Orthodoxy

The historical Buddha was known to denounce mere attachment to scriptures or dogmatic principles, as it was mentioned in the Kalama Sutta.

[4] Moreover, the Theravada school of Buddhism follows strict adherence to the Pāli Canon (tripiṭaka) and the commentaries such as the Visuddhimagga.

Much earlier, the earliest Oriental Orthodox Churches and Chalcedonian Christianity separated in two after the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), because of several Christological differences.

[citation needed] Still, the concepts of āstika and nāstika of Indian philosophy are quite similar to orthodoxy and heterodoxy respectively, the ātiska being those who accept the epistemic authority of the Vedas.

Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on biblical Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted ever since.

The movement advocates a strict observance of halakha (Jewish Law), which is to be interpreted only according to received methods due to its divine character.

Orthodoxy considers halakha as eternal and beyond historical influence, being applied differently to changing circumstances but basically unchangeable in itself.

They are almost uniformly exclusionist, regarding Orthodoxy as the only authentic form of Judaism and rejecting all non-Orthodox interpretations as illegitimate.

Epicureanism is an orthodox secular philosophical belief based on the correct pursuit of pleasure and a natural rather than supernatural worldview.

The concept of orthodoxy pre-supposes some degree of agreed cultural standardisation - a system of social norms - whereby opinion can distinguish "correct" belief or doctrine from their "incorrect" equivalents.

[22] Where world-views or religious sentiment have not developed standardised, generally accepted systems of thought, orthodoxy cannot take root.

A deviation lighter than heresy is commonly called error, in the sense of not being grave enough to cause total estrangement, while yet seriously affecting communion.

However, orthodox belief is not usually overly emphasized in polytheistic or animist religions, in which there is often little or no concept of dogma, and varied interpretations of doctrine and theology are tolerated and sometimes even encouraged within certain contexts.

Adherence to the Nicene Creed is a common test of orthodoxy in Christianity.