Differences of Religious Practices
Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed.
The religions of the world teach a wide diversity of concepts about deity. Books have been published which list over 1,000 Gods or over 1,000 Goddesses who have been worshiped in various eras and locations.
At first glance, a person who is investigating the entire "God" concept for the first time might conclude that all of these diverse deities are purely human creations. That is: God did not create humanity -- humanity created Gods.
However, in practice, most people believe that the God or the Goddess or Gods or Goddesses of their faith tradition is or are real, whereas all of the thousands of other deities are human creations, who are nonexistent, except in the minds of humans. Some people believe in an all-evil entity called Satan and attribute religions other than their own to Satan.
In practice, a person's beliefs about deity/deities is largely an accident related to one's birth location. They largely depend upon the faith group followed by one's family of origin, which in turn largely dependent upon the country and region where one is born.
Beliefs about deity cover a wide range, including, in alphabetic order:
Duotheism (a.k.a. Bitheism): belief in a dual divinity: (e.g. Wicca and Zoroastrianism). In the case of Wicca, one deity is female, the other male; in Zoroastrianism one is all good while the other is all evil.
Henotheism. belief in many deities of which only one is the supreme deity. This may involve:
One chief God and multiple gods and goddesses of lesser power and importance. Ancient Greek and Roman religions were of this type.
One supreme God, and multiple gods and goddesses who are all simply manifestations or aspects of the supreme God. Hinduism is one example; they recognize Brahman as the single deity. Some Wiccans believe in a single deity about which they know little. They call the deity "The One" or "The All." They recognize the God and Goddess as the male and female aspects of that one supreme deity.
One supreme God who rules over a country, and many other gods and goddesses who have similar jurisdiction over other territories. Liberal theologians believe that the ancient Israelites in the early years of the Hebrew nation were henotheists. They worshipped Jehovah as the supreme God over Israel, but recognized the existence of Baal and other deities who ruled over other tribes. The monotheistic concept of "Yahweh only" came later.
Monism: The belief that what people perceive as deity, humanity and the rest of the universe is in fact all of one substance - that divisions among the body, mind, flesh, spirit, material, physical are not real. All are simply aspects of one being.
Monotheism: The belief in a single God. Examples include Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism). Within Christianity, most denominations consider themselves to be monotheistic, even though they teach the existence of three separate persons within in the Trinity. Some theologians believe that religiously inspired violence is more commonly found among monotheists than among polytheists or Atheists. However if one views communism as a religion, its followers are Atheists and responsible for tens of millions of persons exterminated in various genocides.
Panentheism: The belief that the entire universe -- substances, forces and laws -- is God; the universe is God's body. God transcends the universe as well. (e.g. some components of New Age belief).
Pantheism: The belief that every existing entity (humans, animals, etc.) together, is a part of God. They do not see God as having a personality, the ability to make decisions, etc. Rather, God is the very spiritual essence of the entire universe.
Polytheism: belief in many Gods and Goddesses: (e.g. various Neopagan religions, where each deity has a specific specialty or function. Hinduism is often looked upon in the west as a polytheistic religion).
Trinity: belief in a single deity who has three aspects (e.g. historical Christianity, whose members generally believe in Trinity formed by three persons: a Father, Son and Holy Spirit who they view as being a single entity). Christians often look upon God as being omniscient (all-knowing) , omnipotent (all powerfl), omnipresent (present everywhere) and omnibeneficient (all good.) Some liberal Christians believe that such a list of attributes is logically contradictory and thus impossible.
Many specific denominations and faith groups are difficult to categorize. For example, a religion might teach the belief in a single God, and a large number of minor deities, heroes, or saints who have some powers normally restricted to deities. It might be considered a monotheistic religion in theory or a polytheistic/henotheistic religion in practice.
Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed.
There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. appearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc.
To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a "true religion" exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error.
At first glance, a person who is investigating the entire "God" concept for the first time might conclude that all of these diverse deities are purely human creations. That is: God did not create humanity -- humanity created Gods.
However, in practice, most people believe that the God or the Goddess or Gods or Goddesses of their faith tradition is or are real, whereas all of the thousands of other deities are human creations, who are nonexistent, except in the minds of humans. Some people believe in an all-evil entity called Satan and attribute religions other than their own to Satan.
