What's The Difference? Religion

 

What's The Difference?
RELIGION

This list is by no means comprehensive but describes basic beliefs and differences of many organized religions.

AGNOSTIC vs. ATHEIST
AGNOSTIC - acknowledges the possibility that religion can be correct
ATHEIST - as sure no deity can exist as religious people are that at least one can

AMISH vs. MENNONITES
*these sects are very similar in religious beliefs, such as adult baptism and strictly following the Bible
*both lead simple lives, practicing pacifism, always being humble, and achieving goals through community efforts and physical labor
*dancing and musical instruments are not allowed because they might express individualism and/or pride, however the communities do sing religious and traditional songs in groups
*Rumspringa is practiced by many branches of both groups and is a year or two during which adolescents experience unfamiliar things in worldwide society, such as travel and electricity; after the sabbatical, the teenagers choose whether to be baptized or leave their community, with estimates claiming 80-90% of them stay in Amish or Mennonite society
AMISH completely shun modern technology, though they use some in limited ways to interact with non-Amish people
MENNONITES often utilize things such as cars, washing machines, telephones, and sometimes birth control

BUDDHISM vs HINDUISM
*both originated in India and hold dearly the idea of re-incarnation: that souls are re-born in different beings after life cycles
BUDDHISM follows the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who would come to be known as the Buddha
*Buddhists believe achieving Nirvana (elevated enlightenment) is most important while practicing meditation with humility and wisdom
*the three main divisions of Buddhism are Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana- and even a fairly new group of extremists
*Zen Buddhism is a version of Mahayana with Chinese customs
*the statue of a smiling chubby guy with his legs crossed is not Buddha, who was thin because he practiced self-control
HINDUISM has no known founder and strongly believes in the concept of karma: what goes around comes around
*there are many deities in Hinduism but the three main ones are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; all Hindus believe in them but different groups focus on one over the others
*the idea of samsara says these deities always have and will continue to create, preserve, and destroy the universe

CHERUBIM vs. SERAPHIM
*both are Biblical angels
…
CHERUBIM have four wings and continually praise God
*ranked ninth of 10 classes of angels in Judaism and second-highest in Christianity
SERAPHIM have six wings and guard God’s throne against would-be violators
*ranked fifth in Judaism and is the highest class of angels in Christianity

CHRISTIANITY
*every denomination of Christianity follows the teachings of Jesus Christ
ANGLICANS (a.k.a. Episcopalians)
*associated with the Church Of England, which was founded by Henry VIII
BAPTISTS
*focus solely on the personal relationship with God
*the Southern Baptist Church formed to oppose the Northern Church’s advocacy of civil rights and abolishing slavery
*Baptists hold that only true believers can be baptized and must do so by being fully-submerged in water
CALVINISTS
*follow the teachings of John Calvin (and others), focusing on predestination and God’s supreme power over each individual
CATHOLICS
*recognize the pope as a special authority figure
EVANGELICALS
*believe the Bible is inerrant and the only path of salvation is through belief in Jesus
*they spread the message (evangelize) to convert people into being “reborn”
LUTHERANS
*adhere to the ideas of Martin Luther, focusing on philosophical thought, such as wine representing the blood of Jesus instead of being his actual blood
METHODISTS
*follow the teachings of John Wesley, a former Anglican priest who emphasized social movements, such as prison reform and personal accountability
MORMONS
*believe God and his creations are all necessary beings and abstain from vices such as alcohol, caffeine, and non-medicinal drugs
*Mormonism was founded as the Latter-Day Saint movement by Joseph Smith, Jr., who was instructed by an angel where to find and how to translate the Bible’s then-unknown third testament, which told of the relationship between God and early American inhabitants
QUAKERS (a.k.a. the Society of Friends)
*religion comes from within each person, who has unique worth in the world
*they meet in worship houses, which are distinctly not churches but simple buildings, and sit together silently to be in the presence of God
PRESBYTERIANS
*value God’s word over human writings and ideas
PROTESTANTS
*started in 1517, when Martin Luther he unveiled his 99 theses opposing the structure of the Catholic Church
*a branch of Christianity itself, there are many divisions of Protestantism as well

ISLAM: SUNNI vs. SHIA
*both are practiced by Muslims (sometimes Moslems), who follow the teachings of the prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an
*followers eat ‘halal’ food, which means it is permissible to be eaten according to the Qur’an
*the word ‘Muslim’ means ‘one who submits to Allah’, the Islamic deity
*in Arabic, ‘al’ means ‘the’, so Allah is the god, not just a god
SUNNI comprises 80-90% of Muslims, who accept Muhammad’s next three successors, known as caliphs
SHIA comprises 10-20% of Muslims, who believe the fourth caliph, named Ali, was Muhammad’s true successor
…
*the percentages are approximate and did not take into account minor Islam-influenced beliefs, such as Sufism and Wahhabism

JUDAISM
*all people in the Jewish diaspora follow the Torah (the first five books of the Jewish Bible, also known as the Old Testament) as God’s law, which is higher than any law of humanity
*followers generally live on a kosher diet, which means food approved of in the Torah
*Shabbat is observed weekly between Friday and Saturday evenings as a time of rest and prayer
*the largest movements within Judaism are Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox, which can be (simply) described as progressive, traditional, and fundamentalist
*the Haredi group can be called ultra-conservative and are often recognized by their clothing- black hats and simple outfits for men and modest attire for women; this division includes the Hasidic community, who focus on prayer, and the Yeshivish, who advocate intellectualism
*the languages of Judaism are Hebrew and Yiddish