Christianity And Islam Essay

1399 Words3 Pages

Islam and Christianity hold varies comparative aspects in terms of political systems, religious activities, and norms. Politically, Christianity was arguably associated with authoritarianism for holding views that contradicted with democratic principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Nevertheless, Christianity is more closely associated with democracy after changes to the existing structure of the religion. Similarly, Islam is associated with authoritarianism; however that notion has been challenged recently with the political revolutions in some authoritarian countries. Additionally, this brings the question of whether Islam is compatible with democracy and what it means to be a citizen for Muslims. Although part …show more content…

In Christianity, a person is saved by god through the faith of Jesus Christ that is provided by the grace of God. The practices of Christianity center around praying, worshipping in a church, and through communion. In the case of Islam, salvation is achieved only to the submission to the will of Allah in order to gain paradise. The practices behind the means of salvation include a variety of acts of worships. These five pillars of Islam are Shahda – declaration of faith, Salat – five daily prayers, Zakat – alms-giving for charity, Sawm – fasting, and Hajj – Pilgrimage (Islam, 3). In essence, whereas individuals who follow Christianity believe that salvation is possible only though faith in Jesus Christ through the grace of God, salvation in Islam is achieved only to submitting to the will and mercy of Allah. These differences may explain why Christianity is compatible with democracy whereas Islam has struggled to incorporate democratic principles in their society. A possible explanation of these religious practices towards the influence of political systems may be the interpretation aspect behind the two religions such as allowing individuals the freedom to make sensible decisions on society. As Christianity only requires faith in Jesus Christ in order to gain salvation, Islam focuses on more strict religious practices such as the five pillars of Islam that may ultimately constrain an individual’s perspective of

Open Document