Each of the largest religions in the world has its own faiths that differ from each other. It is necessary to understand the difference between a denomination and religion itself and to present the peculiarities of the view of each denomination on the doctrine to which it refers.
The concept of confession as a component of religious teaching
"Confession" is translated from Latin as "religion." This is a broad understanding of the word, however, with the development of various areas of Christian Protestantism, a narrower, concrete meaning has appeared. Now a denomination is one of the movements, a religious community or a church within the framework of one creed. There can be from several to very many. Nevertheless, the most famous, most popular denominations in Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism (the largest religions in the number of believers in the world) are about three to five. In general, there are a great many denominations, the names of which for many people who do not belong to them, will sound strange and incomprehensible.
The most numerous denominations of several of the largest religions in the world
There is a simplified division of Christianity into faiths, which many know: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. A more or less educated person will be able to expand the concept of Protestantism and divide it into the three largest branches: Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Calvinism. You can add to the list of Protestant denominations Pentecostalism and Baptism, however, more well-known communities, such as Mormons, Munists, Jehovah's Witnesses, which arose in the twentieth century, exist separately, without fitting into a primitive three-part division.
In Islam, everything is not so simple either. There are three main branches: Sunnism, Shiism and Salafism. The latter, as well as Sufis, a smaller group, are often ranked as Sunnis due to the coincidence in many views on the basic principles of religion. Sunnis make up the vast majority of modern Muslims. Shiites are the second largest denomination. Shiites are traditionally divided into such currents: Shia-twenties, Ismailis, Alawites, Alevites, Zeidites and other, small communities. There are also Kharijits and other currents and sects that are not related to the main areas of Islam.
No less than various denominations in Buddhism. As in the two previous religions, in Buddhism there are three main branches: these are Mahayana, Hinayana and Vajrayana. In modern religion, Mahayana and Theravada stand out. There are dozens of schools and teachings within these movements. This is not surprising, since among the most popular creeds, Buddhism is the oldest religion with a long history. It is hardly possible to list all the existing Buddhist denominations, as well as the communities of other major religions. Many denominations prove that the scriptures of any faith can be read and understood in different ways by the followers of this doctrine.
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