Religions Essay, Research Paper

Christianity was traditionally understood to be founded by

Jesus of Nazareth. Paul of Tarsus, after his conversion on

the road to Damascus, worked tirelessly to establish

Christianity among both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles of the

Diaspora. Clues in the New Testament indicate that there was

a significant rift between Paul and the Jewish leadership

early in the history of the Church. It is primarily Paul’s

writings which has most influenced the Church today.

Christians span the globe and are present on all the

inhabited continents and in most of the world’s societies.

As Christianity is a universalizing religion, it embraces

all nations and peoples.

Major Teachings:

Most Christian denominations and sects teach that man is

sinful and can never inherit eternal life in the presence of

God as a result of the sins of our first parents, Adam and

Eve,as well as our own personal sin. It thus became

necessary for God to become man in the person of Jesus

Christ who as the Son of God was sinless and unblemished.

His purpose was to suffer and die in atonement for the sins

of all who accept his sacrifice for sin. Individual

salvation is dependent upon the acceptance of this

atonement. The Church is the Bride of Christ whose purpose

is to spread this message, “the Gospel”, to all people

before Christ’s return to the earth to rule all nations as

the heir to the throne of David. This is primary message of

most Christians. Other sects will have variations on this

message, and may include many other doctrines they find

necessary to their own message or purpose.

Scriptures and Other Significant Writings:

The New Testament together with the Jewish Bible make up the

canon of Christianity. The Roman Catholic and the Eastern

Orthodox branches of Christianity also include books in

their canons that many Protestants do not, called “the

Apocrypha” or the “Deuterocanonicals”. Also important are

the writings of the early church fathers and early church

councils, which established much of the doctrine now

considered dogma in the Church today. As of 1986, at least

one book of the Christian Bible has been translated into

1,848 languages of the world. A book has been compiled by

the United Bible Societies which lists languages

alphabetically, chronologically, and geographically Of the

present missionary efforts by many of Christianity’s sects,

biblical translation is just one of many.

Symbols: The most well known symbol of Christianity is

the cross, or crucifix, symbol of the death and resurrection

of Jesus Christ. An ancient symbol of Christianity is the

fish formed by two intersecting arcs. Often the Greek word

for fish, IXTHYS, appears within being an acronym for “Jesus

Christ God’s Son”.

Major Divisions:

The three major branches of Christianity are Roman

Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. There

are, arguably, other sects such as Mormonism claiming this

distinction due to major departures from orthodox doctrines.

Major Holy Days:

Although the differing divisions and sects of Christianity

may celebrate differing holidays, place emphasis on certain

holidays rather than others, or may use a differing

calendar, the major holy days of Christianity are: Lent,

Easter, Advent, and Christmas

The Details about Christianity:

Christianity arose as an obscure Jewish sect, and through

the dedicated missionary efforts of such persons as the

Apostle Paul was distributed throughout the Mediterranean

basin. Church tradition suggests that each of the remaining

Apostles of Jesus taught in such diverse places as the

British Isles and India. After years of official persecution

by the Roman Empire, Christianity was embraced as the state

religion by Emperor Constantine.Several important church

councils were held during this time period to decide on

controversies over doctrine. Eventually, the decisions of

these councils provided guidelines to determine orthodoxy or

heresy. The many divisions and sects now found in

Christianity today has been the result of opinions which

differed from the established doctrine.

The Geography of Christianity:

Christianity has greatly influenced the geography of

medieval Europe, and later, the rest of the world

due to colonization and missionary efforts. Perhaps the most

significant contribution of Christianity was the

reorganization of Europe from pagan bands and villages into

the centrally organized holds of feudal Europe. This

reorganization was patterned after the ecclesiastical

hierarchy envisioned by the Church and set the stage for all

that was to come in the future. Monasteries were set up

throughout Europe as either destinations or as

waystations for pilgrimages. Monasteries became the

repositories of civilization, learning, and often wealth.

The Church provided sanction and divine recognition for

governments of the day in the form of “Divine Right”.

