Baha'i and Cao Dai: Differences and Similarities

Comparison chart: Differences - Similarities

 

Bahai'i                                                                                                     Cao dai

 

Place of worship	"House of Worship" (i.e. Temple) or any other place.	Temple.
Scriptures	Over 100 volumes of scripture. Baha'u'llah was the only Manifestation to write with His own pen over 20,000 Tablets of scripture. They are in the Baha'i Archives in Haifa Israel and less than 10% has been translated into English.	1. Prayers of the Heavenly and Earthly Way. 2. The Religious Constitution of Cao Daism. 3)The New Canonical Codes. 4)Compilation of Divine Messages. 5)Sermons of His Holiness, Ho Phap Pham Cong Tac.
Founder	Baha'u'llah, and His Herald the Bab	Ngo Van Chieu.
Concept of Deity	God in His Essence is beyond oneness and even attributes. But His attributes are recognized in His Manifestations. God is unknowable so we can know of God only through the Manifestation. Baha'u'llah is the Appearance of God promised in all religions.	One God.
Place of origin	Persia (Shiraz, Iran (by the Bab) and Tehran, Iran (private by Bahaullah)), and Baghdad, Iraq (public by Bahaullah). Buried in Israel.	Vietnam
Use of statues and pictures	Baha'is do not pray to them. They do not have pictures of Baha'u'llah in their homes and can only see Him when they go on pilgrimage to Israel. Bahais do not worship names and attributes, but worship the Essence who is beyond understanding	Common.
Branches	Universal House of Justice, Orthodox, Reform, Caravan of East & West,	Tay Ninh Holy See, Chieu Minh, Ben Tre, Da Nang, etc.
Angels	Angels are symbolic for stand-out human beings with great spiritual qualities.	Angels are God's messengers.
Practices	Working in economy in service of people; and prayer, and fasting. "Feast" and Holy Day observances are practiced. All Baha'is teach the Faith and many participate in Study Circles in various locations throughout the world	Prayer, Veneration of ancestors, Nonviolence, and vegetarianism.
Goal of religion	We are born to know, love, and worship God; and to recognize His Manifestation for our era (who in this day is Baha'u'llah). Baha'u'llah is the Promised One and Goal of religions.	To unite all the world religions into one religion.
Principle	All religions should become one world religion (unity in diversity), its better to have no religion than religion that leads to disagreement and war. Science and religion are both ways to understand. The Promised Time is Here.	All religions should become one world religion.
View of other Abrahamic religions	The Prophets of the Abrahamic religions are manifestations of God. The line of Abrahamic prophets are listed in the Bible and Quran. They all came to prepare mankind for the Day of God, the Encounter with God.	They believe that all religions should unite intoone world religion.
Literal Meaning	A Baha'i means one who is a follower of Baha (Glory/Splendor), or one who believes in "Baha" as the Greatest Name of God. "Baha" (Baha'u'llah) is believed to be that Glory that appeared to Moses and spoke to him on Mount Sinai.	God's Palace.
Time of origin	1844 AD. (Bab), 1852 AD. (private Bahaullah) and 1863 AD. (public Bahaullah)	Early part of the 20'th Century.
Marriage	Laws are only applicable to Bahais. They're described in the Book of Aqdas. Non-Bahais are not required to follow any Bahai laws. Laws include parental consent, the right to choose partner, reading special verses, requirement of 2 Bahai witnesses, et	Between one man and one woman.
Definition	Follower of Baha'u'llah.	God's Palace.
Clergy	Baha'is have no clergy and Baha'u'llah's writings may be seens as anti-clerical by blaming religious leaders to have always rejected the coming of the promised ones of their religions.	Priests, etc.
View of Animistic religions	Baha'is believe that all religions should unite and become one religion, but that they still worship the same one God.	Cao Daists believe that all religions should unite and become one religion.
About	Baha'i Faith believes in oneness, equality and unity of mankind, and has ushered in the Era of the unification of the world.	Cao Dai is an Oriental religion, originating with messages received by Ngo Van Chieu, from God, about uniting the different world religions.
Status of Adam	Adam symbolizes the first Manifestation of God sent to humanity. Another symbolism is that Adam represents the spirit of man and Eve represents the body of man.	First man.
Identity of Jesus	A divine Manifestation of God. He embodied all of God's Attributes. He is regarded as the "Spirit of God" and the "Word of God". Bahaullah claims to be the Father of The Spirit of Christ.	Jesus is One of the Religious Figures revered in Cao Dai.
Belief of God	One God who is beyond understanding and attributes (and even beyond existence itself). We know God only through His Manifestations (theism) and manifestations in creation (monism), though other methods of knowledge are also true. Relativity of truth.	One God. Ancestors are also worshipped.
Geographical predominance	Widespread across the globe. More than 2,100 different ethnic and tribal groups are represented. The Baha'i Faith is illegal and suppressed in most Middle Eastern countries.	Vietnam, United States, Europe, and Australia.
Holy days	9 Holy Days.The Baha'i calendar consists of 19 months and 19 days to each month, with the left over days being the Baha'i gift giving and charity days of Ayyam-i-Ha.	Hoi Yen Dieu Tri
Prophet	All the Founders of the different world religions are Prophets. The cycle beginning with Adam ended with Muhammad as the Seal of Prophets, a new Cycle began with the Bab and Baha'u'llah that transcends Prophethood.	All the Founders of the Different world religions, and even some famous historical people that did not found any religion.
Concept of God	Beyond understanding. One God who is beyond understanding and attributes. We know God only through His Manifestations and through all of creation (i.e. we know the Sun because of its light).	Before God Existed, there was the concept of the Tao.God was Born from the Big Bang.
Geographical distribution and predominance	Next to Christianity, the Baha'i Faith is the most widely diffused religion in the world.	Vietnam, North America.
Legislation	Universal House of Justice , in Haifa Israel. The UHJ decisions are without error.	The head Executive Branch is called 'Giao Tong.'
Place and Time of origin	Persia. 1844 AD	Vietnam. Early part of the 20'th Century.
View of Oriental religions	Baha'i is an Abrahamic religion, but, it believes that all religions should unite into one world religion.	Confucius and Lao Tzu are also included amongst Cao Dai's religious figures. They also worship ancestors, & other spirits, in accordance with Oriental religious belief.
View of other Dharmic religions	Moses, Abraham, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad and the Bab (a Twin Manifestation with Baha'u'llah and His Herald).	Buddha is counted amongst Cao Dai's religious figures.
Authority of Pope	Baha'u'llah wrote Tablets to the Pope, who is the representative of the majority of Christians of His time. Baha'u'llah announced Himself as the Promised One of Christianity to the Pope.	N/A.
Original Language	Persian and Arabic; Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice write in English.	Vietnamese.
View of God	One God who is beyond understanding and attributes. We know God only through His Manifestations and manifestations in creation.	One God.
View of the Buddha	A divine manifestation of God.	Buddha is one of the religious figures revered in Cao Dai.
View of other Oriental religions	Believe that all religions should become one.	Believes that all religions should unite as one religion.
Abrahamic Lineage	Abraham's sons by Keturah. The Bab was through Hagar.	N/A.
Praying to Saints,Mary, and Angel	Baha'is pray to God only, and God is unknowable in His Essence.	N/A.
Authority of Dalai Lama	N/A.	N/A.

 

Source: diffen.com