples of the Pacific islands, Australia, and
New Zealand; and
7. Classical religions of ancient Greece and Rome and their Hellenistic descendants.

Middle Eastern religions

Abrahamic or Western Asian religions

In the study of comparative religion, the category of Abrahamic religions consists of the three monotheistic
religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which claim Abraham (Hebrew Avraham ‫אבְרָהָם‬ ַ ; Arabic Ibrahim
‫ ) إﺑﺮاﻫﻴﻢ‬as a part of their sacred history. Smaller religions such as Baháʼí Faith that fit this description are
sometimes included but are often omitted.[9]

The original belief in the God of Abraham eventually became strictly monotheistic present-day Rabbinic
Judaism. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established
with the Children of Israel. Jews hold that the Torah is part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or the
Hebrew Bible, they also believe in a supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash
and the Talmud.[10]

Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Jewish Old Testament. Christians
believe that Jesus (Hebrew Yeshua ַ‫ )יֵשׁוּﬠ‬is the awaited Messiah (Christ) foretold in the Old Testament
prophecies, and believe in subsequent New Testament scripture.[11] Christians in general believe in that Jesus
is the incarnation or Son of God. Their creeds generally hold in common that the incarnation, ministry,
suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection of Jesus was for the salvation of mankind.[12]

Islam believes the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have been corrupted over time and are no longer the
original divine revelations as given to the Jewish people and to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. For Muslims,
the Quran is the final, complete revelation from God (Arabic ‫ اﻟﻠﻪ‬Allah), who believe it to have been revealed
to Muhammad alone, who is believed by Muslims to be the final prophet of Islam, and the Khatam an-
Nabiyyin, meaning the last of the prophets ever sent by Allah ("seal of the prophets").

Based on the Muslim figure of the Mahdī, the ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve
Imams, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, later known as Bab, created the Bábí movement out of the belief that he was
the gate to the Twelfth Imām. This signaled a break with Islam and started a new religious system, Bábism.
However, in the 1860s a split occurred after which the vast majority of Bábís who considered Mirza Husayn
`Ali or Bahá'u'lláh to be Báb's spiritual successor founded the Baháʼí Movement, while the minority who
followed Subh-i-Azal came to be called Azalis.[13] The Baháʼí division eventually became a full-fledged
religion of its own, the Baháʼí Faith. In comparison to the other Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and
Islam, the number of adherents for Baháʼí faith and other minor Abrahamic religions are not very significant.

Out of the three major Abrahamic faiths, Christianity and Judaism are the two religions that diverge the most in
theology and practice.

The historical interaction of Islam and Judaism started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of
Islam. There are many common aspects between Islam and Judaism, and as Islam developed, it gradually
became the major religion closest to Judaism. As opposed to Christianity, which originated from interaction
between ancient Greek, Roman, and Hebrew cultures, Judaism is very similar to Islam in its fundamental
religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice.[14] There are many traditions within Islam originating
from traditions within the Hebrew Bible or from post-biblical Jewish traditions. These practices are known
collectively as the Isra'iliyat.[15]

The historical interaction between Christianity and Islam connects fundamental ideas in Christianity with
similar ones in Islam. Islam accepts many aspects of Christianity as part of its faith – with some differences in
interpretation – and rejects other aspects. Islam believes the Quran is the final revelation from God and a
completion of all previous revelations, including the Bible.

Iranian religions
Several important religions and religious movements originated in Greater Iran, that is, among speakers of
various Iranian languages. They include Mithraism, Ætsæg Din, Yazdanism, Ahl-e Haqq, Zurvanism,
Mandaeism, Manichaeism, and Mazdakism.

