Judaism

Judaism is considered the historical precursor to both Christianity and Islam, and via a strong cultural tradition of survival in other lands it remains as a distinct but diverse diaspora across the world.

Beliefs
Jews believe that they are the Chosen People descended from a personal covenant between God and their ancestor Abraham, and that they must abide by this covenant and its many extensions. The Jewish God is unitary and solitary, debatably both deeply personal and infinitely incomprehensible to His people. Jewish practice is highly focused on the laws which they believe are their part in maintaining the covenant, and much of their theology is focused on interpreting and understanding these laws and their relationship to Jewish identity and relationship with God. Judaism also has much less of a focus on the afterlife and eschatology than other monotheistic faiths: while there is the prophecy of the Messiah who will come to save the Jewish people and the covenant, life and death are not a singular march to one event, and the perceived “goal” for many Jews is not a distinct afterlife but merely closeness to God which can be attained at any point. It is difficult to generalize much more of the faith, however, due to many denominations and movements all roughly agreed on their identity but highly contentious in practice.

Organization
Judaism has not had a central hierarchy ever since the beginning of the diaspora, but there is a tradition of structure and education to their communities that leads to relatively tight-knit groups and adherence to a variety of traditions and cycles.