a Buddhism: The oldest Buddhist school, Theravada is
practiced mostly in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Thailand,
with minority representation elsewhere in Asia and the West.
Theravadans follow the Pali Canon of Buddha's teachings, and believe
that one may escape the cycle of rebirth, worldly attachment, and
suffering for oneself; this process may take one or several lifetimes.

Mahayana Buddhism, including subsets Zen and Tibetan Buddhism: Forms
of Mahayana Buddhism are common in East Asia and Tibet, and parts of
the West. Mahayanas have additional scriptures beyond the Pali Canon
and believe the Buddha is eternal and still teaching. Unlike Theravada
Buddhism, Mahayana schools maintain the Buddha-nature is present in all
beings and all will ultimately achieve enlightenment.

Christianity - Descending from Judaism, Christianity's central belief
maintains Jesus of Nazareth is the promised messiah of the Hebrew
Scriptures, and that his life, death, and resurrection are salvific for
the world. Christianity is one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic
faiths, along with Islam and Judaism, which traces its spiritual
lineage to Abraham of the Hebrew Scriptures. Its sacred texts include
the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament (or the Christian Gospels).

Basic Groupings

Catholicism (or Roman Catholicism): This is the oldest established
western Christian church and the world's largest single religious body.
It is supranational, and recognizes a hierarchical structure with the
Pope, or Bishop of Rome, as its head, located at the Vatican. Catholics
believe the Pope is the divinely ordered head of the Church from a
direct spiritual legacy of Jesus' apostle Peter. Catholicism is
comprised of 23 particular Churches, or Rites - one Western (Latin-
Rite) and 22 Eastern. The Latin Rite is by far the largest, making up
about 98% of Catholic membership. Eastern-Rite Churches, such as the
Maronite Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church, are in communion
with Rome although they preserve their own worship traditions and their
immediate hierarchy consists of clergy within their own rite. The
Catholic Church has a comprehensive theological and moral doctrine
specified for believers in its catechism, which makes it unique among
most forms of Christianity.

Mormonism (including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints): Originating in 1830 in the United States under Joseph Smith,
Mormonism is not characterized as a f