Across families

Conservative (Masorti) Judaism and Nizari Ismailism

Different families with 10 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.14 (0 would be identical).

Conservative (Masorti) JudaismJudaism

Halakhah is binding and also historically developed, so the law changes deliberately and slowly through a scholarly process. Sits between Orthodox and Reform on almost every axis, and does so on purpose.

Nizari IsmailismIslam

Reads scripture allegorically through ta’wil, guided by a living hereditary Imam whose interpretation is authoritative for the present. The combination of esoteric reason and highly centralised living authority is close to unique in this matrix.

Where they agree

C2 Shape of time
Both sit at one life, then judgment — a gap of 0.00.
E4 Standing of nature
Both sit at between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred — a gap of 0.00.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at an intentional act — a gap of 0.03.
A2 Personhood
Both sit at leaning a personal being one can address — a gap of 0.04.
A1 Divine reality
Both sit at a divine reality certainly exists — a gap of 0.05.
A3 Plurality
Both sit at strictly one — a gap of 0.06.
D3 The body
Both sit at between to be disciplined and to be celebrated — a gap of 0.06.
A4 Locus
Both sit at between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it — a gap of 0.07.
C3 The human condition
Both sit at leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound and between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally sound respectively — a gap of 0.10.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight — a gap of 0.10.

All seventeen axes

Axis	Conservative (Masorti) Judaism	Nizari Ismailism	Gap
A1 Divine reality	a divine reality certainly exists	a divine reality certainly exists	0.05
A2 Personhood	leaning a personal being one can address	leaning a personal being one can address	0.04
A3 Plurality	strictly one	strictly one	0.06
A4 Locus	between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it	between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it	0.07
B1 Source of truth	leaning revealed and fixed	between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience	0.25
B2 Reading of sacred text	between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all	leaning metaphorical, or no text at all	0.38
B3 Institutional authority	leaning clergy and tradition decide	clergy and tradition decide	0.23
C1 Survival of the self	between ends at death and continues in some form	continues in some form	0.36
C2 Shape of time	one life, then judgment	one life, then judgment	0.00
C3 The human condition	leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound	between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally sound	0.10
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good	between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight	between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight	0.10
D2 Centrality of ritual	essential and prescribed	between essential and prescribed and optional or absent	0.33
D3 The body	between to be disciplined and to be celebrated	between to be disciplined and to be celebrated	0.06
E1 Exclusivity	leaning many valid paths	between one true path and many valid paths	0.20
E2 Origin of the cosmos	an intentional act	an intentional act	0.03
E3 Locus of belonging	a people, inherited	leaning a people, inherited	0.20
E4 Standing of nature	between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred	between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred	0.00

Positions for Conservative (Masorti) Judaism rest principally on Emet Ve-Emunah (1988) and Committee on Jewish Law and Standards responsa; for Nizari Ismailism, on Ismaili ta’wil literature and contemporary Imamate guidance. 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.