Navayana or Neo-Buddhism or Bhimayāna

Navayana (Devanagari: नवयान, IAST: Navayāna) means “new vehicle” and refers to the re-interpretation of Buddhism by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar;[a] it is also called Neo-Buddhism,[1][2] and Bhimayāna (after Ambedkar’s first name, Bhimrao).[3] Ambedkar was born in a Dalit (untouchable) family during the colonial era of India, studied abroad, became a Mahar Dalit leader, and announced in 1935 his intent to convert from Hinduism to Buddhism.[4] Thereafter Ambedkar studied texts of Buddhism, found

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Mahayana

Mahāyāna (/ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə/; “Great Vehicle”) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being Theravāda).[1] Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism, but also adds various new doctrines and texts such as the Mahāyāna

Vajrayana / Mantrayāna / Tantric Buddhism / Esoteric Buddhism

Vajrayāna (Sanskrit: “thunderbolt vehicle” or “diamond vehicle”) along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism are names referring to Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and “Secret Mantra”, which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, East Asia, Mongolia and other Himalayan states. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings

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Tibetan Buddhism / Indo-Tibetan Buddhism / Himalayan Buddhism / Northern Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It also has adherents in the regions surrounding the Himalayas (such as Ladakh and Sikkim), in much of Central Asia, in the Southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, and in Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian

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Dharmaguptaka

The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit; Chinese: 法藏部; pinyin: Fǎzàng bù) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a prominent role in early Central Asian and Chinese Buddhism, and their Prātimokṣa (monastic rules for bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs) are still in effect in East Asian countries to this day, including China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. They are

Christianity

Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. Although Christians are monotheistic, the one God is thought, by most Christians, to exist in three divine persons (Greek Hypostasis), called the Trinity. Most Christians believe that Jesus is

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Eastern Orthodox theology

Eastern Orthodox theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, belief in the Incarnation of the essentially divine Logos or only-begotten Son of God, a balancing of cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by a polyvalent Sacred Tradition, a concretely catholic ecclesiology, a robust theology of the person, and a principally recapitulative and therapeutic soteriology. Holy Tradition Ecclesiology Icon depicting the Emperor Constantine (centre) and the bishops of the First Council of

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Catholicity / Catholic Church / Roman Catholic Church

Catholicity (from Ancient Greek: καθολικός, romanized: katholikós, lit. ‘general’, ‘universal’, via Latin: catholicus)[1] is a concept pertaining to beliefs and practices widely accepted across numerous Christian denominations, most notably those that describe themselves as Catholic in accordance with the Four Marks of the Church, as expressed in the Nicene Creed of the First Council of Constantinople in 381: “[I believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” The Catholic Church is also known as

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Protestantism

Protestantism is a form of Christianity that originated with the 16th-century Reformation,[a] a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Catholic Church.[1] Protestants originating in the Reformation reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, but disagree among themselves regarding the number of sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and matters of ecclesiastical polity and apostolic succession.[2][3] They emphasize the priesthood of all believers; justification by faith alone (sola fide)

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Esoteric Christianity

Esoteric Christianity is an approach to Christianity which features “secret traditions” that require an initiation to learn or understand.[1] The term esoteric was coined in the 17th century and derives from the Greek ἐσωτερικός (esôterikos, “inner”).[2] These spiritual currents share some common features, such as heterodox or heretical Christian theology; the canonical gospels, various apocalyptic literature, and some New Testament apocrypha as sacred

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Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism (Hebrew: יהדות משיחית ; יַהֲדוּת מְשִׁיחִית‎, romanized: yahadút mešiḥít ; Yahadut Meshikhit) is a modern syncretic[1] Christian[2][3] religious movement that incorporates some elements of Judaism and Jewish tradition[4][5][6][7] with Evangelical Christianity. The movement emerged in the 1960s and 1970s from the Hebrew Christian movement[8] and the Baptist[9] organization Jews for Jesus[10][11] founded in 1973 by Conservative Baptist minister Martin Rosen.[12] Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and New Testament are the authoritative

Oriental Orthodox Churches

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a group of Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology,[1][2] with a total of approximately 60 million members worldwide.[3][4] The Oriental Orthodox Churches are broadly part of the trinitarian Nicene Christian tradition shared by today’s mainstream churches, and represent one of its oldest branches.[5] As some of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Oriental Orthodox Churches have played a

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Assyrian Church of the East

The Assyrian Church of the East,[c] officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,[18][d] is an Eastern Christian church that follows the traditional Christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the East.[20] It belongs to the eastern branch of Syriac Christianity, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari belonging to the East Syriac Rite. Its main liturgical language is Classical Syriac, a dialect of Eastern Aramaic, and the majority

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Restorationism

Restorationism (or Christian primitivism) is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a purer and more ancient form of the religion.[1][2][3] Fundamentally, “this vision seeks to correct faults or deficiencies (in the church) by appealing to the primitive

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Old Catholic Church

The term Old Catholic Church has been used from the 1850s by communions separated from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, primarily concerned with papal authority and infallibility. Some of these groups, especially in the Netherlands, had already existed long before the term. These churches are not in full communion with the Holy See. Member churches of the Union of Utrecht of the Old

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Doukhobors

The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (Russian: Духоборы, Dukhobory, also Dukhobortsy, Russian: Духоборцы; literally “Spirit-Warriors / Wrestlers“)[2][3][4] are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia, often categorized as “folk-Protestants”, Spiritual Christians, sectarians, or heretics. They are distinguished as pacifists who lived in their own villages, rejected personal materialism, worked together, and developed a tradition of oral history and memorizing and singing hymns and verses (the “Book of Life“).

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Molokan

A Molokan (Russian: молокан, IPA: [məlɐˈkan] or молоканин, “dairy-eater”) is a member of various Spiritual Christian religion that evolved from Eastern Christianity in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions—especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts—did not conform to those of the Russian Orthodox Church, and they were regarded as heretics (sektanty). The term Molokan is an exonym used by their Orthodox neighbors; they tend to identify themselves as Spiritual Christians (духовные христиане : dukhovnye khristiane). There are almost as many different

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Confucius

Confucius was a famous thinker and social philosopher of China whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asia for twenty centuries. Living in times of trouble, he was convinced of his ability to restore the world’s order but he failed. Considered as a “Throneless King”, he eventually became involved in teaching disciples. His philosophy emphasized

Confucianism

Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life,[1] Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confucius

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Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. His parents, Kalu Mehta and Matta Tripat, were Hindus and belonged to the Kshatriya(Kings and Warriors) caste. Even as a boy, Nanak

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