The Church was responsible for the ordination of kings and

often arbitrated disputes over territory. Until the

Reformation, the Church was a power to be reckoned with in

both religious and secular matters. Also important in the

geography of Christianity is the special distribution of the

various denominations, each denomination’s geographic

divisions, and what effects each denomination has upon the

land. For example, many new Protestant sects such as the

Shakers experimented with new communal living arrangements

in a quest for utopia during the first part of the

nineteenth century. Although most of these efforts

eventually failed, they created intentionally designed

settlements of farms and workshops expressing new cultural

and societal ideals. Roman Catholicism and Mormonism express

their ecclesiastical geography through dividing the world

into a hierarchy of areas. Catholics and many Protestant

groups have missionary territories throughout the world.

ISLAM

Early History of Islam:

Most religious historians view Islam as having been founded

in 622 CE by Mohammed the Prophet in Median. It is seen as

the youngest of the world’s great religions. However, many

if not most of the followers of Islam

believe that:

1 Islam existed before Mohammed was born,

2 The origins of Islam date back to the creation of the

world,

3 Mohammed was the last of a series of Prophets.

Followers of Islam are called Muslims. “Muslim” is an Arabic

word that refers to a person who submits themselves to the

Will of God. “Allah” is an Arabic word which

means “the One True God.” An alternate spelling for “Muslim”

that is occasionally used is “Moslem”; it is not recommended

because it is often pronounced “Moslem”:

which sounds like an Arabic word for “oppressor”. Some

Western writers in the past have referred to Islam as

“Mohammedism”; this is deeply offensive to many Muslims,

as its usage can lead some to the concept that Mohammed the

Prophet was in some way divine. Little is known about

Muhammad’s childhood. He was orphaned at the age of 6 and

brought up by his uncle. As a child, he worked as a

shepherd. He was taken on a caravan to Syria by his uncle at

the age of 9. Later, as a youth, he was employed as a camel

driver on the trade routes between Syria and Arabia.

Mohammed later managed caravans on behalf of merchants. He

met people of different religious beliefs on his travels,

and was able to observe and learn about Judaism,

Christianity and the indigenous Pagan religions. After

marriage, he was able to spend more time in meditation. At

the age of 40, he was visited in Mecca by the angel

Gabriella. He developed the conviction that he had been

ordained a Prophet and given the task of converting his

countrymen from their pagan, polytheistic beliefs and what

he regarded as moral decadence, idolatry, hedonism and

materialism. He met considerable opposition to his

teachings. In 622 CE he moved north to Medina due to

increasing persecution. The trek is known as the hegira .

Here he was disappointed by the rejection of his message by

the Jews. Through military activity and political

negotiation, Mohammed became the most powerful leader in

Arabia, and Islam was firmly established in the area. By

750 CE, Islam had expanded to China, India, along the

Southern shore of the Mediterranean and into Spain. By 1550

they had reached Vienna. Wars resulted, expelling Muslims

from Spain and Europe. Since their trading routes were

mostly over land, they did not an develop extensive sea

trade. As a result, the old world occupation of North

America was left to Christians. Believers are currently

concentrated from the West coast of Africa to the

Philippines. In Africa, in particular, they are increasing

in numbers, largely at the expense of Christianity. Many do

not look upon Islam as a new religion. They feel that it is

in reality the faith taught by the ancient Prophets,

Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus. Mohammed’srole as the last

of the Prophets was to formalize and clarify the faith and

to purify it by removing foreign ideas that had been added

in error. At a level of 1.2 billion, they represent about

22% of the world’s population. They are

the second largest religion in the world; Christianity has

33%. Islam is growing about 2.9% per year which is faster

than the total world population which increases about 2.3%

annually. It is thus attracting a progressively larger

percentage of the world’s population. The number of Muslims

in North America is in dispute: estimates range from under 3

million to over 6 million. The main cause of the

disagreement appears to be over how many Muslim immigrants

have converted to Christianity since they arrived in the US.

Statistics Canada reports that 253,260 Canadians identified

themselves as Muslims during the 1991 census. Those figures

are believed to be an under-estimate.

Important Text

There are two main texts consulted by Muslims: the Qur’an

are the words of God. This was originally in oral and

written form; they were later assembled together into a

single book, the Qur’an. Its name is often spelled “Koran”

in English. This is not recommended, as some Muslims find it

offensive. The Hadith, which are collections of the sayings

of Mohammed. They are regarded as an excellent guide for

living. However, the writings are no regarded as having the

same status as the Holy Qur’an; the latter is considered to

be God’s word.

