The Impact on Culture of Islam and Christianity

The definition of religion has two parts in the Webster’s dictionary, the first being a simple belief or reverence in a supernatural being, the second being a personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief. The common man often sees the large religions in the simplest forms, creating obvious differences between the basic beliefs of major religions. These differences, seen in the comparison of Judeo-Christian and Islam worldviews, have had an immense impact upon each separate culture and interpretation of religion within each culture.

In the current political battles across the world, government regulation determines how large the role that a given religion plays within the societal structure. American culture is a result of a strict Protestant perspective traveling the course of time and an associated governmental deregulation of religion (Burr, Religion in American Life: 16). Originally founded on the Christian religion, the United States of America still has roots in religion but is no longer the cohesive religious unit it was when at its genesis. The lack of institutionalized religion provided by the government has allowed a wide variety of religions to prosper within the borders, creating both more religious tolerance and more variations within each religion. Middle Eastern culture, on the other hand, is still strictly religious because of a continuing regulation of religion by the government in power (Jatava, Religions in Modern Society: 136). Culture and religion seem to go hand in hand, as people’s actions are affected by their spiritual beliefs, and their spiritual beliefs stem from their interpretation of their environment. Religion will always have a basis in culture as lo...

... middle of paper ...

...igious Diversity A Philosophical Assessment; Ashgate Publishing Company, Burlington, VT, 2002.

Burr, Nelson R.l; Religion in American Life; Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, NY, 2004.

Hinnels, John R.; The Facts on File Dictionary of Religions; Facts on File, New York, NY, 2004.

Jatava, D.R.; Religions in Modern Society The Puzzling Issues; National Publishing House, Chaura Rasta, Jaipur, 2000.

Lewis, I.M.; Religion in Context Cults and Charisma; Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1986.

McCasland, S. Vernon, et al.; Religions of the World; Random House, Inc., Toronto, Canada, 2001.

Wakeman, Gordon S.; The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Spirituality; Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1983.

http://www.adherents.com/ - Religious Statistics. Web. 13 July 2015.

http://www.factmonster.com/ - Online Encyclopedia. Web. 10 July 2015.