I think I would describe the difference you see rather in quantitative than in qualitative terms. There may be greatly fewer maxims someone has to accept to call themselves EA than there are, e.g., in religions, but I can think of two:
The well-being of other sentient beings is morally relevant.
There are levels of well-being or groups of beings that are greater or smaller than others.
I think if someone rejects either of these, they can’t (and won’t want to) call themselves EA. I know several people who would reject #1 at least in some or most circumstances, and I’ve met people who at least claimed to reject #2 (not sure if after reflection).
This parsimony will hopefully make EA more robust though.
I think I would describe the difference you see rather in quantitative than in qualitative terms. There may be greatly fewer maxims someone has to accept to call themselves EA than there are, e.g., in religions, but I can think of two:
The well-being of other sentient beings is morally relevant.
There are levels of well-being or groups of beings that are greater or smaller than others.
I think if someone rejects either of these, they can’t (and won’t want to) call themselves EA. I know several people who would reject #1 at least in some or most circumstances, and I’ve met people who at least claimed to reject #2 (not sure if after reflection).
This parsimony will hopefully make EA more robust though.