Indian religions

In comparative religion, Indian religions consists of all the religions that

originated in South Asia. It is thought that "the kinship of the religions of India
stems from the fact that Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs look back to Hinduism as
their common mother."[16]

Al-Biruni deeply studied the Vedic religions and through his works essential
details about pre-11th century India's religions and cultures were found. Adi
Shankaracharya was an early 8th century philosopher and theologian[17] who
The Rig Veda is one of
consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta.[18][19][note 1] Gautama Buddha is the oldest Vedic texts.
mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Most Hindus Shown here is a Rig
believe the Buddha accepted and incorporated many tenets of Hinduism in his Veda manuscript in
doctrine. Prominent modern Hindu reformers such as Mahatma Gandhi[20] and Devanagari, early
Vivekananda[21] acknowledge Buddhist influence. Gandhi, like Hindus himself nineteenth century.
did not believe Buddha established a non-Hindu tradition. He writes, "I do not
regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism."[22]

East Asian or Taoic religions

A Taoic religion is a religion, or religious philosophy, that focuses on the East

Asian concept of Tao ("The Way"). This forms a large group of eastern religions
including Taoism, Confucianism, Jeung San Do, Shintoism, I-Kuan Tao,
Chondogyo, and Chen Tao. In large parts of East Asia, Buddhism has taken on
some taoic features.

Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the
natural order. It is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced
and ordered and is associated with nature, due to a belief that nature demonstrates The Chinese character
the Tao. The flow of Ch'i, as the essential energy of action and existence, is depicting Tao, the central
concept in Taoism
compared to the universal order of Tao. Following the Tao is also associated with
a "proper" attitude, morality and lifestyle. This is intimately tied to the complex
concept of De, or literally "virtue" or "power." De is the active expression of
Tao.

Taoism and Ch'an Buddhism for centuries had a mutual influence on each other in China, Japan, Korea, and
Taiwan. These influences were inherited by Zen Buddhism when Ch'an Buddhism arrived in Japan and
adapted as Zen Buddhism.

Comparing traditions

Baháʼí Faith
Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion
Baháʼí Faith and Buddhism
 Baháʼí Faith and Hinduism
Baháʼí Faith and Zoroastrianism

Buddhism
Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhism and Eastern religions
Buddhism and Gnosticism
Buddhism and Hinduism
Buddhism and Jainism
Buddhism and Theosophy
Buddhism and Islam
Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity

Christianity
Christianity and other religions
Buddhism and Christianity
Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity
Christianity and Islam
Christianity and Judaism
Christianity and Neopaganism
Christianity and Paganism
Christianity and Vodou

Mormonism

Mormonism and Christianity

Mormonism and Islam
Mormonism and Judaism

Confucianism
Confucianism and eastern religions
Confucianism and western religions

Hinduism
Hinduism and other religions
Ayyavazhi and Hinduism
Buddhism and Hinduism
Hindu–Islamic relations
Jainism and Hinduism
Hinduism and Sikhism
Hinduism and Judaism
Islam
Islam and other religions
Christianity and Islam
Hindu–Islamic relations
Islam and Jainism
Islamic–Jewish relations
Islam and Sikhism
Mormonism and Islam

Jainism
Buddhism and Jainism
Islam and Jainism
Jainism and Sikhism

Judaism
Christianity and Judaism
Islamic–Jewish relations
Hinduism and Judaism

Paganism and Neopaganism

Christianity and Paganism
Christianity and Neopaganism

Sikhism
Hinduism and Sikhism
Islam and Sikhism
Jainism and Sikhism

Taoism
Taoism and other religions

Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism and other religions

See also
Comparative mythology
Comparative theology
Hierographology
 Inclusivism
Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
Interfaith
List of founders of religious traditions
List of religions
Panbabylonism
Parallelomania
Parliament of the World's Religions
Patternism
Religious pluralism
Religious universalism

Notes
1. Modern scholarship places Shankara in the earlier part of the 8th century CE (c. 700–750).[19]
Earlier generations of scholars proposed 788–820 CE.[19] Other proposals are 686–718 CE, 44
BCE, or as early as 509–477 BCE.

