Buddhism The historical
Buddha was known to denounce mere attachment to scriptures or
dogmatic principles, as it was mentioned in the
Kalama Sutta. Moreover, the
Theravada school of
Buddhism follows strict adherence to the
Pāli Canon (
tripiṭaka) and the commentaries such as the
Visuddhimagga. Hence, the Theravada school came to be considered the most orthodox of all Buddhist schools, as it is known to be highly conservative, especially within the discipline and practice of the
Vinaya.
Christianity is a common test of orthodoxy in Christianity.|alt= In classical Christian use, the term
orthodox refers to the set of doctrines which were believed by the
early Christians. A series of
ecumenical councils were held over a period of several centuries to try to formalize these doctrines. The most significant of these early decisions was that between the
homoousian doctrine of
Athanasius and
Eustathius (which became
Trinitarianism) and the
heteroousian doctrine of
Arius and
Eusebius of Nicomedia (
Arianism). The homoousian doctrine, which defined Jesus as both God and man with the canons of the 431
Council of Ephesus, won out in the Church and was referred to as
orthodoxy in most Christian contexts, since this was the viewpoint of previous Christian Church Fathers and was reaffirmed at these councils. (The minority of
nontrinitarian Christians object to this terminology.) Following the 1054
Great Schism, both the
Western Catholic Church and the
Eastern Orthodox Church continued to consider themselves uniquely
orthodox and
catholic.
Augustine wrote in
On True Religion: "Religion is to be sought…only among those who are called Catholic or orthodox Christians, that is, guardians of truth and followers of right." Over time, the Western Church gradually identified with the "Catholic" label, and people of Western Europe gradually associated the "Orthodox" label with the Eastern Church (in some languages the "Catholic" label is not necessarily identified with the Western Church). This was in note of the fact that both Catholic and Orthodox were in use as ecclesiastical adjectives as early as the 2nd and 4th centuries, respectively. Much earlier, the earliest
Oriental Orthodox Churches and
Chalcedonian Christianity separated into two after the
Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), because of several
Christological differences. Since then, Oriental Orthodox Churches have maintained the
orthodox designation as a symbol of their theological traditions.
Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of
Lutheranism, which began in 1580 with the publication of the
Book of Concord and ended with the onset of the
Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in
Calvinism and
Tridentine Roman Catholicism after the
Counter-Reformation. Lutheran scholasticism was a theological method that gradually developed during the era of Lutheran orthodoxy. Theologians used the
neo-Aristotelian form of presentation, already popular in academia, in their writings and lectures. They defined the Lutheran faith and defended it against the
polemics of opposing parties.
Reformed orthodoxy or Calvinist orthodoxy was an era in the history of
Calvinism spanning the 16th to 18th centuries. Calvinist orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in
Lutheranism and
Tridentine Roman Catholicism after the
Counter-Reformation. Calvinist scholasticism, also known as Reformed scholasticism, was a theological method that gradually developed during the era of Calvinist Orthodoxy.
Hinduism Orthodoxy does not exist in
Hinduism, as the word
Hindu itself collectively refers to the various beliefs of people who lived beyond the
Sindhu river (Indus river) in India. It is a record of the accepted teachings of each of thousands of
gurus, who others equate to prophets, and has no founder, no authority or command, but recommendations. The term most equivalent to orthodoxy at best has the meaning of "commonly accepted" traditions rather than the usual meaning of "conforming to a doctrine", for example, what people of middle eastern faiths attempt to equate as doctrine in Hindu philosophies is
Sanatana Dharma, but which at best can be translated to mean "ageless traditions", hence denoting that they are accepted not through doctrine and force but through multi-generational tests of adoption and retention based on circumstantial attrition through millennia. Still, the concepts of
āstika and nāstika of Indian philosophy are quite similar to
orthodoxy and
heterodoxy respectively, the ātiska being those who accept the
epistemic authority of the
Vedas.
Islam Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as "Orthodox Islam". Other scholars of Islam, such as John Burton, believe that there is no such thing as "Orthodox Islam".
Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a form of
Judaism that seeks to maintain the continuity of traditional
Jewish belief and practice, rooted in the
Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and the
Oral Torah (), and interpreted through
Jewish law () as transmitted by
rabbinic authority, while also shaped in practice by diverse
minhagim (, 'customs'). More specifically, the term "Orthodox" is used to describe those communities whose
hashkafa (, 'outlook' or 'worldview') are correlative—not necessarily identical or in agreement—yet originating from a 19th-century reaction to the challenges of
modernity and
secularization that arose during the
Haskalah (, 'wisdom' or 'education'), the so-called Jewish Enlightenment. In essence, Orthodox Judaism developed as a reconciliatory reaction of the historically cobelligerent
Hasidic Jewish community and non-Hasidic
Misnagdim () to the genesis of
Reform Judaism precipitated by the
Haskalah.
Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the
Torah,
both Written and Oral, as being literally
revealed by
God to
Moses on the
biblical Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted without alteration ever since. The movement advocates a strict observance of
halakha (Jewish Law), which is to be interpreted only according to received methods due to its divine character. Orthodoxy considers "halakha" as eternal – unchanged, unchanging, and unchangable – being applied differently to changing circumstances but essentially static in its nature. This viewpoint differs even from the opinions of other
Traditionalist Jewish approaches, whose adherents – to varying degrees – may disagree in the existence of a
separation between halakha and how it is interpreted and practiced, and/or acknowledge that halakha has shifted in some way, such as between the Pre-Temple Era, First and Second Temple Era, and the Post-Temple Era. Orthodox Judaism is not a centralized denomination. Relations between its different subgroups are sometimes strained, and at times in history openinly bellicose and violent amongst one another. Accordingly, the exact limits of Orthodoxy are subject to intense debate, and the labels used to describe groups that consider themselves to be Orthodox have and continue to shift. A major example is the development of
Open Orthodoxy in response to
Modern Orthodoxy's "sliding to the right" from the latter 20th-century and onwards, and the
Orthodox Union's the latter's adoption of the term "
Centrist Orthodoxy". Very roughly, Orthodox Judaism can be divided between
Haredi Judaism, which is more conservative and insular, and
Modern Orthodox Judaism, which is relatively open to the outside world and tends to engage in
political activism, especially concerning
Israel advocacy. It is to such a degree that within Israel itself, Modern Orthodoxy is known as
Religious Zionism, fusing religious practice with political philosophy. This is one of the factors which lead to Rabbi
Avi Weiss' ignition of the Open Orthodoxy movement, which nominally seeks to preserve the critical ambivalence, and even opposition, of
Diaspora Orthodoxy towards
Zionism. Haredi Judaism is also composed of multiple independent streams, some of which may be
Hasidic or
Mitnadic (Yeshivish / Litvish) Haredim and the Modern Orthodox are almost uniformly exclusionist, regarding their Orthodoxies as the only authentic form of Judaism and rejecting all non-Orthodox interpretations as illegitimate. This includes most non-Orthodox conversions, which has complicated Israel's Law of Return due to the political dominance of the Orthodox
Chief Rabbinate over many parts of Israeli civics, such as
marriage, and contentiously considering some non-Orthodox converts, and even some Orthodox conversions done outside of Israel as being
not Jewish.
Others Epicureanism is an orthodox secular philosophical belief based on the correct pursuit of pleasure and a natural rather than supernatural worldview. It has forty
Principal Doctrines, and Vatican Saying 41 mentions ὀρθῆς φιλοσοφίας φωνὰς ἀφιέντας ("
orthes philosophias phonas aphientas", which translates as "(never cease to) utter the sayings of correct philosophy").
Kemetic Orthodoxy is a denomination of
Kemetism, a reform reconstruction of
Egyptian polytheism for modern followers. It claims to derive a spiritual lineage from the
Ancient Egyptian religion. There are organizations of
Slavic Native Faith (Rodnovery) which characterize the religion as Orthodoxy and by other terms. ==Non-religious contexts==