Is there any religion that doesn't posit its way as the ONLY way?

Only the major monotheistic religions posit that theirs is the "only" way. The animist religions of nomadic peoples have very little doctrine, so don’t have any doctrinal belief that theirs and theirs alone is the "One True Religion. " However, their worlds tend to be so small and insular that everybody they ever knew believes such and such, so it looks to them as though that is the only way there is.

The polytheistic religions of early civilized peoples were a very live-and-let-live affair. In antiquity, each family would revere its founding members who, as time went on, would recede further into legend and mythology until they became the household’s gods. The household gods of the founding families became the gods of the polis as cities grew up around them.

There were gods everywhere, and they were treated a bit like slot machines. You performed all your superstitious rituals and they paid off--or if they didn’t, you moved on to the next one. Nduism is a lot like this old school paganism.

The number of choices is daunting. What kind of god do you want? Human or animal-looking?

How many arms? Seated, standing or dancing? Chanting or non-chanting?

Smoking or non-smoking? You can even have your choice of One True Gods, Supreme Beings, or gods of Creation. By the time of Zoroaster (6th Century BC) the pagan world had become a confusing tangle of little local cults, each with their strange rituals and customs, all of which had long since lost their meaning.It was not uncommon, for example, for the priests of a given temple to pass along prayers from priest to priest in the form of meaningless (but holy) gibberish.

Needless to say, it was very difficult for any of these pagan religions to assert that theirs was the One True Religion or the "only" way, since they could barely give an account of what their way was. People began to stagnate. They became pious but were passive and indolent.

In response, Zoroaster decided to clear away this underbrush by declaring Ahura Mazda (the fire god) as the One True God, declaring all the rest as "demons" and "followers of the lie. " The reaction of the other religions was like, "Yeah, whatever." Zoroastrianism lingered on, along with its competitors, until it was largely supplanted by Islam--which is the One True Religion with a vengance.

Parts of Zoroastrianism--a belief in angels and demons, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, haloes, that the world will end in a final confrontation between good and evil and a Final Judgment--were eventually absorbed into Christianity, Islam and, to a lesser degree, Judiasm. In that same century you had the appearance of the Buddha, Confusius, Lao Tzu, and the early Greek philosophers. But none of these promotes his as the "only" way.

Buddhism is not concerned with salvation, or being the one right way; it is indifferent to gods, since it is simply concerned about escaping from the cycle of reincarnation. Buddhism offers quite a bit of doctrine and meditation to help the world weary soul depart into Nirvana, but these are more suggestive than directive. If you wish to stick around and help others along, that is considered a valid choice too.

Confuscius added a kind of bureaucratic overlay to the Chinese system of ancestor worship, the worship of animal spirits, local gods, and the more distant gods associated with the Imperial state. Confuscianism was based on filial piety, duty, and service to the state--which is to say, it bound individuals to their families, and families to the state by prescribing a code of "right conduct" in every sort of social relationship. One could think of Confusius as prescribing a kind of ritual etiquette to cover every social obligation.

But, unlike Emily Post, this etiquette was backed by the power of the state. Even so, it was never thought of as the "only" way for ordinary people. Rather, it was required knowledge among clerks and officials in the empire, and trickled down from them to the general population.

Lao Tzu, one of the exponents of Taoism, proposed an alternative path, which also became integrated into the lives of ordinary Chinese. The Tao or "The Way" refers to the natural inclination of things, in the sense of the way that water rolls down hill. Neither Lao Tzu nor the later Taoists spell out "the way" explicitly since, in their experience, anyone who asserts that they have found "the way" is almost guaranteed not to.

Taoist texts suggest and allude; they say without saying, leaving you with the impression that there is a "way" to everything, but finding it and following it is entirely up to you. They would never, for example, ring your doorbell and ask if you had accepted the Tao into your heart, or insist that the Tao was the only way to salvation (since they don’t believe you need saving anyway). Socrates and the Sophists founded a tradition of rational philosophy which, although not exactly a religion, fulfills many of the same functions that religion has traditionally filled.

It provides an account of the world, it provides a method of working out proper relations between human beings, and pretty much allows one to address every other kind of problem. Reason and philosophy quickly won over the educated elite, but side by side these new young rationalists were traditionalists who bemoaned that the younger generation was becoming more and more indifferent to religion. When they passed Socrates the hemlock, it was not because they were trying to force their "One Right Way" on him, it was because the older generation felt disrespected, and that the sophists had gone too far in inculcating disrespect on the part of the younger generation toward their elders.

Socrates just happened to be the lightening rod that brought down the wrath of the older generation. By the time Rome had conquored Greece, rationality was fairly well established among the upper classes of both societies. But, by the time of Julius Caesar, people were still superstitious enough that Caesar, in his cynicism, thought it prudent to buy the office of Pontifix Maximus (an office equivalent to the Pope), which allowed him to interpret auspices, augeries and oracles, much to his advantage.

After Caesar, reason flourished and was pressed into the service of the Empire. But, as the problems of the empire were solved, the literate elite became gradually more absorbed in pursuing fashionable honors, style and literary critique, until they became irrellevant and effete.It was this opening that gave the early Christians sects and their competitors a real shot at power. What these new "mystery cults" lacked in legitimacy and public acceptance, they made up for in the conviction that each one was the "one right way.

" And they were persecuted when their "one right way" came in to conflict with the "Roman way." Eventually, Constantine came to the conclusion he was going to quiet all this nonsense down by making one of these contenders the state religion. He considered and rejected the astrology of the Caldaens, and the Zoroastrian fire god Ahura Mazda.

