Belief Compass

Across families

Candomblé and Chinese Folk Religion

Different families with 11 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.12 (0 would be identical).

CandombléAfro-Brazilian

West African orixá worship carried to Brazil and preserved through initiation rather than through text — knowledge is transmitted inside a house, in stages, by a hierarchy. The body is where the divine becomes present, not an obstacle to it.

Chinese Folk ReligionEast Asian

Ancestors, local gods, Buddhist figures and Daoist ritual specialists used together without embarrassment, organised around efficacy rather than around creed. Belonging is to a family and a place, not to a doctrine.

Where they agree

  • A3 Plurality

    Both sit at many powers and spirits — a gap of 0.00.

  • C1 Survival of the self

    Both sit at continues in some form — a gap of 0.00.

  • A2 Personhood

    Both sit at leaning a personal being one can address — a gap of 0.02.

  • A4 Locus

    Both sit at fully present within it — a gap of 0.02.

  • D2 Centrality of ritual

    Both sit at essential and prescribed — a gap of 0.03.

  • A1 Divine reality

    Both sit at a divine reality certainly exists — a gap of 0.05.

  • C2 Shape of time

    Both sit at between one life, then judgment and cyclical return — a gap of 0.07.

  • B1 Source of truth

    Both sit at between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience — a gap of 0.10.

  • C3 The human condition

    Both sit at leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound — a gap of 0.10.

  • E4 Standing of nature

    Both sit at animate and itself sacred and leaning animate and itself sacred respectively — a gap of 0.10.

  • E3 Locus of belonging

    Both sit at leaning a people, inherited — a gap of 0.12.

All seventeen axes

AxisCandombléChinese Folk ReligionGap
A1 Divine realitya divine reality certainly existsa divine reality certainly exists0.05
A2 Personhoodleaning a personal being one can addressleaning a personal being one can address0.02
A3 Pluralitymany powers and spiritsmany powers and spirits0.00
A4 Locusfully present within itfully present within it0.02
B1 Source of truthbetween revealed and fixed and reason and direct experiencebetween revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience0.10
B2 Reading of sacred textmetaphorical, or no text at allleaning metaphorical, or no text at all0.16
B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decidebetween clergy and tradition decide and individual conscience decides0.40
C1 Survival of the selfcontinues in some formcontinues in some form0.00
C2 Shape of timebetween one life, then judgment and cyclical returnbetween one life, then judgment and cyclical return0.07
C3 The human conditionleaning ignorant but fundamentally soundleaning ignorant but fundamentally sound0.10
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodbetween given as grace and achieved by effort or insightleaning achieved by effort or insight0.13
D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribedessential and prescribed0.03
D3 The bodyleaning to be celebratedbetween to be disciplined and to be celebrated0.17
E1 Exclusivityleaning many valid pathsmany valid paths0.20
E2 Origin of the cosmosleaning an intentional actbetween an intentional act and beginningless or natural0.34
E3 Locus of belongingleaning a people, inheritedleaning a people, inherited0.12
E4 Standing of natureanimate and itself sacredleaning animate and itself sacred0.10

Positions for Candomblé rest principally on Candomblé oral tradition and Bastide, The African Religions of Brazil; for Chinese Folk Religion, on Ethnographic scholarship on Chinese popular religion (Feuchtwang, Yang). Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.

Which of the two is closer to you?

The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.