Comparative religion is the branch of thestudy of religions with the systematic comparison of thedoctrines and practices, themes and impacts (includingmigration) of the world'sreligions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such asethics,metaphysics and the nature and forms ofsalvation. It also considers and compares the origins andsimilarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of humanbeliefs and practices regarding thesacred,numinous,spiritual anddivine.[1]
In the field of comparative religion, a common geographical classification[2] of themain world religions distinguishes groups such asMiddle Eastern religions (includingAbrahamic religions andIranian religions),Indian religions,East Asian religions,African religions,American religions,Oceanic religions, andclassicalHellenistic religions.[2]
There also exist varioussociological classifications of religious movements.
Al-Biruni (973 –c. 1050) andIbn Hazm (994 – 1064), both of theIslamic Golden Age and considered 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] Al-Biruni discussed his idea of history inThe Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (c. 1000 AD) which was translated byEduard Sachau in the 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 asAthanasius Kircher along withSir Thomas Browne were pioneering scholars of comparative religion. In 1655,Dara Shikoh authored theMajma-ul-Bahrain aSufi, text on comparative religion.[8]
Social scientists in the 19th century took a strong interest in comparative and "primitive" religion through the work ofMax Müller,Edward Burnett Tylor,William Robertson Smith,James George Frazer,Émile Durkheim,Max Weber, andRudolf Otto.[9][10]Nicholas de Lange, Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies atCambridge 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 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.[11]
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 asPure Land Buddhism. This shows a marked difference from Western conceptions of religions, which see adherence to one religion as precluding membership of another faith.[12]
Hinduism and Buddhism provide another insight in the form ofsoteriology. 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 andTheravada Buddhism both speak of a falling back into nonexistence and escaping the cycle ofreincarnation, rather than eternal life after death.[13][14]
According toCharles Joseph Adams, in the field of comparative religion, a common geographical classification discerns[2] themain world religions as follows:[2]
In the study of comparative religion, the category ofAbrahamic religions includes the threemonotheistic religions,Christianity,Islam andJudaism, which claimAbraham (HebrewAvraham אַבְרָהָם; ArabicIbrahim إبراهيم ) as a part of their sacred history. Smaller religions such as theBaháʼí Faith that fit this description are sometimes included but are often omitted.[15]
The original belief in theGod of Abraham eventually became strictly monotheistic present-dayRabbinic Judaism. Religious Jews regard Judaism as the expression of thecovenant thatGod established with theChildren of Israel. Jews hold that theTorah forms part of the larger text known as theTanakh or theHebrew Bible. They also look to a supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as theMidrash and theTalmud.[16]
Christians believe that Christianity represents thefulfillment and continuation of the JewishOld Testament. Christians believe thatJesus (HebrewYeshua יֵשׁוּעַ) is the awaitedMessiah (Christ) foretold in theOld Testamentprophecies, and also honor the subsequently producedNew Testament scriptures.[17] Generally, Christians believe that Jesus is both theincarnation of God and theSon of God. Theircreeds generally hold in common that the incarnation,ministry,suffering,death on the cross, andresurrection of Jesus took place for thesalvation of mankind.[18]
Islam teaches that the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have beencorrupted over time and are no longer the original divine revelations as given to theJewish people and toMoses,Jesus, and other prophets. For Muslims, theQuran is the final, complete revelation fromGod (Arabic اللهAllah); they believe it to have beenrevealed toMuhammad alone, whom they characterise as thefinal prophet of Islam and as theKhatam an-Nabiyyin, meaning the last of the prophets ever sent by Allah ("seal of the prophets").
Based on the Muslim figure of theMahdī, the ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams,Ali Muhammad Shirazi, later known as "the Báb", 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 orBahá'u'lláh to be the Báb's spiritual successor founded the Baháʼí Movement, while the minority who followed Subh-i-Azal came to be calledAzalis.[19] The Baháʼí division eventually became a full-fledged religion in its own right, theBaháʼí 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 numerous.
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 betweenIslam and Judaism started in the 7th century CE with the origin andspread of Islam. There are many common aspects between Islam and Judaism, and as Islamdeveloped, it gradually became the major religion closest to Judaism. In contrast to Christianity, which originated from interaction between ancientGreek,Roman, andHebrew cultures, Judaism is very similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice.[20] There are many traditions within Islam that originate from traditions which are recorded in theHebrew Bible or which stem from post-biblical Jewish traditions. These practices are known collectively as theIsra'iliyat.[21]
The historical interaction betweenChristianity 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; for example, it simplifies complex ChristianChristological teaching and completely avoids the potential pitfalls ofTrinitarianism. Islam holds that the Quran is the final revelation fromGod and a completion of all previous revelations, including theBible.
