Across families
Roman Catholicism and Zoroastrianism
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: 0.16 (0 would be identical).
A personal, transcendent God known through revelation and reason together, mediated by a sacramental church with teaching authority. Humanity is wounded and rescued by grace, which reaches people through sacraments rather than around them.
A wholly good creator, a real opposing principle, and a cosmos that will be made whole at the end — with human beings as free participants who decide the outcome by what they think, say and do. Matter is good, asceticism is rejected, and the elements are kept ritually pure.
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.
E1 Exclusivity
Both sit at leaning one true path — a gap of 0.00.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Both sit at essential and prescribed — a gap of 0.03.
C2 Shape of time
Both sit at one life, then judgment — a gap of 0.03.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at an intentional act — a gap of 0.03.
A3 Plurality
Both sit at leaning strictly one — a gap of 0.05.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at leaning literal and binding — a gap of 0.05.
A2 Personhood
Both sit at a personal being one can address — a gap of 0.07.
B1 Source of truth
Both sit at revealed and fixed and leaning revealed and fixed respectively — a gap of 0.10.
Where they part company
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Roman Catholicism: leaning given as grace. Zoroastrianism: leaning achieved by effort or insight. A gap of 0.62 on an axis running from “given as grace” to “achieved by effort or insight”.
C3 The human condition
Roman Catholicism: fallen and in need of rescue. Zoroastrianism: between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally sound. A gap of 0.47 on an axis running from “fallen and in need of rescue” to “ignorant but fundamentally sound”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Roman Catholicism | Zoroastrianism | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly exists | 0.00 |
| A2 Personhood | a personal being one can address | a personal being one can address | 0.07 |
| A3 Plurality | leaning strictly one | leaning strictly one | 0.05 |
| A4 Locus | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it | 0.13 |
| B1 Source of truth | revealed and fixed | leaning revealed and fixed | 0.10 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | leaning literal and binding | leaning literal and binding | 0.05 |
| B3 Institutional authority | clergy and tradition decide | leaning clergy and tradition decide | 0.20 |
| C1 Survival of the self | continues in some form | continues in some form | 0.00 |
| C2 Shape of time | one life, then judgment | one life, then judgment | 0.03 |
| C3 The human condition | fallen and in need of rescue | between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.47 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | leaning given as grace | leaning achieved by effort or insight | 0.62 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | essential and prescribed | essential and prescribed | 0.03 |
| D3 The body | leaning to be disciplined | between to be disciplined and to be celebrated | 0.27 |
| E1 Exclusivity | leaning one true path | leaning one true path | 0.00 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | an intentional act | an intentional act | 0.03 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | a people, inherited | 0.37 |
| E4 Standing of nature | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred | leaning animate and itself sacred | 0.38 |
Positions for Roman Catholicism rest principally on Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997); for Zoroastrianism, on Avesta, the Gathas, and the Denkard. 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.