Comparing Eastern and Western religious traditions
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Religious studies divides the world into Western and Eastern religions.
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Western religions
Western religions are based on Abrahamic monotheism and derive from the Middle Eastern milieu, including: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá'í Faith.
Eastern religions
Eastern religions are mostly either Indian or Chinese in origin: The Dharma faiths of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism; and the Chinese religious philosophies of Taoism and Confucianism. This grouping also includes other religions, most notably Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan.
Religions that share elements of both
Zoroastrianism, which is related to Hinduism and was an influence on the development of Judaism. Zoroastrianism itself is now a minority religion in its traditional homeland of Iran, almost completely supplanted by Islam.
Animist/Primitive/Shamanistic religions which are independent or previous to the dominant religions.
Sikhism is a relatively modern religion that has beliefs in common with both Islam and Hinduism.
Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse and other European polytheistic religions can be considered western or pre-western, although they may share a common ancestor with the polytheism of Hinduism; see Proto-Indo-European religion.
Neopaganism, which is a revivalist movement, draws on the religions of cultures all over the world, usually focusing on polytheistic traditions, and originally based on that of pre-Christian Europe.
See also
External Links
- From the History of Religions of Earth (http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Online_books/Sh/Heart_11.html)