Mandaeism, sometimes also known as Sabianism (after the mysteriousSabians mentioned in theQuran, a name historically claimed by several religious groups),[22] is aGnostic andmonotheistic religion.[23]: 4 [24]John the Baptist is their chief prophet, and frequentbaptism is part of their core practices. According to most scholars, Mandaeism originated sometime in the first three centuries CE, either in southwesternMesopotamia or in theSyro-Palestinian area.[25] However, some scholars take the view that Mandaeism is older and dates from pre-Christian times.[26] Mandaeans assert that their religion predates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as a monotheistic faith.[27] Mandaeans believe that they descend directly fromShem,Noah's son,[28]: 182 and also from John the Baptist's original disciples.[29]
Several important religions and religious movements originated inGreater Iran, that is, amongspeakers of various Iranian languages. They includeZoroastrianism,Mithraism,Ætsæg Din,Yazdanism,Ahl-e Haqq,Zurvanism,Manichaeism, andMazdakism.
Perhaps one of the most important religions that originated in Iran was Zoroastrianism. While not, properly speaking, a world religion, it became widespread in the Iranian cultural sphere, especially through theAchaemenid andSasanian Empires. It went into decline alongside many Iranian religions with the rise of Islam and the establishment ofCaliphates. The religion still survives today in small numbers, with a particularly notable example being theParsis in India and Pakistan.[30][31]
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 influential role in shaping these religions.
Key areas of concern include 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.[31]
Manichaeism is another Iranian faith that shares many similarities with Zoroastrianism. Notably, Manichaeism shares a belief in the prophethood ofZoroaster while also acknowledging 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.[32] Furthermore, Manichaeism andMandaeism also share a common belief in many of the figures and stories of the Abrahamic faiths, which has raised questions of influences and origins.[33]
In comparative religion, Indian religions refer to all the faiths that originated inSouth Asia. It is believed 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."[34][13]
Al-Biruni deeply studied the Vedic religions, and through his works essential details about pre-11th century Indian religions and cultures emerged.Adi Shankaracharya was an early 8th century philosopher and theologian[35] who consolidated the doctrine ofAdvaita Vedanta.[36][37][note 1]Gautama Buddha is mentioned as anAvatar ofVishnu in thePuranic texts of Hinduism. Most Hindus believe theBuddha accepted and incorporated many tenets of Hinduism in his doctrine.[13] Prominent modern Hindu reformers such asMahatma Gandhi[38] andVivekananda[39] acknowledge Buddhist influence. Like Hindus, Gandhi himself did not believe Buddha established a non-Hindu tradition. He writes, "I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism."[40]
A Taoic religion is a religious philosophy that centers on theEast Asian concept ofTao, meaning "The Way". This forms a large group of eastern religions, includingTaoism,Confucianism,Jeung San Do,Shintoism,I-Kuan Tao,Chondogyo, andChen Tao. In large parts of East Asia,Buddhism has taken on some taoic features.
Tao can be roughly defined as the flow of the universe or the force behind the natural order. It is believed to influence the balance and order of the cosmos and is closely associated with nature, as it is thought that nature exemplifies the Tao.
The flow ofqi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is often compared to the universal order represented by theTao. Following theTao is also associated with a "proper" attitude, morality and lifestyle. This concept is intimately tied to the complex idea ofDe, or literally "virtue" or "power".De is the active expression ofTao.
Taoism andChan Buddhism for centuries had a mutual influence on each other in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. These influences were inherited byZen Buddhism when Chan Buddhism arrived in Japan and adapted as Zen Buddhism.
Despite the geographical distance that would seemingly preclude any direct influence, some scholars have historically observed similarities between traditional Chinese religious beliefs and Christianity. This was noted by Jesuit missionaries who became known asfigurists. 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 sharedflood myths, similarities betweenFuxi andEnoch, as well as parallels between Christ and the sages.[41] There is also a noted similarity between the Tao being "the Way" as well as Christ claiming to be "the Way".[42]
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.[41]
The introduction of Nestorian Christianity to China under theTang dynasty also led to increasing similarities between Chinese Buddhism andNestorian Christianity. Christians began using Buddhist and Taoist concepts to explain their faith. During this time theJingjiao documents were created, sometimes calledsutras that demonstrated the blending of Christianity with Buddhism.[43][44] Nestorian Christians and Buddhists formed a monastic tradition that furthered the similarities. This fusion was so pronounced that whenEmperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty beganpersecuting Buddhists in the 9th century, he claimed Christianity was merely a heresy of Buddhism rather than a distinct religion.[45] This conflation contributed to the collapse of Nestorian Christianity in China during the Buddhist persecutions.[44]
Religious ideologies can be systematically understood as having formed many major groups with tens of thousands of subbranches. It is a form of cultural evolution that can be intuitively illustrated through trees depicting historical relationships and the diversification over time of the various traditions.[46] Some of the most successful have been those religions that aligned with empires, kingdoms, or caliphates early in their history (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism). A few major groups of religion are given below.
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