Muslim Beliefs and Practices:

Muslims follow a lunar calendar which started with the

hegira, a 300 mile trek in 622 CE when Mohammed relocated

from Mecca to Medina. A Muslim’s duties as described in the

Five Pillars of Islam are:

1.to recite at least once during their lifetime the

shahadah: “There is no God but God and Mohammed is his

Prophet. Most Muslims repeat it at least daily.

2.to perform the salat 5 times a day. This is recited while

orienting one’s body towards Mecca. It is done in the

morning, at noon, mid-afternoon, after sunset and just

before sleeping.

3.to donate regularly to charity through zakat, a 2.5%

charity tax, and through additional donations to the needy

as the individual believer feels moved.

4.to fast during the month of This is believed to be the

month that Mohammed received the Qur’an from God.

5.if economically and physically, to make at least one hajj

to Mecca.

Jihad (struggle) is probably the most misunderstood

religious word in existence. It often mentioned on Western

TV and radio during news about the Middle East, where it is

implied to be a synonym of “holy war” – a call to fight

against non-Muslims in the defense of Islam. The vast

majority of Muslims have an entirely different definition of

Jihad. It is seen as a personal, internal struggle with

one’s self. The goal may be achievement in a profession,

self-purification, the conquering of primitive instincts or

the attainment of some other noble goal.

Common beliefs:

God is the creator, is just, omnipotent and merciful

respect for earlier prophets and belief in their teachings:

Abraham, Moses and Jesus that Mohammed is the last of the

prophet belief in the existence of Satan who drives people

to sin that Muslims who sincerely repent and submit to God

return to a state of sinlessness belief in Hell where

unbelievers and sinners spend eternity. One translation of

the Qur’an 98:1-8 states: “The unbelievers among the People

of the Book and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire

of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. belief in

Paradise, a place of physical and spiritual pleasure where

the sinless go after death abstinence from alcohol and

gambling rejection of racism avoid the use of alcohol, other

drugs, eating of pork, etc. avoid gambling that Jesus is a

prophet. They regard the Christian concept of the deity of

Jesus to be blasphemous that Jesus was not executed on the

cross Originally, in Islamic countries, there was no

separation between religious and civil law, between Islam

and the state. Turkey and some other countries have become

secular states during this century. This is a controversial

move in Islamic circles. Understanding of Jesus, within

Islam and Christianity Traditional Christians and Muslims

have certain beliefs in common concerning Jesus. They both

accept that: Jesus’ birth was miraculous. Jesus was the

Messiah. He cured people of illness. He restored dead people

to life. However, they differ from Christians in a number of

major areas. Muslims do not believe: In original sin (that

everyone inherits a sinful nature because of Adam and Eve’s

transgression) That Jesus was killed during his crucifixion.

Muslims believe that he escaped being executed, and later

reappeared to his disciples without having first died. That

Jesus was resurrected (or resurrected himself) circa 30 CE

Salvation is dependent either upon belief in the

resurrection of Jesus or belief that Jesus is the Son of

God.

Schools within Islam:

There are four different schools of jurisprudence within

Islam. Much blood has been spilt over disputes between them.

The main divisions are: Followers of the Hanifa, Shafi,

Hanibal and Malik schools are called Sunni Muslims and

constitute a 90% majority of the believers. They are

considered to be main stream traditionalists. Because they

are comfortable pursuing their faith within secular

societies, they have been able to adapt to a variety of

national cultures, while following their three sources of

law: the Qur’an, Hadith and consensus of Muslims. Followers

of the Jafri school are called Shi’ite Muslims and

constitute a small minority of Islam. They split from the

Sunnis over a dispute about the successor to Mohammed. Their

leaders, Imams promote a strict interpretation of the Qur’an

and close adherents to its teachings. They believe in 12

heavenly Imams (perfect teachers) who guide the faithful

from their locations in Paradise.There are over 70 other

groups which originated within Islam and broke away from

the Sunni and Shi’ite faith communities: Sufism: a mystic

tradition in which followers seek inner knowledge directly

from God through meditation and ritual and dancing. They

developed in the 7th century CE as an ascetic reaction to

the formalism and laws of the Qur’an. Baha’i World Faith:

This is an attempt to integrate all of the world religions.