References
1. "Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, and divine"
Encyclopædia Britannica (online, 2006), cited in "Definitions of Religion" (http://www.religionfa
cts.com/religion/quotes.htm). Religion facts.
2. Charles Joseph Adams, Classification of religions: geographical, Encyclopædia Britannica (htt
p://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497215/classification-of-religions/38029/Normative)
3. Ibn Hazm. The Ring of the Dove: A Treatise on the Art and Practice of Arab Love (http://www.m
uslimphilosophy.com/hazm/dove/preface.html) (Preface). Trans. A. J. Arberry. Luzac Oriental,
1997 ISBN 1-898942-02-1
4. R. Arnaldez, Ibn Ḥazm (http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/i
bn-hazm-COM_0325). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online, 2013. Reference.
9 January 2013
5. Joseph A. Kechichian, A mind of his own (http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/
weekend-review/a-mind-of-his-own-1.1121412). Gulf News: 21:30 December 20, 2012.
6. "USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081128185832/htt
p://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/scienceofhadith/asb2.html). Usc.edu.
Archived from the original (http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/scienceof
hadith/asb2.html) on 28 November 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
7. Hans Kippenberg, Discovering Religious History in the Modern Age (2001).
8. Nicholas de Lange, Judaism, Oxford University Press, 1986
9. Why Abrahamic? (http://lisar.lss.wisc.edu/welcome/abrahamic.html) Archived (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20070908060636/http://lisar.lss.wisc.edu/welcome/abrahamic.html) 8 September
2007 at the Wayback Machine Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions at the
University of Wisconsin
10. Isaacs, Alick (6 September 2011). A Prophetic Peace. Indiana University Press.
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2005vfn (https://doi.org/10.2307%2Fj.ctt2005vfn). ISBN 978-0-253-00564-9.
11. Woodhead, Linda (1 September 2005), "4. Mystical Christianity", Christianity, Oxford University
Press, pp. 71–88, doi:10.1093/actrade/9780192803221.003.0005 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fa
ctrade%2F9780192803221.003.0005), ISBN 978-0-19-280322-1
12. Gilpin, W. Clark (19 December 2017), "American Narratives of Sin and Salvation", Oxford
Research Encyclopedia of Religion, Oxford University Press,
doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.439 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facrefore%2F97801
99340378.013.439), ISBN 978-0-19-934037-8
13. "But the upshot of the whole matter is, that out of every hundred Bábís probably not more than
three or four are Ezelís [sic], all the rest accepting Behá'u'lláh [sic] as the final and most perfect
manifestation of the Truth." (Browne (1889) p. 351 (http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/articles/A-
E/browne/brbabism.htm))
14. Rabbi David Rosen, Jewish-Muslim Relations, Past and Present (http://rabbidavidrosen.net/do
c/Muslim-Jewish%20Relations/Jewish-Muslim%20Relations,%20Past%20&%20Present%20N
ov%2003.doc) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070616163849/http://rabbidavidrosen.n
et/doc/Muslim-Jewish%20Relations/Jewish-Muslim%20Relations%2C%20Past%20%26%20P
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15. Rabbi Justin Jaron Lewis, Islam and Judaism (http://post.queensu.ca/~jjl/islam.html) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20070405102236/http://post.queensu.ca/~jjl/islam.html) 5 April
2007 at the Wayback Machine, October 2001
16. Religions of the World S. Vernon McCasland, Grace E. Cairns, David C. Yu
17. "Shankara | Indian philosopher" (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shankara).
Encyclopedia Britannica.
18. Sharma 1962, p. vi.
19. Comans 2000, p. 163.
20. “owes on eternal debt of gratitude to that great teacher,”Mahatma Gandhi and Buddhism Y.P.
Anand An Encounter with Buddhism http://www.iop.or.jp/0414/anand.pdf Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20120710230803/http://www.iop.or.jp/0414/anand.pdf) 10 July 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
21. He is the ideal Karma-Yogi, acting entirely without motive, and the history of humanity shows
him to have been the greatest man ever born; beyond compare the greatest combination of
heart and brain that ever existed, the greatest soul-power that has ever been manifested.
Essay, Ideal Karma Yogi http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5208/karmayoga/ideal.html
22. P. 17 Gandhi By Ronald Terchek

