Do other major religions have a supreme head in the same way as the Pope is the head of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church?

lanfranco

Other major religions tend to be divided into sects and branches. Jews, for example, can be Chasidic, Ultra-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. (Israel does have a Chief Rabbi, but he has no official authority over Jews elsewhere, to my knowledge.) "Orthodoxy" can refer to Greek or Russian or other groups. We Protestants have many denominations, ranging from mainstream to way out there. The supreme head of the Episcopal Church, the American branch of Anglicanism, is supposed to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, but you wouldn't know it by most of the Episcopalians I know. And one of the current problems in the Muslim world is that different Imams can and do offer differing interpretations of the faith for a variety of reasons. I think it's fair to say that there is no precise equivalent of the Pope for most religions, because there is no precise equivalent of Roman Catholicism. I admit that I am not entirely familiar with the situation in Buddhism. Apr 08 05, 10:13 AM

mibmob

Dalai Lama surely for Buddhists? Apr 08 05, 12:24 PM

picqero

I think not. According to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama he is not even head of the sect to which he belongs, this position being held by the 'Ganden Tripa'! Apr 08 05, 4:58 PM

melethiel

The Orthodox Church has the Patriarchs, which as far as I know function similarly to the Pope, except that I believe there are more than one. The Anglicans/Episcopals have the Archibishop of Canterbury. Most other denominations, as far as I know, are ruled by some form of committee, if they are ruled by anything. I don't know much about other religions. Apr 09 05, 4:33 PM

nada_h

Islam has no intermediaties. We do have 'imams' but it is different that a priest or pope in that an imam is only a religious leader. If you want forgiveness you simply ask God for forgiveness. Apr 27 06, 1:20 PM

Arpeggionist

Ancient Judaism had a body of leaders known as the "Sanhedrin". There have been attempts in modern times to restore this type of body to its former authority, but not much has come of it. The Sanhedrin was more a judicial/legislative body than a supreme authority, but many of the ancient decisions of the Sanhedrin are still treated thousands of years later by Jews around the world as having the full force of law. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanhedrin) Mar 10 10, 12:54 PM