Comparison of sources of authority

In addition, scholars can classify a religion according to the nature of the authority to which the religion refers.

• Universal religions sometimes have no prophetic founder, although they may have had an early "champion" or crafter of that religious viewpoint. For example, Hinduism claims to be the science of the spirit. The various gods of Hinduism are the projections of One Reality that transcends subject/object split on the mind.

• Monotheistic religions are defined by the veneration or worship of one and only one Deity. They often involve doctrines and also often have a professional priesthood. Examples of monotheisms include: Judaism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith.

• Polytheistic religions involve many deities. Usually, each deity is considered a separate entity (as opposed, for instance, to Christianity which considers the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one). Polytheistic religions often flourish in less centralized societies, where each individual can adapt a portion of the religion as their own. This kind of religions gives more freedom to the practitioners who often hold to little dogma. Examples of polytheisms include the mythologies of ancient Greece and Egypt, and modern Pagan revivals such as Asatru (see also Neopaganism).

• Shamanistic religions are a broad category of religions based around worship of ancestors or spirits rather than "Gods." Shamanistic religions typically are limited to small geographical areas and rarely achieve national or international organization.

• Pantheistic or natural religions see everything in nature an aspect of a spiritual plane. Such faiths include (to various degrees) Shintoism and several animistic traditions.

• Some religions, alternatively termed spiritual philosophies, emphasize extensive practical teachings for achieving human happiness or equanimity in the natural world with a lesser focus on the supernatural. Examples: Zen, Taoism, and Confucianism.

• Communism is one example of a political philosophy with many of the characteristics of a religion. Those include "sacred" texts, rituals, and the near-deification of certain leaders. Its official policy is atheism, however, indicating that neither religion nor the absence of it is a reliable indicator of character.

Generally while individual religions may differ in sources of authority, they share many common traits, such as ritual, concern with the afterlife, regulation of social behavior, and belief in the supernatural.

Dealing with others' religions

Adherents of particular religions deal with the differing doctrines and practices espoused by other religions in several ways. Examples of each exist within most major religious systems. People with exclusivist beliefs typically explain other religions as either in error, or as corruptions or counterfeits of the true faith. People with inclusivist beliefs recognize some truth in all faith systems, highlighting agreements and minimizing differences, but see their own faith as in some way ultimate. People with pluralist beliefs make no distinction between faith systems, viewing each one as valid within a particular culture. Pluralists and inclusivists may borrow from more than one faith system for their own religious practice. However, it should be noted that in many areas different faith systems are integrated into one; this does not fit the definition of pluralism. For example, in many tribal areas of Indonesia natives practice a mixture of Islam, tribal gods, and worship of Adam and Eve.

Role of charismatic figures

Many religions have been deeply influenced by charismatic leaders, such as Jesus Christ, Martin Luther, Henry VIII, John Calvin, Joseph Smith, Adi Sankara, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekanada, Sai Baba, Muhammad, Gautama Buddha, etc. These leaders are either the central teacher and founder of the religion (e.g. Muhammad, Jesus, or Gautama) or reformers or prominent persons.

The historical or legendary founders of some of the major world religions include Abraham and Moses (Judaism), Zoroaster (Zoroastrianism), Siddartha Gautama (Buddhism), Jesus Christ (Christianity), Muhammad (Islam), and Bahá'u'lláh (Bahá'í).

See also

• Lists: list of religious topics – list of religions – list of religious populations – list of deities
• Arguments for the existence of God – Arguments against the existence of God
• Scholarly approaches to religion: anthropology of religion – biotheology – comparative religion – psychology of religion – sociology of religion
• Types of religions: ancestor worship – civil religion – folk religion – evangelicalism – fundamentalism – mystery religion – New Age – paganism – shamanism – spirituality – totemism
• Religious beliefs: animism – deism – henotheism – maltheism – monotheism – pantheism – panentheism – polytheism – theism – universism
• Non-religious beliefs: agnosticism – atheism – secularism – secular humanism
• Entities of some religious worldviews: god – goddess – sky father – solar deity – demigod – angel – spirit – demon – devil – prophet
• Other elements of some religious worldviews: afterlife – chosen people – creation belief – end of the world – evil - heaven – hell – miracles – resurrection – revelation – soul – spiritual possession – supernatural
• Religious practices: divination – ecstasy – exorcism – faith – magic – meditation – mysticism – prayer – repentance – sacrifice – shunning – superstition – veneration – worship
• Religious organizations: cult – sect – denomination – ecclesia
• Attributes of some religions: clergy – creed – cult – dogma – orthodoxy – priests
• Practices frowned upon by religions: heresy – idolatry – sin
• Related subjects: mythology – philosophy of religion – theology