Further reading
Chopra, R. M. A Study of Religions, (Anuradha Prakashan, New Delhi, 2015) ISBN 978-
9382339-94-6.
Davis, G. Scott. Believing and Acting: The Pragmatic Turn in Comparative Religion and Ethics
(Oxford University Press, 2012).
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. (3rd ed. Oxford
University Press, 1959) ISBN 978-0-19-511835-3.
Eliade, Mircea. Patterns in comparative religion (1958) online (https://archive.org/details/eliade-
mircea-patterns-in-comparative-religion-sheed-ward-1958)
Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (1959) online (https://archi
ve.org/details/eliade-mircea-the-sacred-and-the-profane-1963)

Gothoni, Rene, How to Do Comparative Religion: Three Ways, Many Goals (2005) online (http
s://archive.org/details/howtodocomparati0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up)
James, E. O. Comparative Religion (1961) online textbook (https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.1
66644)
Jones, Lindsay, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd edn, 15 vols, Macmillan, 2004)
 Momen, Moojan (2009) [Originally published as The Phenomenon of Religion in 1999].
Understanding Religion: A Thematic Approach. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 978-
1-85168-599-8. OL 25434252M (https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25434252M).
Muhiyaddin, M. A. (1984) A Comparative Study of the Religions of Today. Vantage Press, US.
ISBN 978-0533059638.
Paden, William E. "Comparative religion." in The Routledge companion to the study of religion
(Routledge, 2009). pp 239-256. online (http://spiritual-minds.com/religion/philosophy/The%20R
outledge%20Companion%20to%20the%20Study%20of%20RELIGION.pdf#page=221)
Paden, William E. New patterns for comparative religion: Passages to an evolutionary
perspective (Bloomsbury, 2016).
Paden, William E. Interpreting the Sacred: Ways of Viewing Religion (2003) excerpt (https://ww
w.amazon.com/Interpreting-Sacred-Ways-Viewing-Religion/dp/0807077054)
Paden, William E. Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Religion (2015) excerpt (https://
www.amazon.com/Religious-Worlds-Comparative-Study-Religion-ebook/dp/B00AGV9BCQ/)
Saso, Michael R. Mystic, Shaman, Oracle, Priest (MYSHOP): Prayers Without Words. (Sino-
Asian Institute of America, US, 2015) . ISBN 978-1624074059.
Sharpe, Eric J. Comparative Religion: A History, London: Duckworth, 1975 (2nd revised edition
1986).
Shaw, Jeffrey M. Illusions of Freedom: Thomas Merton and Jacques Ellul on Technology and
the Human Condition. (Wipf and Stock, 2014). ISBN 978-1625640581.
Smart, Ninian. Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the World's Beliefs (1999) ISBN 0-
520-21960-0
Smith, Huston. The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. (1991) HarperOne, US;
Rev Rep edition. ISBN 978-0062508119.

External links
Patheos.com's Side-By-Side Comparative "Lenses" (http://www.patheos.com/Library/Lenses/Si
de-By-Side.html)
ReligiousTolerance.org (http://www.religioustolerance.org)
ReligionFacts.com (http://www.religionfacts.com/)
Comparative-religion.com (https://web.archive.org/web/20060104003216/http://www.comparati
ve-religion.com/)
Studies in Comparative Religion (https://archive.today/20121216140208/http://www.studiesinc
omparativereligion.com/)
Answers to Questions of Faith From Several Worldviews (http://www.godcontention.org)
"The Faith versus Reason Debate" (http://www.age-of-the-sage.org) – comparative religion
studies inspired by Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy
Have religious discussions and debates both voice and text on telegram group:
https://t.me/discussreligion

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