Guide to Divinity

Our Guide to Divinity has two uses for the reader. As a primer, it will acquaint the reader with the major religious systems of the world by concisely exposing the doctrines of various faiths. Understanding the parallels between various religions might be the only way for one to learn what is unique about any one faith.

The Universal Life Church Monastery makes as its goal the promotion of interaction between various religions and the free exchange of ideas to the end that each faith tradition can benefit humankind.

All of the ideas and concepts expressed are debatable. The sections for individual faith traditions express the most common or popular beliefs of each faith’s practitioners. Anyone who disagrees with a claim set forth in this selection are welcome to take part in discussion on the forums of the Universal Life Church Monastery, where every opinion has a voice.

Introduction

The Universal Life Church Monastery invites each of its ministers to define religious terms as they see fit, but for the purposes of this guide we shall define the following.

“Religion,” as ULC Monastery defines it, is a method by which a sentient entity can bring out some profound beneficial change. The ULC Monastery prefers this definition to all others because it encompasses all world religions as well as most other less prominent faith systems. One interpretation of this definition is that all religions have a way of expressing that humankind at large has some flaw.

• The flaw makes all who possess it unsatisfied
• The flaw is the only cause of dissatisfaction
• A specific faith system is a way to relieve the flaw

(Please note that while many definitions of religion will cover major world religions, this particular definition also respectfully applies to non-spiritual faith systems such as atheism.)