It was originally a break-away sect from Islam but has since

grown to become a separate religion. Ahmadis: Followers of

the Ahmadiyya Movement believe that God sent Ahmad as a

Messiah, “a messenger of His in this age who has claimed to

have come in the spirit and power of Jesus Christ. He has

come to call all people around one Faith, i.e. Islam…” The

movement’s founder was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-

1908). He was born in Qadian, India. He felt that he had a

mandate from God to correct a serious error within

Christianity. Most Christians believe that Jesus is a member

of the Godhead. “…because Jesus, whom God sent as a

Messiah to the Israelites was taken for a God, Divine

jealousy ordained that another man [Ahmad] should be sent as

Messiah so that the world may know that the first Messiah

was nothing more than a weak mortal.” After his death, the

community elected a series of Khalifas (successors). The

current and “Fourth Successor (Khalifatul Masih IV), to the

Promised Messiah was chosen in the person of Hazrat Mirza

Tahir Ahmad” on 1982-JUN-10. The Ahmadiyya Community

currently has more than 10 million members worldwide. They

are very heavily persecuted in Pakistan. Black Muslim

Movement (BMM): This is largely a black urban movement in

the US. One driving force was a rejection of Christianity as

the religion of the historically oppressing white race. It

was started by Wallace Fard who built the first temple in

Detroit. Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Poole) established a

second temple in Chicago and later supervised the creation

of temples in most large cities with significant black

populations. They taught that blacks were racially superior

to whites and that a racial war is inevitable. The

charismatic Malcolm X was perhaps their most famous

spokesperson; he plaid an important role in reversing the

BMM’s anti-white beliefs. In its earlier years, the movement

deviated significantly from traditional Islamic beliefs

(particularly over matters of racial tolerance the status of

the BMM leaders as prophets). This deviation is being

reversed.Islam is growing rapidly and is now followed by

more than 20% of the world’s population. Christianity is not

growing; its popularity has been stuck at about 33% of

the worlds population for many decades. It is in decline in

the United States (in terms of “market share”). Christian

attacks on Islam are inevitable. Most criticisms are not

well grounded in reality: Islam is often blamed for female

genital mutilation. But it is obvious that FGM is grounded

in cultural tradition, not religious belief, in those

countries where it is practiced. A number of anti-Islamic

books have been written recently, criticizing some Islamic

countries for lack of religious tolerance Some conservative

Christian web sites include attacks on Islam. They base

their position on the inerrancy of the Bible, and their

belief that Christianity is the only valid religion. An

essay by Ric Llewellyn at dubious beginnings, fanaticism,

irrational, accursed, religious bondage, cults, wicked

doctrines, etc. It is our belief that these attacks are

counter-productive. The main result of these web pages is to

demonstrate the degree of intolerance and hatred held by

their Webmasters; this does not reflect well on Christianity

The media has historically disseminated a very negative

image of Islam. It overwhelmingly reports on the beliefs and

practices of the most conservative wing of the religion.

Many non-Muslims are unaware that a moderate wing even

exists in Islam. A number of anti-defamation groups have

been organized to combat these negative portrayals. CAIR,

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a leader in

this field.

BUDDHISM:

to be fully understood: the universality of suffering to be

abandoned: the desire to have and control things which

causes suffering to be made visible: the supreme truth and

final liberation of nirvana which is achieved as the cause

of suffering is eliminated. The mind experiences complete

freedom and liberation to be brought into being: the truth

of the eightfold ariya path leading to the cessation of

suffering.

History

Buddhism was founded in Northern India by the Buddha,

Siddhartha Gautama. H was born circa 563 in Lumbini which is

in modern-day Nepal. At the age of 29, he left his wife,

children and political involvement’s i order to seek truth;

this was an accepted practice at the time for some men to

leave thei family and lead the life of an ascetic. He

studied Brahminism, but ultimately rejected it.

