Comparative religion
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Comparative religion is the branch of the
In the field of comparative religion, a common geographical classification
There also exist various sociological classifications of religious movements.
History
Al-Biruni (973 – c. 1050) and Ibn Hazm (994 – 1064), both of the Islamic Golden Age and considered as the "fathers of comparative religion", compared the study of religious pluralism and their works have been significant in the fields of theology and philosophy.[3][4][5][6] The Persian Al-Biruni discussed his idea of history in The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (c. 1000 AD) which was translated by Eduard Sachau in 19th century. It is a comparative study of calendars of different cultures and civilizations, interlaced with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information, exploring the customs and religions of different peoples.[7]
In the seventeenth century, antiquarians such as
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.[8][9]
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 nothing to say about questions which are of burning importance for Christianity, but that they may not even see themselves as religions in precisely the same way in which Christianity sees itself as a religion.[10]
Examples that demonstrate this point are Buddhism and Chinese Folk Religions. These belief systems have not historically been seen as mutually exclusive and have blended over time into different beliefs such as Pure Land Buddhism. This shows a marked difference from Western conceptions of religions which see adherence to one religion as precluding membership of another faith.[11]
Hinduism and Buddhism provide another insight in the form of soteriology. Comparative study of religions may approach religions with a base idea of salvation with eternal life after death, but religions like Hinduism or Buddhism don't necessarily share this view. Instead, Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism both speak of a falling back into nonexistence and escaping the cycle of reincarnation, rather than eternal life after death.[12][13]
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]
- Middle Eastern religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, and a variety of ancient cults;
- East Asian religions, the religious communities of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, and consisting of Confucianism, Daoism, the various schools of Shintō;
- Indian religions, including early Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and sometimes also the Theravada (“Way of the Elders”) Buddhism and the Hindu- and Buddhist-inspired religions of South and Southeast Asia;
- 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;
- American religions, the beliefs and practices of the various Indigenous peoples of the two American continents;
- Oceanic religions, the religious systems of the peoples of the Pacific islands, Australia, and New Zealand; and
- 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
The original belief in the
Christians believe that Christianity is the
Islam believes the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have been
Based on the Muslim figure of the
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
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.
Mandaeism, sometimes also known as Sabianism (after the mysterious Sabians mentioned in the Quran, a name historically claimed by several religious groups),[21] is a Gnostic and monotheistic religion.[22]: 4 [23] John the Baptist is their chief prophet and frequent baptism is part of their core beliefs. According to most scholars, Mandaeism originated sometime in the first three centuries CE, in either southwestern Mesopotamia or the Syro-Palestinian area.[24] However, some scholars take the view that Mandaeism is older and dates from pre-Christian times.[25] Mandaeans assert that their religion predates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as a monotheistic faith.[26] Mandaeans believe that they descend directly from Shem, Noah's son,[27]: 182 and also from John the Baptist's original disciples.[28]
Iranian religions
Several important religions and religious movements originated in
.Perhaps one of the most important religions to have come out of Iran was Zoroastrianism. While not, properly speaking, a world religion, it became widespread in the Iranian world, especially through the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires. It went into decline alongside many Iranian religions with the rise of Islam and the Caliphates. The religion still survives today in small numbers, with a particularly notable example being the Parsis in India and Pakistan.[29][30]
Scholars have often noted the similarities between Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity. They've particularly noted this due to the historic relationship between the Jews and the Zoroastrian Persian Empires, as well as the relationship between Greek philosophy, Persia, and Christianity. They've debated whether Zoroastrianism played an influencing role on these religions or not. Particular areas of concern are a shared sense of duality between the forces of good and evil, or light and darkness. In addition to this, there is a shared belief in the resurrection of the dead as well as an emphasis on free will and the moral responsibility of mankind. These are seen by some as having influenced the three major Abrahamic faiths as well as Gnosticism and the Baháʼí Faith.[30]
Manichaeism is another Iranian faith that shares many similarities to Zoroastrianism. In fact, Manichaeism shares a belief in the prophethood of Zoroaster while also maintaining the prophethood of Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ. It shares a dualist cosmology that pits good and light against evil and darkness, with an adversary to oppose the benevolent God.[31] Manichaeism and Mandaeism also share a common belief in many of the figures and stories of the Abrahamic faiths, which has raised questions of influences and origins.[32]
Indian religions
In comparative religion, Indian religions are 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."[33][12]
East Asian or Taoic religions
A Taoic religion is a religion, or religious philosophy, that focuses on the
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 Tao. The flow of qi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is 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
