What’s the Difference?
Sunni and Shia, Catholic and Orthodox, Theravada and Mahayana: the main branches of each tradition side by side, how they parted and what they still share.
Each page describes both sides as their own followers would recognise them. To compare two whole religions, use the comparison tool: compare two faiths →
Hinduism
Buddhism
- TheravadaMahayana Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism compared, from the Pali Canon and the arhat ideal to the bodhisattva path, emptiness and the many buddhas, with a note on Vajrayana.
- ZenPure Land Zen and Pure Land Buddhism Zen seeks awakening through meditation and one’s own effort; Pure Land trusts the vow of Amitabha Buddha. How the two great East Asian schools arose, differ and meet.
Jainism
Shinto
Judaism
- AshkenaziSephardi Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews compared, from medieval Germany and Spain to Yiddish and Ladino, Passover customs, Hebrew pronunciation and the Mizrahi communities of the Middle East.
- OrthodoxReform Orthodox and Reform Judaism How Orthodox and Reform Judaism differ on revelation, Jewish law, the Sabbath, prayer and the role of women, and where Conservative and Reconstructionist Jews stand.
Christianity
- CatholicOrthodox Catholic and Orthodox Christianity Catholic and Orthodox Christians share the creeds, the sacraments and the first councils but parted over the papacy, the filioque and much else, in a rift dated to 1054.
- CatholicProtestant Catholic and Protestant Christianity Catholics and Protestants share faith in Christ and the creeds but divided in the Reformation over authority, salvation, the sacraments, the saints and the priesthood.
- CatholicProtestant Catholic and Protestant Bibles Why a Catholic Bible has 73 books and a Protestant Bible 66, from the Greek Septuagint and the Hebrew text to Luther’s Apocrypha and the Council of Trent.
- Eastern OrthodoxOriental Orthodox Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians parted after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 over how to speak of Christ’s divine and human natures, a difference many now see as one of words.