The Mithraites took baptism in the blood of a freshly sacrificed bull, so they were out. The cult of Cybele required the castration and subsequent sequestration of its priests, so they were out. The cult of Dionysus had spectacular drunken orgies, but there was already plenty of that.

So, finally, Constantine settled on Christianity. He locked all the Church fathers in a room and wouldn’t let them out until they had settled all their differences and emerged with a single creed, known thereafter as the Nicaean Creed. And that became the "only" way for Christianity from then on.

Now, you would think that would have pretty much settled it, but the history of the middle ages is replete with the emergence of factions, rival orders, spontaneous processions of penitents and flagellente, heresies, and movements, both grass roots and politically inspired.It is a testament to the human inability to stay on the same page that after the Council of Nicaea, there was the Synod of Constantinople, the Council of Trent, and about 22 others inbetween in an attempt to define and keep everyone on the "one right way. " But, despite the Inquisition, we still had the Reformation resulting in a profusion of some 25,000 Protestant denominations, each thinking it, and it alone, is the "only" way. Living in America in the present day one could easily get the idea that a religion just isn’t a religion unless it claims to be The One True Religion.

But, as one can see from this thumbnail history, it isn’t necessarily so. Zuma's Recommendations Creation: A Novel Amazon List Price: $17.00 Used from: $5.91 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 38 reviews) Archaic Roman Religion Amazon List Price: $25.00 Used from: $18.95 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 3 reviews) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (Oxford World's Classics) Amazon List Price: $14.95 Used from: $6.00 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 9 reviews) The Sociology of Religion Amazon List Price: $26.00 Used from: $8.95 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 2 reviews) The Ancient City: A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome Amazon List Price: $25.00 Used from: $6.00 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 5 reviews) .

Mine is kind of a tough answer My spirituality is Paganism. This is a very individual spirituality, in which everyone can differ slightly, but we all feel connected through some common beliefs - such as nature worship, beliefs in God(s), and a sense of goodness. Now, I am in the large majority when I say that I believe no religions are "wrong".

But there could be a few Pagans who disagree. And individuality is one of the things I prize. With that all said though, I do not think mine is the ONLY way to achieve peace and happiness in the afterlife.

I think we're all just travelling on different spokes of one big cosmic wheel. We may be taking different roads, but they all lead to the center. Everyone deserves to feel happy, spiritually fulfilled, and full of light - even if your beliefs and methods of worship don't match mine..

My religion teaches that many good people of varying faiths (including no faith at all) will make it to heaven. I belong to a Christian faith. Our teachings are the teachings of Christ.

We learn in the Bible and through Christ that there is only one way to heaven, and that is Christ's way. So, directly speaking, our church does indeed say that ours is the only way; HOWEVER, we do not teach that those who didn't follow our way can't attain salvation. In fact, we teach nothing of the sort.

What my church teaches is that God loves us, and He has prepared a plan for our salvation that is not flawed nor is it dependent on every single one of s children attending the same church. In fact, s plan offers the same opportunity for salvation to those born in times and/or places far from organized religion as it does to those attending church regularly, the true church or not. What matter most in God's plan are the desires, thoughts and actions of an individual.

That having been said, the MOST important part of Jesus Christ, and everything Christ did for God's children. You may perceive the next part as a little presumptuous, but I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I'm simply answering your question. Finally, our faith teaches that at death, the spirit goes to a place of waiting.

This is known as the Spirit World. I will not go into details here, because the question does not deal with them. What I will say is this: in the Spirit World, those who did not have the opportunity in life to receive all of the correct saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ by the proper authority will be taught the correct principles and will be given the opportunity to accept or reject what they have been taught.

This way, every one of us is given an equal and just opportunity to accept or reject the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I have to warn you though, this is not taught as a catch-all way to make sure as many people are saved as possible. God will judge who is worthy and who is not, and He will also judge those who may have had ample opportunity to accept the true gospel on Earth and rejected it.

Part of our job is to actively seek the truth, and when we believe we have found it, we should latch on to it and live by its values religiously (excuse the pun). Even if your choice was wrong in the end, if you were doing your best to live by the good principles you found, then you will not be condemned for your efforts. Sources: Personal Convictions Video It won't be anything like this!

Remember, good members of ANY church (or no church at all) will have an opportunity to make it to heaven.

Sure, there are many! Nduism and its contemporary counterpart new age are the best examples. Christianity is best known for its stance on exclusivity.

Traditional/mainline christianity states that jesus christ is the only way to salvation and entrance into heaven. Nduism states that all roads lead to god. That is also the main tenant of the new age movement today.

Hope that helps. Scott scooter326's Recommendations The Aquarian Conspiracy Amazon List Price: $16.95 Used from: $0.37 Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 14 reviews) scooter326's Recommendations Four Major Cults: Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh-Day Adventism Amazon List Price: $52.00 Used from: $29.80 Average Customer Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (based on 16 reviews) .

Possibly Buddhism Buddhism might be that religion. It doesn't strictly deal with a right way and a wrong way, but more with a collection of guiding principles for life... From Wikipedia: Buddhism is a set of teachings often described as a non-theistic 12 religion3 Many recent scholars regard it as a plurality rather than a single entity.4 As with other religions,5 some Buddhists claim that Buddhism is not a religion. Some say it is a body of philosophies...

I didn't realize the category existed." "religion" ""Religion is for people who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for people who have been through it. " comments? " (10 answers) "What does freedom of religion really mean to you?

Why? " "Have you ever known anyone that followed a not-so-conventional religion? " "Spiritually speaking, there doesn't seem to be a lot of activity in the Religion & Spirituality section, does there?" "why do you need religion?

" (15 answers).

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for people who have been through it. " comments? " (10 answers).

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.