Samaritanism

Samaritanism
Family	Abrahamic / Israelite
Origin region	Ancient Israel and Samaria
Founding period	Ancient Israelite roots; living community to the present
Estimated adherents	A small Samaritan community centered mainly in Israel and the West Bank.

Samaritanism is samaritanism is an ancient Israelite religious tradition centered on the God of Israel, the Samaritan Torah, Mount Gerizim, priestly continuity, and distinctive communal practice.

Overview

Samaritanism shares ancient Israelite roots with Judaism but developed as a separate religious community with its own priesthood, textual tradition, sacred geography, and calendar. Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the central sacred site in Samaritan religious identity.

Key beliefs

• One God, the God of Israel
• The Torah as sacred scripture, preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch
• Mount Gerizim as the chosen holy place
• Moses as the supreme prophet
• Resurrection and final judgment in Samaritan teaching

Practices

• Sabbath observance
• Passover sacrifice on Mount Gerizim
• Torah reading and liturgy
• Purity laws and festival observances
• Endogamous communal traditions

Places of worship

• Synagogue
• Mount Gerizim
• Community ritual space

Sacred texts

• Samaritan Pentateuch
• Samaritan liturgical texts
• Chronicles and theological writings

Holidays and observances

• Passover
• Festival of Unleavened Bread
• Shavuot
• Sukkot
• Yom Kippur according to the Samaritan calendar

Branches and related traditions

• Judaism - A related Israelite tradition with separate textual and religious development.
• Abrahamic religions - A wider family of traditions connected to Abrahamic and Israelite heritage.

See also

• Religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion
• New Religious Movements
• Indigenous and Traditional Religions