Articles
Longer reads across traditions: how religions compare on the great questions, and how their branches, calendars and scriptures came to be.
Comparisons
- Abraham in Judaism, Christianity and Islam Why Judaism, Christianity and Islam are called the Abrahamic religions: the story of Abraham in the Bible and the Qur’an, the sacrifice of his son, and what Abraham means to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Judaism · Christianity · Islam
- Karma and rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism How the four religions born in India understand karma, rebirth and liberation: the shared picture of a cycle of lives, and the very different answers each gives about the self and the way out. Hinduism · Buddhism · Jainism · Sikhism
- Sacred books: how the world’s religions wrote down their scriptures From the memorised Vedas and the palm-leaf Pali Canon to the Torah scroll, the Christian codex, the Qur’an and the Guru Granth Sahib: how scriptures were composed, written down and treated as holy. Hinduism · Buddhism · Judaism · Christianity · Islam · Sikhism
- What happens after death? Answers from the world’s religions How the world’s religions answer the oldest question: resurrection and judgement in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, rebirth and liberation in the Indian religions, the ancestors of China, Japan and Africa, and the afterlife of ancient Egypt. Christianity · Islam · Judaism · Hinduism · Buddhism · Ancient Egyptian religion · Yoruba religion · Confucianism
Explainers
- Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant: how Christianity divided The great divisions of Christianity, from the councils of the 5th century and the split of 1054 to the Reformation of the 16th century, and what still distinguishes Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants today. Christianity
- Sun, moon or both: why religious holidays move Why Easter, Ramadan, Passover and Diwali fall on different dates each year: the solar, lunar and lunisolar calendars of the world’s religions, and how each one decides its holy days. Christianity · Islam · Judaism · Hinduism · Buddhism · Bahá’í
- Sunni and Shia: how Islam’s two main branches differ Where the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims came from, what the two branches share, how they differ on leadership, law and devotion, and where each lives today. Islam
- The Five Pillars of Islam The five acts at the heart of Muslim life: the declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting in Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca, what each involves and why they matter. Islam
- Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana: the three vehicles of Buddhism How Buddhism grew into three great traditions, Theravada in South and Southeast Asia, Mahayana in East Asia and Vajrayana in Tibet and the Himalaya, what each teaches and where it is practised. Buddhism
- What is the oldest religion in the world? Which religion is the oldest? Why the question is harder than it looks, and the strongest candidates: Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Shinto and the vanished religion of ancient Egypt. Hinduism · Judaism · Zoroastrianism · Ancient Egyptian religion · Shinto · Jainism