Despite being too far from each other to have had any influence, some have historically noted similarities between traditional Chinese religious beliefs and Christianity. This was noted by Jesuit missionaries who became known as figurists. Figurists promoted the idea that the ancient Chinese knew the truth of Christian revelation and that many of the figures described in Chinese texts are actually figures and concepts from Christianity. Noted parallels include shared flood myths, similarities between Fuxi and Enoch, as well as parallels between Christ and the sages.[40] There is also a noted similarity between the Tao being "the Way" as well as Christ claiming to be "the Way."[41]
While scholarship rejects this view today, it was a notable view in the history of comparative religion. These beliefs were ultimately opposed and disavowed by the Catholic Church in the 18th century.[40]
The introduction of Nestorian Christianity to China under the
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
- Christianity and Mormonism
- Christianity and Theosophy
- Mormonism
- Mormonism and Christianity
- Mormonism and Islam
- Mormonism and Judaism
Confucianism
Hinduism
- Hinduism and other religions
- Baháʼí Faith 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
Judaism
Paganism and Neopaganism
- Christianity and Paganism
- Christianity and Neopaganism
Sikhism
Taoism
- Taoism and other religions
Zoroastrianism
- Zoroastrianism and other religions
- Zoroastrianism and Baháʼí Faith
See also
- Comparative mythology
- Comparative theology
- Hierographology
- Inclusivism
- Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
- Integral theory (Ken Wilber)
- Interfaith
- List of founders of religious traditions
- List of religions
- Panbabylonism
- Parallelomania and parallelophobia
- Parliament of the World's Religions
- Patternism
- Religious pluralism
- Religious universalism
Notes
- ^ Modern scholarship places Shankara in the earlier part of the 8th century CE (c. 700–750).[36] Earlier generations of scholars proposed 788–820 CE.[36] Other proposals are 686–718 CE,[citation needed] 44 BCE,[citation needed] or as early as 509–477 BCE.
References
- ^ "Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, and divine" Encyclopædia Britannica (online, 2006), cited in "Definitions of Religion". Religion facts.
- ^ a b c d "classification of religions | Principles & Significance". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ISBN 1-898942-02-1
- ^ R. Arnaldez, Ibn Ḥazm Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 9 January 2013
- ^ Joseph A. Kechichian, A mind of his own Archived 27 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Gulf News: 21:30 December 20, 2012.
- ^ "USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on 28 November 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ M. S. Khan (1976). "al-Biruni and the Political History of India", Oriens 25, pp. 86-115.
- ^ Hans Kippenberg, Discovering Religious History in the Modern Age (2001).
- ISSN 2072-8050.
- ^ Nicholas de Lange, Judaism, Oxford University Press, 1986
- ^ Yong, A. (2016). Many tongues, many buddhisms in a pluralistic world: A christian interpretation at the interreligious crossroads. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 43(2), 357-IV.
- ^ ProQuest 2380027512
- ProQuest 1980472798
- ^ Why Abrahamic? Archived 8 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions at the University of Wisconsin
- ISBN 978-0-253-00564-9.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280322-1
- ISBN 978-0-19-934037-8
- ^ "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 Archived 10 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine)
- Rabbi David Rosen, Jewish-Muslim Relations, Past and Present Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, November 2003
- ^ Rabbi Justin Jaron Lewis, Islam and Judaism Archived 5 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, October 2001
- ISBN 978-90-04-33943-9. p. 5.
- OCLC 57385973.
- ^ Ginza Rabba. Translated by Al-Saadi, Qais; Al-Saadi, Hamed (2nd ed.). Germany: Drabsha. 2019. p. 1.
- ^ "Mandaeanism | religion". Britannica. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ Etudes mithriaques 1978 p545 Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin
- ^ "The People of the Book and the Hierarchy of Discrimination". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953). The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
- ProQuest 218992785
- ^
- ProQuest 217141071
- ^ Religions of the World S. Vernon McCasland, Grace E. Cairns, David C. Yu
- ^ "Shankara | Indian philosopher". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ^ Sharma 1962, p. vi.
- ^ a b c Comans 2000, p. 163.
- ^ “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 10 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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 Archived 18 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ P. 17 Gandhi By Ronald Terchek
- ^ ProQuest 2447280664
- ProQuest 202734112
- ProQuest 230045489
- ^
- ISBN 81-7214-441-5.
Works cited
- Comans, Michael (2000). The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1722-7.
- Sharma, B.N. Krishnamurti (1962). Philosophy of Śrī Madhvācārya. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan March. OCLC 1075020345.
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
- Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (1959) online
- Gothoni, Rene, How to Do Comparative Religion: Three Ways, Many Goals (2005) online
- James, E. O. Comparative Religion (1961) online textbook
- 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. OL 25434252M.
- 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
- 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
- Paden, William E. Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Religion (2015) excerpt
- 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"
- ReligiousTolerance.org Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ReligionFacts.com
- Comparative-religion.com
- Studies in Comparative Religion
- Answers to Questions of Faith From Several Worldviews
- "The Faith versus Reason Debate" – comparative religion studies inspired by Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy
- Have religious discussions and debates both voice and text on telegram group: Discuss Religion