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Christian Topical Library

Major Religions in a Nutshell
by Amanda Chapman

All religions have variations, and many of those charted below cannot be contained in a broad system of beliefs about the Ultimate Reality. The chart below does not apply to all sects of each religion, but is provided for easy reference purposes only.

	Eastern Religion			Western Religion			Unclassified
	Hinduism	Buddhism	Confucianism	Muslim	Judaism	Christianity	Atheism	New Age	Agnosticism
One Truth	Y	Y	Y/T	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	U
Many Ways to see Truth	Y	Y	Y	N/T	N/T	N	N	Y	U
God is a Specific Being	V	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	U
A Non-Believer can go to Heaven	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N/A	Y	U
God sent a Prophet	V	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	U
Ultimate Judgment	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	U
Reincarnation	Y	U	U	N	N	N	N	N	U
There is an Ultimate Goal	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	U
Absolute Right and Wrong	N	N	U	Y	Y	Y	N	N	U

Description of Religions
Hinduism	Believe in an elaborate process of reincarnation and balance, venerating gods and goddesses of the past
Buddhism	Philosophy started by Siddhartha Gautama ("the Buddha") focusing on emptying yourself to see beyond the illusions of the material world; it has forked into various sects of Buddhism, including ones that worship the Buddha as God
Confucianism	Philosophy that focuses on balance and ancestral veneration; high respect for nature
New Age	Embraces a broad range of beliefs manifesting the popularization of self-power and relativity
Islam	Believes that the Bible (old and new testament) is tainted by man, and that Muhammad received divine inspiration from God to retell the truth and set new laws
Judaism	Holds to historical Hebrew texts, including the Talmud and the Septuagint
Christianity	Realizes Christ’s fulfillment of God’s prophesies of the Old Testament, and accepts Him as their personal Lord and Savior
Atheism	Denies the existence of God
Agnosticism	Believes that there is not enough evidence to decide the Ultimate Reality

Key
Y - Yes	Y/T - Yes, but tolerant	V- Variation	U - Unknown
N - No	N/T - No, but tolerant	N/A - Not applicable

Key Explanation
Yes	Generally, they agree or believe in this Ultimate Reality
Yes, but tolerant	Generally, they believe this but they are willing to accept other beliefs as other ways of looking the Ultimate Reality
Variation	It varies according to the sect or belief of whom you are asking
Unknown	They do not know the answer to the question
No	Generally, they disagree or don’t believe in this Ultimate Reality
No, but tolerant	Generally, they disagree but are willing to accept other beliefs as other ways of looking at the Ultimate Reality