Explore the many ways people think about God.

One God, one God in many forms, many gods, a path with no creator, or no God at all. Each view is described as the people who hold it would recognize it, with each tradition's own account beside historians' views and every fact sourced.

The verdict is yours.

Explore the guidesCompare side by sideSee the Writings

The library so far

Religions

The faith guides

Every guide has the same eight pages, in the same order and at the same depth, so any two can be read side by side.

Map

How the faiths spread

Where each faith was present from 2000 BCE to 1900, in regions drawn from cited sources, with the tradition's account and historians' account side by side. From 1950 to 2020, the map shows followers by country, for each faith its sources count separately.

Open the mapThe data and sources

World map with colored dots showing where each counted faith's followers lived in 2020, country by country.
The map at its 2020 step: one dot for every 100,000 followers, by country, from Pew Research Center's figures. Every source is on the data page.

Compare

Two traditions, side by side

The same questions put to two traditions, with equal room for each and no winner named. The pairings follow the book series, and the order implies no ranking.

  • Christianity vs Buddhism

    Christianity and Buddhism side by side: ultimate reality, the human problem, salvation or liberation, life after death, and how each sees the other.

  • Christianity vs Hinduism

    Christianity and Hinduism compared on God, origins, scripture, the human problem, salvation or liberation, death, central figures, worship, and each other.

  • Christianity vs Islam

    Christianity and Islam on God, Jesus, Muhammad, scripture, the human problem, salvation, and the afterlife, with views from Christian and Muslim branches.

  • Christianity vs Judaism

    Christianity and Judaism side by side: God, origins, scripture, the human problem, the way forward, after death, practice, and how each sees the other.

How the comparisons work

Writings

The surviving copies behind the texts

The surviving manuscripts, scrolls, inscriptions, and early printed editions behind each faith's texts. Each entry keeps three dates apart: the date of the text itself, the date the copy was made, and the date it was found.

All 60 entries, on one timeline

The book series

The Strongest Case

A book series that sets two positions side by side, starting with whether there is a God at all, and gives each its strongest case.

Both sides at full strength. The verdict is yours.

See the books