Dharma vs Religion.

I happened to find this document in one the google groups. This work was put forward by Toronto Dharma Study group. One of the lucid and crisp document that explains the difference between Dharma and Religion. 

                     DHARMA*               is much more than          RELIGION

1.  Universal;   Applies to:  All Entities in Existence                                         All Times                                         All Places                                         No Exclusions	Applies to:    Believers only                      From the time of the Prophet                      All places                      Non-believers excluded
2.   Eternal; Without Beginning and Ending, with the entities in      existence ever Forming and Reforming	One Historical Beginning and Ending;  Religions rise & fall
3.   Eternal Principles (as in Shruti)	Historical Commandments, Canons and Dogmas
4.   Definition: That which upholds                       That without which nothing can stand                         That which maintains the stability & harmony	That which relates man by faith and belief to a  transcendental God
5.   Innate & Natural Order;       Inner Order Participating in the Larger Order	Organized & Institutionalized order
6.    One; All Inclusive, All Encompassing	Many; Each one Excusive
7.   Genuine Pluralism with Mutual Respect	Exclusive with Tolerance
8.   Principles Unchangeable;          Application Contextual (Flexible) leading to the best Dharmic       Actions in different circumstances	Commandments & Canons Unchangeable and Final;      Application must conform
9.   Realized by many Seers (Male & Female); No specific Founder	Founded by specific Prophets
10. Inherent part of the Infinite Reality that is both Transcendent &         Immanent	Dependent on unique conceptions of God
11. Many Ways to Practice (Sva-Dharma)	Each one has exclusive Way of Practice
12. Understanding/Self-realization	Belief
13. Justice is Win-Win as per Principles of Dharma	Justice as Punishment or Reward by God
14. Interpretations Propositional & Open for Self-Discovery	Interpretations are forbidden
15. No conflict with Science, as it is integral to Dharma	Always in conflict with Science
16. Dharma provides for adhyatma-vidya (First-Person Empiricism)	Practices must conform to scriptures
17. All Human (Male & Female), Plants, Animals, Matters are Sacred	Human and  All other entities lack divinity
18.  Goal: Liberation from All Limited Views                Self-Realization; Moksha; Nirvana; Enlightenment	Goal: Salvation/Paradise
19.  Inquiry & Questioning encouraged	Beliefs are immutable, and cannot be questioned
20.  Idea of Conversion absent; Understanding encouraged	Conversion is mandated; Understanding is not sufficient
21.  Dharma nurtures & enriches All Traditions	Religions digest the local traditions
22. Allows many freedoms: freedom to learn from within oneself, freedom from conditioning and karma, freedom from historyand institutional authority, freedom to choose own personal path, freedom of choice of personal deity.	Burden of sin and guilt; controlled by institutional authority, historical precedent, and religious exclusivity