It occurs to me that this thread could well be called
Flamewars II: The Return of Arsonist. This is one of those topics that you just
don't discuss to keep things polite. However, this forum has never been about following societies rules, so...
Here's how the breakdown should work for the poll choices:
Abrahamic religions
.|- Judaism (all sects)
.|- Islam (all tribes)
.\- Christianity
..|-Catholisism
..|-Protistant (Including all offshoots, such as Baptist, Luthran, etc.)
..\- Mormonism (a.k.a. - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS))
....\-"Fundamentalist Mormons" (Breakaway sects from the LDS church)
Ancient European religions
.|- Druidic (all groups)
.|- Old Wiccan
.|- Other Wiccan (modern groups)
.\- (Others I'm sure I'm forgetting)
Tribal religions (Native American, tribal African, etc.)
Eastern
.|- Buddism
.|- Shinto
.|- Hindu
.\(Others I'm forgetting or don't know about)
Non-religious a.k.a. -- Humanist
.|- Atheist (There is no God)
.|- Agnostic (Maybe there is, maybe not)
.\- Non-theist (Who cares?)
Other
Of course, in spite of how complete I tried to make that list, I
know I left some out on accident. A complete list would probably stretch for several dozen printed pages.
And now, HomerNet's guide to classifying religions
Find the core of that religion. Whatever that core is, that's how you classify it.
For example, if it's a Christian religion:
Fluff <-The culture of a religion
Stuff <-Commandments, edicts, and scriptures
Christ <-Acknowledging Christ's divinity
God <-The one supreme being to worship
Note to the nitpickers: Whether you believe that Christ and God are the same being or not, what separates Christianity from Judaism and Islam (who worship the same God) is the acknowledgement of Christ's divinity, so putting that "Christ" in as a separate concept is necessary for the present discussion.
For another example, Judaism and Islam:
Fluff <-The culture of a religion-> Fluff
Stuff <-Commandments, edicts, and scriptures-> Stuff
Isaac <-Inheritor of the Abrahamic covenant-> Ishmael
God (Jehova) <--The one supreme being to worship--> God (Alah)
Note: Apologies if I misspelled or gave the wrong name to something, this is not a topic I indulge in enough to know details off the top of my head, which is how I'm writing this.
Christians (which
includes Mormons and Catholics) can bicker about what makes a "true Christian" all they want, but if they put their heads up long enough to look around at the other religions, they would notice that all the
other religions bicker just as much about what makes a "true <insert religion name here>".
Missused words
Many people confuse polytheism with pantheism, that is, the idea that the acknowledgement of multiple gods automatically presumes the worship of multiple gods.
Japan could be concidered pantheistic, as they believe in a god (kami) for just about everything. (They also practice ancestor worship, which is neither here nor there)
Polytheism is merely an acknowledgement of the existance of other gods. You might accurately say that Mormons are polytheists, but they only
worship a single God. I forget the scripture reference, but one of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," (someone
else can check my accuracy on that) sort of a roundabout admission in the concept of other gods.
To clarify the Mormon position:
You --> Christ --> God
^----Holy Ghost----+
You, the person worshiping God, does so in the name of Jesus Christ, and God answers with the Holy Ghost. Take out the Holy Ghost, God can't talk back without direct communication (another topic entirely), without Christ, we can't return to God. The fulcrum (if you will) is God. Mormons only worship one God, but acknowledge the divinity of all three.
In contrast, the Catholic position:
You --> Saints --> God/Christ/Holy Ghost
^---Pope and priesthood---+
And Protistant (including all the other sects):
You --> God/Christ/Holy Ghost
^---------?--------+
What the question mark represents depends on the sect.
Re: Gouf_Custom's comment; "Mormonism is definitely NOT accepted by the Christian church."
WHICH ONE?!?!?! Many Christians seem to be under the impression that there are two sides in this debate, Mormons vs. Everyone Else. The fact of the matter is that
none of the Christian sects can agree on any two points. Either there's music in the chapel or there isn't. Either baptism is necessary or it isn't. Either works are necessary or the aren't.
There is no unity! And the Catholics say ALL of them are wrong. You can say
your church doesn't accept Mormonism as Christian, but you can't speak for
all Christian sects until they can all agree.
Which is about as likely to happen as Osama bin Laden giving a big ol' hug to President Bush without a bomb strapped to his chest or a knife in his hand.
Oh, and yes, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. REPRESENT!
Nor still is it the same as trendiWiccan. I've been a practicing Wiccan over half my life at this point and I'm raising my daughter to at least consider it...I think the trend's worn off. 
How did the project go?