In 535 BCE, he reached enlightenment and assumed the title

Buddha (one who ha awakened). He is also referred to as the

Sakyamuni, (sage of the Sakya clan) He promoted The Middle

Way, rejecting both extremes of the mortification of the

flesh and of hedonism as paths toward the state of Nirvana.

He had many disciple and accumulated a large public

following by the time of his death in his early

80’s in 483 BCE. Two and a half centuries later, a council

of Buddhist monks collected his teachings an the oral

traditions of the faith into written form, called the

Tripitaka. This included a very large collection of

commentaries and traditions; most are called Sutra.

Buddhist Beliefs

Buddhism is a religion which shares few concepts with

Christianity. For example, the do not believe in a

transcendent or immanent or any other type of God or Gods,

the need for a personal savior, the power of prayer, eternal

life in a heaven or hell after death etc. They do believe in

reincarnation: the concept that one must go through many

cycles of birth, living, and death. After many such cycles,

if a person releases their attachment to desire and the

self, they can attain Nirvana. The Buddha’s Four Noble

Truths may be described as:

His Eightfold Path consists of:

1.right understanding

2.right thinking

3. right speech

4.right conduct

5.right livelihood

6. right effort

7.right mindfulness

8.right concentration

Southern Buddhism has 100 million followers, mainly in

Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and parts of

Vietnam. It started in Sri Lanka when Buddhist missionaries

arrived from India. They promoted the Vibhajjavada school

(Separative Teaching). By the 15th century, this form of the

religion reached almost its present extent.

Concepts and practices include:

Dana – thoughtful, ceremonial giving

Sila – accepting Buddhist teaching and following it in

practice; refraining from killing, stealing, wrong behavior,

use of drugs. On special days, three additional precepts may

be added, restricting adornment, entertainment and comfort.

Karma – the balance of accumulated sin and merit, which will

determine ones future in the present life, and the nature of

the next life to come. The Cosmos – consists of billions of

worlds grouped into clusters; clusters are grouped into

galaxies, which are themselves grouped into super-galaxies.

The universe also has many levels: four underworlds and 21

heavenly realms. Paritta – ritual chanting Worship – of

relics of a Buddha, of items made by a Buddha, or of

symbolic relics. Festivals – days of the full moon, and

three other days during the lunar cycle are celebrated.

There is a new year’s festival, and celebrations tied to the

agricultural year. Pilgrimages – particularly to Buddhist

sites in Sri Lanka and India. Eastern Buddhism is the

predominant religion in China, Japan, Korea and much of

Vietnam. Buddhism’s Mahayana tradition entered China during

the Han dynasty. It found initial acceptance there among the

workers; later, it gradually penetrated the ruling class.

Buddhism reached Japan in the 6th century. It underwent

severe repression during the 1960’s in China during the

Cultural Revolution. Eastern Buddhism contains many

distinct schools: T’ein-t’ai, Hua-yen, Pure Land teachings,

and the Meditation school. They celebrate New Years, harvest

festivals, and five anniversaries from the lives of Buddha

and of the Bodhissattva Kuan-yin. They also engage in Dana,

Sila, Chanting. Worship and Pilgrimage. Northern Buddhism

has perhaps 10 million adherents in parts of China,

Mongolia, Russia and Tibet. It entered Tibet circa 640 CE.

Conflict with the native Tibetan religion of Bon caused it

to go largely underground until its revival in the 11th

century. The heads of the Gelu school of Buddhist teaching

became the Dalai Lama, and ruled Tibet. It has been, until

recently, wrongly dismissed as a degenerate form of Buddhism

Ceremony and ritual are emphasized. They also engage in

Dana, Sila, Chanting. Worship and Pilgrimage. They developed

the practice of searching out a young child at the time of

death of an important teacher. The child is believed to be

the successor to the deceased teacher. They celebrate New

Years, harvest festivals and anniversaries of five important

events in the life of the Buddha. Buddhist and Tibetan

culture suffered greatly during the Cultural Revolution when

an attempt was made to destroy all religious belief.

