Religious Divisions

Battle between Religious Divisions

Religious divisions can be narrowed down simply to those who are "believers" and those who are "non-believers". However, believers and non-believers can have little or extreme differences, depending on the deep divide between the branches.

A lack of understanding between these unique divisions has led to violence and even forms of exile from said religion. For example, Jews who do not make a home in Israel are considered by Zionists to be "living in exile" and are not viewed as "true" Jews. Until sacrifices and understanding can be put forth on all sides, religious divisions will continue to cause tensions between people.

Fig. 1 Puri Jagannath drawing from the book 'LINDE DES RAJAHS Voyage Dans LInde Centrale', 1877

Despite these divisions affecting our world today, religious divides have existed for thousands of years in many different contexts, ranging from internal divisions to the influence of outside perspectives through immigration, colonization, refuge-seeking, and more. Not only do these divisions make people unique, but they can also cause tensions and misunderstandings that eventually become violent. The cycle of fighting for power and influence will continue until divisions taking part in religious wars reach a point of understanding and tolerance.

Religious Divisions Europe

Europe's religious divisions are mainly split into 3 sectors of Christianity; Roman Catholicism in the West and Southwest, Protestantism in the North, and Eastern Orthodox in the East and Southeast. For much of Europe's history, empires have fought between the influence of Catholicism and Protestantism, though these tensions were often less about religion and more about territorial control.

Over time, the divide between Europe's Catholic and Protestant countries has created critical cultural differences. According to Max Weber, a German sociologist, Protestantism, work ethic, and the rise of Capitalism are linked. Conversely, Catholic countries tend to hold a different view of authority and government. It appears to be more top-down and hierarchal, whereas Protestant countries have more room for personal initiative and democracy.

Fig. 2 Map of Religions in Europe in 1560

Judaism has also been practiced in Europe since Roman times, having Jewish migrations into and throughout Europe for hundreds of years. The migrations created two distinct branches, the Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Unfortunately, WWII (1939-1945) killed 6 million European Jews due to Nazi concentration camps and German exceptionalism.

Islam has also made communities in parts of Europe, specifically in the Balkan states of Albania, Herzegovina, Bosnia, and Bulgaria.

Religious Divison Christianity

Christianity is split into 4 main branches; the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican Communion, and Protestantism. Though it is not a singular belief system, it is a monotheistic religion with the most significant number of followers worldwide (approximately 2.38 billion).

Christians believe in the life and teachings of Jesus, the son of God and messiah, who rose again after his crucifixion to grant eternal life to those who believed in him. Having lasted for hundreds of years, Christian communities have branched off for countless reasons and made way for new religious variants.

Differences between the 4 branches range from differing beliefs about who's in charge (the Pope, Bishops, or Jesus himself) to whether or not idols and religious images are accepted (for Catholics, yes; for Protestants, no). They also all have differences regarding the interpretation of the bible itself. For some, the words of the bible are guidelines that can be open to interpretation, whereas some see it as a text needed to be followed strictly, without question.

Religious Divisions Islam

Similar to Christianity as a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion, Islam has approximately 2 billion followers across the globe. The religion of Islam is nearly 1,300 years old and began in 610 CE when the prophet Muhammad began receiving revelations from God. Followers of this faith recorded these revelations in the Qur'an.

One of the main differences between Islam and Christianity is the following of Jesus; to Christians, he is sacred, whereas Islam sees him simply as a prophet.

Sunni and Shia Divisions in Islam

The branches of Islam began to appear and develop after the death of Muhammad, with his followers disagreeing about who the true successor of the religion would be. Despite their differences, they follow the same God and the exact religious text; the Qur'an. From largest to smallest, the denominations of Islam are Sunni, Shi'a, Ahmadiyya, Ibadi, and Sufism.

Religious Divisions Hinduism

Hinduism has 4 branches and no exact beginning date or year; the majority of the branches believe that Hinduism has been around for eternity. Hinduism's divisions are Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and the Smarta Tradition. In most branches, Hindus believe in a creator or a supreme deity; said deity depends on which division the person follows.

Hinnudism is believed to have grown from the overlapping beliefs of diverse settlers across India, later merged with the migrators from South Asia. This resulted in a large combination of religion and culture and a surplus of practices, beliefs, and gods. Because of this, Hinduism is considered one of the most complex religions as it has no single founder or sacred text and allows many forms of different worship to exist amongst each other.

The Four Branches of Hinduism

Starting around the 5th Century, Hinduism became sectarian, and most Hindus belonged to a sect of Hinduism. The different branches of Hinduism are separated and defined by their devotion to the god they worship.

Fig. 5 The Goddess Bhairavi Devi with Shiva

Religious Divisions Buddhism

Buddhism can be divided into 3 significant branches and is most popular in the countries of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Buddhism's 3 divisions are:

• Theravada
• Mahayana
• Vajrayana

Theravada is the most conservative of the 3; though it believes (like the other 2) that one can reach Nirvana, they believe that those who are monks have a better chance.

Fig. 6 Amitabha Buddha, the master of the Pure Land, is blessing a female devotee.

Mahayana is the largest and most often recognized branch of Buddhism. This division recognizes that all people are different and is open to multiple forms of spiritual awareness. They believe that Buddha can appear in 3 different forms; one is the "Cosmic Buddha," which is invisible and exists all around us. This manifestation also teaches the importance of a constantly changing world; the universe is constantly shifting, so creating a single, individual identity is impossible. We are infinitely connected with the world around us, and no moment will ever repeat itself; each moment should be treasured.

The table below shows the similarities and differences in the three different schools of Buddhism, giving us a better insight into why this division occurred!