Bill,
The three most curious religions might be:
o A mainly genetic religion created by God himelf
o A religion in which man kills God to save himself from himelf
o A religion in which there is nothing but God
Or, take your pick from below! ;-)
--ED
"Religious traditions fall into super-groups in comparative religion,
arranged by historical origin and mutual influence. Abrahamic religions
originate in the Middle East, Indian religions in India and Far Eastern
religions in East Asia. Another group with supra-regional influence are
African diasporic religions, which have their origins in Central and
West Africa.
o Abrahamic religions are the largest group, and these consist
mainly of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Bahá'í Faith. They are
named for the patriarch Abraham, and are unified by the practice of
monotheism. Today, around 3.4 billion people are followers of Abrahamic
religions and are spread widely around the world apart from the regions
around Southeast Asia. Several Abrahamic organizations are vigorous
proselytizers.
o Indian religions originated in Greater India and tend to share a
number of key concepts, such as dharma and karma. They are of the most
influence across the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, Southeast Asia, as
well as isolated parts of Russia. The main Indian religions are
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
o East Asian religions consist of several East Asian religions which
make use of the concept of Tao (in Chinese) or Do (in Japanese or
Korean), namely Taoism and Confucianism, both of which are asserted by
some scholars to be non-religious in nature.
o African diasporic religions practiced in the Americas, imported as a
result of the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 18th centuries,
building on traditional religions of Central and West Africa.
o Indigenous ethnic religions, formerly found on every continent, now
marginalized by the major organized faiths, but persisting as
undercurrents of folk religion. Includes African traditional religions,
Asian Shamanism, Native American religions, Austronesian and Australian
Aboriginal traditions, Chinese folk religion, and postwar Shinto. Under
more traditional listings, this has been referred to as "Paganism" along
with historical polytheism.
o Iranian religions (not listed below due to overlaps) originated
in Iran and include Zoroastrianism, Yazdanism, Ahl-e Haqq and historical
traditions of Gnosticism (Mandaeism, Manichaeism). It has significant
overlaps with Abrahamic traditions, e.g. in Sufism and in recent
movements such as Bábism and the Bahá'í Faith.
o New religious movement is the term applied to any religious faith
which has emerged since the 19th century, often syncretizing,
re-interpreting or reviving aspects of older traditions: Hindu reform
movements, Eckankar, Ayyavazhi, Pentecostalism, polytheistic
reconstructionism, and so forth.
--- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote:
>
> JMJM,
>
> In my opinion:
>
> US PERCEPTIONS
> - Buddhism is considered a religion - albeit a quirky one.
> - Zen Buddhism is considered a sect of Buddhism.
>
> WORLD PERCEPTION
> - Buddhism is considered a religion.
> - Zen Buddhism is considered a sect of Buddhism - albeit a quirky one.
>
> ...Bill!