JUDAISM

Early History of Judaism

Circa 2000 BCE, the God of the ancient Israelites

established a divine covenant with Abraham, making him the

patriarch of many nations. From his name, the term Abramic

Religions is derived; these are the four religions which

trace their roots back to Abraham: Judaism, Christianity,

Islam and the Baha’i World Faith. The book of Genesis

describes the events surrounding the lives of the three

patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses was the next

leader of the ancient Israelites. He led his people out of

captivity in Egypt, and received the Law from God.After

decades of wandering through wilderness, Joshua led the

tribes into the promised land, driving out the Canaanites

through a series of military battles. The original tribal

organization was converted into a kingdom by Samuel; its

first king was Saul. The second king, David, established

Jerusalem as the religious and political center. The third

king, Solomon built the first temple there. Division into

the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of

Judah occurred shortly after the death of Solomon in 922

BCE. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BCE; Judah fell to the

Babylonians in 587 BCE. The temple was destroyed. Some Jews

returned from captivity under the Babylonians and started to

restore the temple in 536 BCE. Alexander the Great invaded

the area in 332 BCE. From circa 300 to 63 BCE, Greek became

the language of commerce, and Greek culture had a major

influence on Judaism. In 63 BCE, the Roman Empire took

control of Palestine. Four major religious sects had formed

by the 1st century AD: the Basusim, Essenes, Pharisees and

Sadducees. Many anticipated the arrival of the Messiah who

would drive the Roman invaders out and restore independence.

Christianity was established initially as a Jewish sect,

centered in Jerusalem. Paul broke with this tradition and

spread the religion to the Gentiles .Many mini-revolts led

to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 CE. The

Jewish Christians were wiped out or scattered at this time.

The movement started by Paul flourished and quickly evolved

into the religion of Christianity. Jews were scattered

throughout the known world. Their religion was no longer

centered in Jerusalem; Jews were prohibited from setting

foot there. Judaism became decentralized and stopped seeking

converts. The local synagogue became the new center of

Jewish life, and authority shifted from the centralized

priesthood to local scholars and

teachers, giving rise to Rabbinic Judaism. The period from

the destruction of the temple onward give rise to heavy

persecution by Christians throughout Europe and Russia. Many

groundless stories were spread, accusing Jews of ritual

murder, the desecration of the Catholic host and continuing

responsibility for the execution of Jesus . Unsubstantiated

rumors continue to be circulated today. In the 1930s and

1940s, Adolph Hitler and the German Nazi party drew on

centuries of anti-Semitism, and upon their own psychotic

beliefs in racial purity. They organized the Holocaust, the

attempted extermination of all Jews in Europe. About 6

million were killed in one of the world’s greatest examples

of

religious and racial intolerance.The Zionist movement was a

response within all Jewish traditions to centuries of

Christian persecution. Their initial goal was create a

Jewish homeland in Palestine. The state of Israel was formed

on MAY-18-1948. There are currently about 18 million Jews

throughout the world. They are mainly concentrated in North

America (about 7 million) and Israel (about 4.5 million).

.

Jewish Texts

The Tanakh corresponds to the Jewish Scriptures, (often

referred to as the Old

Testament by Christians). It is composed of three groups of

books: the Torah Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and

Deuteronomy.

the Nevi’im, the Prophetic books of Isaiah, Amos, etc. the

Ketuvim, the “Writings” including Kings, Chronicles, etc.The

Talmud contains stories, laws, medical knowledge, debates

about moral choices, etc. It is composed of material which

comes mainly from two sources: the Mishnah, 6 “orders”

containing hundreds of chapters, including series of laws

from the Hebrew Scriptures. It was compiled about 200 CE.

the Gemara (one Babylonian and one Palestinian) is

encyclopedic in scope. It includes comments from hundreds of

Rabbis from 200 – 500 CE, explaining the Mishnah with

additional historical, religious, legal, sociological, etc.

material. It often records many different opinions on a

topic without giving a definitive answer.

Traditional Jewish Beliefs:

They include:

God is the creator of all that exists; he is one,

incorporeal (without a body), and he alone is to be

worshipped as absolute ruler of the universe. The first five

books of the Hebrew Bible were revealed to Moses by God. It

will not be changed or augmented in the future. God has

communicated to the Jewish people through prophets. God

monitors the activities of humans; he rewards individuals

for good deeds and punishes evil Although Christians base

much of their faith on the same Hebrew Scriptures as Jews,

there are majo

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