This page groups denominations by how they are governed. Wikipedia notes that "the Catholic Church, led by the Bishop of Rome and the bishops worldwide in communion with him, is a communion of 24 Churches sui iuris." Browsing by polity lets a visitor compare a centrally governed denomination against one built from independent congregations.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingThe branches, legal schools and mystical traditions of Islam. The principal division follows the dispute over leadership after the death of the Prophet; the madhhabs are schools of legal interpretation rather than separate bodies; and Sufism cuts across the whole. 2 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryContested: denomination and sect fit Islam badly. A madhhab is a school of legal reasoning whose difference from the others is recognised as legitimate within Sunni Islam, not a church standing apart from another. 3 Learn More
The branches of Islam
This group gathers the main branches and movements of Islam. The principal division, dating to disputes over leadership after the Prophet Muhammad's death, is between Sunni Islam, the majority tradition, and Shia Islam, which holds that authority passed through the Prophet's family.
The browser will find the Sunni schools of law and the Shia branches (Twelver, Ismaili and others), along with Sufism, the mystical dimension found across both, and reform and revival movements of the modern period. The atlas describes each in its own terms, noting the theological and historical questions that separate them.
Authority in living jurists whom the laity choose to emulate
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Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition
P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs (eds.), Brill, 2005s.v. madhhabView the Source 3. An Introduction to Islamic Law
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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