Ma`rifat Adyan

Every religion is confronted with the question that whether it has legitimacy and what are the norms and criteria for evaluating the true religion and for recognizing it from false one? Some of the criteria provided in this regard are as follows: its capacity of eschatology, moral criterion, religious experience, internal consistency, being a living religion, the duration of divine validity, and its conformity with reality. The present paper deals with these criteria. The only acceptable criterion is that a religion can be a true one if, first, all its sciences, practical injunctions, and moral decrees conform to reality and its respective objective existence' second, the claim of religions that they are the Most High God- approved path to attain perfection and happiness conforms to reality; that is, the Most High God has also approved them as a path to reach Him and as a program for life which pleases Him, and has ordained that men can achieve happiness and draw nigh to God by following these religions. Those religions whose all doctrines conform to reality, are still valid, and undistorted have legitimacy.