Comparing Eastern and Western religious traditions
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Religious studies typically divides the world into Western and Eastern religions.
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[edit] Western religions
Western religions are based on Abrahamic monotheism and derive from the Middle Eastern milieu, including: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá'í Faith.
[edit] Eastern religions
Eastern religions are mostly either Indian or Chinese in origin: The Dharma faiths of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism; and the Chinese religious philosophies of Taoism and Confucianism. This grouping also includes other religions, most notably Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan.
[edit] Religions that share elements of both
Zoroastrianism, which is related to Hinduism and was an influence on the development of Judaism. Zoroastrianism itself is now a minority religion in its traditional homeland of Iran, almost completely supplanted by Islam.
Ayyavazhi, with its monistic and Dharmic concepts seems related to Hinduism, but with its narration about Final Judgement and Kroni (a Satan-like figure) it was viewed in relation to Western traditions.
Animist/Primitive/Shamanistic religions which are independent or previous to the dominant religions.
Sikhism is a relatively modern religion that is related to Hinduism.
Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse and other European polytheistic religions can be considered western or pre-western, although they may share a common ancestor with Hinduism; see Proto-Indo-European religion.
Neopaganism, which is a revivalist movement, draws on the religions of cultures all over the world, usually focusing on polytheistic traditions, and originally based on that of pre-Christian Europe.
