About
“Lowest common denominator” means reducing things to their weakest shared part. This site argues the opposite. What the world’s religions share are some of the greatest things they teach: love of the divine and of neighbour, mercy, forgiveness, honesty, humility, generosity, peace, care for the earth.
We show this in the traditions’ own words. Every verse is copied from a public-domain or free-use translation, printed next to the original language where we have it, and linked to the page we copied it from.
What we don’t claim
We don’t claim the religions are the same, or rank them, or say which is true. Each theme ends with a short note on where the traditions differ. Passages about violence, punishment or exclusivity are left out, because this collection is about shared ground, not the whole of any scripture.
How verses are checked
A verse marked Awaiting check was copied from its source but has not yet been compared word for word by a second person. Once it has, the marker goes away. Right now 462 of 462 verses are checked.
Translations used
| Tradition | Verses | Text and translation |
|---|---|---|
| Buddhism | 52 | Dhammapada: F. Max Müller (1881); Sutta Nipata: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0); Anguttara Nikaya: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0); Digha Nikaya: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0) |
| Christianity | 80 | Bible: KJV (1769) |
| Confucianism | 63 | Analects: James Legge (1861); Mencius: James Legge (1861); Doctrine of the Mean: James Legge (1861); Great Learning: James Legge (1861) |
| Hinduism | 17 | Bhagavad Gita: K.T. Telang (1882); Rig Veda: Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896); Isha Upanishad: F. Max Müller (1879); Chandogya Upanishad: F. Max Müller (1879); Mundaka Upanishad: F. Max Müller (1884); Taittiriya Upanishad: F. Max Müller (1884) |
| Islam | 66 | Quran: Yusuf Ali (1934) |
| Jainism | 45 | Uttaradhyayana Sutra: Hermann Jacobi (1895); Sutrakritanga: Hermann Jacobi (1895); Acaranga Sutra: Hermann Jacobi (1884); Kalpa Sutra: Hermann Jacobi (1884) |
| Judaism | 67 | Tanakh: JPS (1917); Pirkei Avot: Charles Taylor (1897) |
| Sikhism | 32 | Guru Granth Sahib: Sant Singh Khalsa |
| Sufism | 34 | Masnavi: E.H. Whinfield (1898); Divan of Hafiz: Gertrude Bell (1897); Bustan: A. Hart Edwards (1911); Kashf al-Mahjub: R.A. Nicholson (1911); Alchemy of Happiness: Claud Field (1909) |
| Taoism | 6 | Tao Te Ching: James Legge (1891); Zhuangzi: James Legge (1891) |
Report a mistake
If a verse is misquoted, mistranslated or unfairly placed under a theme, please tell us, and include the verse’s reference.