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The supposed beliefs are not the best way to look at the distinction, especially sociologically - that's like examining Catholic / Protestant split through the
by fiatmoney 10y ago
The supposed beliefs are not the best way to look at the distinction, especially sociologically - that's like examining Catholic / Protestant split through the lens of their position on transubstantiation.
Far more interesting is the way in which they, eg, handle selection of clergy, or marriage patterns.
Shia clergy for instance is far more hierarchical than Sunni, which arguably is better for social stability since it avoids as many random yahoos deciding they have a hotline to god, who incidentally wants them to go on jihad.
- Cyph0n 10y ago> avoids [...] random yahoos Have you seen the video of an Iraqi Shia cleric claiming that eating rabbit meat is forbidden because rabbits are insects? Hierarchy can only take you so far. There will always be uneducated idiots. The best way for quality control is to educate clerics at the national level and allow only those certified to actually preach or lead in prayer.