Comparing Judaism And Christianity: Judaism Vs. Christianity

Judaism and Christianity are two of the most commonly known religions in the world. The latter is practiced by more than 2.2 billion people—by far the largest practiced faith. The former is practiced by a far smaller population—about 14 million. Despite the significant difference in the amount of people belonging to either religion, they share a history, and compare in far more ways than people realize. However, Judaism and Christianity are also far more different than people realize, as well. Christianity is born from the same root as Judaism, however this comment must be elaborated on because it usually follows a common misconception about the relationship between both religions. That misconception is that Judaism is just an older version of Christianity; that it is basically the same, but without Jesus. This could not be further from the truth: Judaism as a set of beliefs is distinct from the very start. It is focused on the covenant between the Jewish people and their God and the proper way to follow their God’s laws (written down in the Torah and discussed in rabbinic oral tradition). That is to say that it is a religion focused on continued interaction with God through a storied, large tradition of customs. Christianity, on the other

Both religions share a history of Abrahamic faith based off the myth and history of Judaic peoples in the Levant region of the Middle East, however modern Judaism is just as distinct from that time period as Christianity: the identity of modern Jewish believers comes from their following of the rabbinic tradition, and emphasis on the rabbi as a central figure in the local community. This is distinct from the nature of Jews before the first century, who followed a religion-wide authority and offered sacrifices at the Holy Temple. Likewise, the people that became Christians were distinct from these Jews—though in more immediately obvious