| Name | Central Idea | Sacred Text(s) | Afterlife | Core Teachings | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judaism | God of Abraham | Tanakh | Olam HaBa | Covenant, Mitzvot | Israel (Abraham, Moses) |
| Christianity | God of Abraham (Trinity) | Bible | Heaven or Hell | Salvation, Love | Israel (Jesus) |
| Islam | God of Abraham | Qur’an | Paradise or Hell | Five Pillars | Arabia (Muhammad) |
| Hinduism | Many gods, all Brahman | Vedas, Bhagavad Gita | Samsara1 until reaching Moksha | Karma, Dharma | India (No single founder) |
| Buddhism | Nirvana (Enlightenment) | Tripitaka | Samsara1 until reaching Nirvana | Four Noble Truths | India (Buddha) |
| Daoism | Dao (The way) | Dao De Jing | Life comes from Dao, and returns to Dao | Harmony, Wu Wei | China (Laozi2, Zhuangzi) |
| Confucianism | Moral virtue | Analects | Ancestor veneration | Morality, Harmony | China (Confucius) |
1 In Hinduism the soul gets transferred during the rebirth, but in Buddhism not.
2 Laozi translates to “Old Teacher”. It’s uncertain if he was a historical figure.