In practice, a person's beliefs about deity/deities is largely an accident related to one's birth location. They largely depend upon the faith group followed by one's family of origin, which in turn largely dependent upon the country and region where one is born.
Beliefs about deity cover a wide range, including, in alphabetic order:
- Agnosticism: having reached no conclusion whether God exists. (See Agnosticism) Some Agnostics believe that the existence of God will never be proved or disproved.
- Animism. The belief that all entities have life force, a soul or mind. For example, rocks, trees and mountains have an awareness of their surroundings: (e.g. Native aboriginal religions).
- Atheism: According to most dictionary definitions and general usage, Atheists totally reject the possibility that God exists. This would include many Atheists, Buddhists, Unitarian Universalists, etc.
- However, American Atheists, the largest group of Atheists in the U.S. define Atheism as having no belief in God. A newborn would not be considered an Atheist within the dictionary definition, but would be an Atheist according to the American Atheists.
- Deism: The belief that God exists, but is remote, unknowable and uninvolved. They believe that God created the universe, set it going, left, but has not taken an active interest in it since. This was a popular belief among intellectuals during and after the American revolution. It shows up in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and its references to to "Nature's God," and "Creator." It is a rapidly growing belief today. However, many Deists are unaware of the existence of Deism.
Duotheism (a.k.a. Bitheism): belief in a dual divinity: (e.g. Wicca and Zoroastrianism). In the case of Wicca, one deity is female, the other male; in Zoroastrianism one is all good while the other is all evil.
Henotheism. belief in many deities of which only one is the supreme deity. This may involve:
One chief God and multiple gods and goddesses of lesser power and importance. Ancient Greek and Roman religions were of this type.
One supreme God, and multiple gods and goddesses who are all simply manifestations or aspects of the supreme God. Hinduism is one example; they recognize Brahman as the single deity. Some Wiccans believe in a single deity about which they know little. They call the deity "The One" or "The All." They recognize the God and Goddess as the male and female aspects of that one supreme deity.
One supreme God who rules over a country, and many other gods and goddesses who have similar jurisdiction over other territories. Liberal theologians believe that the ancient Israelites in the early years of the Hebrew nation were henotheists. They worshipped Jehovah as the supreme God over Israel, but recognized the existence of Baal and other deities who ruled over other tribes. The monotheistic concept of "Yahweh only" came later.
Monism: The belief that what people perceive as deity, humanity and the rest of the universe is in fact all of one substance - that divisions among the body, mind, flesh, spirit, material, physical are not real. All are simply aspects of one being.
Monotheism: The belief in a single God. Examples include Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism). Within Christianity, most denominations consider themselves to be monotheistic, even though they teach the existence of three separate persons within in the Trinity. Some theologians believe that religiously inspired violence is more commonly found among monotheists than among polytheists or Atheists. However if one views communism as a religion, its followers are Atheists and responsible for tens of millions of persons exterminated in various genocides.
Panentheism: The belief that the entire universe -- substances, forces and laws -- is God; the universe is God's body. God transcends the universe as well. (e.g. some components of New Age belief).
Pantheism: The belief that every existing entity (humans, animals, etc.) together, is a part of God. They do not see God as having a personality, the ability to make decisions, etc. Rather, God is the very spiritual essence of the entire universe.
Polytheism: belief in many Gods and Goddesses: (e.g. various Neopagan religions, where each deity has a specific specialty or function. Hinduism is often looked upon in the west as a polytheistic religion).
Trinity: belief in a single deity who has three aspects (e.g. historical Christianity, whose members generally believe in Trinity formed by three persons: a Father, Son and Holy Spirit who they view as being a single entity). Christians often look upon God as being omniscient (all-knowing) , omnipotent (all powerfl), omnipresent (present everywhere) and omnibeneficient (all good.) Some liberal Christians believe that such a list of attributes is logically contradictory and thus impossible.
Many specific denominations and faith groups are difficult to categorize. For example, a religion might teach the belief in a single God, and a large number of minor deities, heroes, or saints who have some powers normally restricted to deities. It might be considered a monotheistic religion in theory or a polytheistic/henotheistic religion in practice.
Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed.
There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. appearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc.
To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a "true religion" exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error.
About Unknown
