Across families
Religious Daoism and Shaivism
Different families with 13 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.13 (0 would be identical).
The same cosmology, staffed: a vast celestial bureaucracy, an ordained priesthood, liturgy, talismans and the pursuit of bodily transcendence through internal alchemy. Practically the opposite of its philosophical sibling on ritual and authority.
Shiva as both the absolute and the immediate reality of consciousness, approached through recognition, yoga and temple practice. Spans ascetic and tantric extremes, so D3 sits mid-scale with a wide dispersion for good reason.
Where they agree
A1 Divine reality
Both sit at a divine reality certainly exists — a gap of 0.00.
C1 Survival of the self
Both sit at continues in some form — a gap of 0.00.
A4 Locus
Both sit at leaning fully present within it and fully present within it respectively — a gap of 0.03.
B3 Institutional authority
Both sit at leaning clergy and tradition decide — a gap of 0.04.
E1 Exclusivity
Both sit at between one true path and many valid paths — a gap of 0.04.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at leaning achieved by effort or insight — a gap of 0.05.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at leaning beginningless or natural and beginningless or natural respectively — a gap of 0.07.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Both sit at essential and prescribed — a gap of 0.07.
A2 Personhood
Both sit at leaning a personal being one can address — a gap of 0.10.
C3 The human condition
Both sit at leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound — a gap of 0.10.
E3 Locus of belonging
Both sit at between a people, inherited and an individual choice — 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.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at leaning literal and binding and between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all respectively — a gap of 0.12.
Where they part company
A3 Plurality
Religious Daoism: many powers and spirits. Shaivism: between strictly one and many powers and spirits. A gap of 0.54 on an axis running from “strictly one” to “many powers and spirits”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Religious Daoism | Shaivism | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly exists | 0.00 |
| A2 Personhood | leaning a personal being one can address | leaning a personal being one can address | 0.10 |
| A3 Plurality | many powers and spirits | between strictly one and many powers and spirits | 0.54 |
| A4 Locus | leaning fully present within it | fully present within it | 0.03 |
| B1 Source of truth | leaning revealed and fixed | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience | 0.23 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | leaning literal and binding | between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all | 0.12 |
| B3 Institutional authority | leaning clergy and tradition decide | leaning clergy and tradition decide | 0.04 |
| C1 Survival of the self | continues in some form | continues in some form | 0.00 |
| C2 Shape of time | between one life, then judgment and cyclical return | cyclical return | 0.35 |
| C3 The human condition | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.10 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | leaning achieved by effort or insight | leaning achieved by effort or insight | 0.05 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | essential and prescribed | essential and prescribed | 0.07 |
| D3 The body | leaning to be celebrated | between to be disciplined and to be celebrated | 0.27 |
| E1 Exclusivity | between one true path and many valid paths | between one true path and many valid paths | 0.04 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | leaning beginningless or natural | beginningless or natural | 0.07 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | 0.10 |
| E4 Standing of nature | animate and itself sacred | leaning animate and itself sacred | 0.10 |
Positions for Religious Daoism rest principally on Daozang liturgical corpus and Quanzhen/Zhengyi practice; for Shaivism, on Shaiva Agamas, Tirumantiram and Kashmir Shaiva Pratyabhijna texts. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.
The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.