Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism are some of the most historical religions in the world. The first three descended from what is known as the “Abrahamic religions” because their roots trace back to Abraham, from the Hebrew Bible. The roots of Buddhism can be traced back to an Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni Buddha), who sought enlightenment. Today there are 14 million followers of Judaism, 2 billion of Christianity, 1.3 billion of Islam, and 360 million of Buddhism, practicing these religions worldwide (“The Big Religion Chart”). All these religions had a beginning with a rich history, let’s explore the roots of how they got to these numbers today. It is believed, Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, originating …show more content…
It developed as a minor sect of Judaism that developed more, after the birth of Christ. After the birth of Christ nothing is known about him, but around the age of 30 Jesus reemerges and received the blessing of God, believing himself to be the long-awaited Savior who would usher in God 's kingdom on earth (Sayre). Hostility mounted against Jesus, and he was ultimately crucified by the Romans. The Christian religion was born in ancient Palestine, an area of land on the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which was under Roman rule. In 324CE the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, this was a major turning point in Christian history. With his conversion, he made Christianity a legal religion of the land, persecution ceased, and thousands convert to the emperor 's faith. Christianity gradually rose in power until it encompasses the entire Eastern and Western Roman Empire. Social conditions for centuries had dealt with conflicts in the region, this allowed Christianity to develop in an environment very conducive to the spread of …show more content…
It is also a monotheistic religion, who worship the God called Allah, the meaning in Arabic is “the God”. Islam originated from the word “salam,” its meaning is “peace” or “salvation”. The word “Muslim,” signifies a follower of Islam, who submits him or herself to the will of God. It is believed that the prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the year 622 CE, as member of the Arabic Quraish tribe from the West-Central part of the Arabian Peninsula in the region of present-day Mecca. Muhammad was believed to have lived from 570-632 CE. This religion started when the angel Gabriel read the first revelation to Muhammad, about 610 CE, to help explain the teachings of the holy book of Islam, which is called Holy Qur’an. These revelations that Muhammad received confirmed God’s unity and directed life in the world. A civil war broke out following Muhammad 's death, causing vast military expansion of Islam during the Umayyad Period. On the website, The Islam Project they state, “The Umayyads conquered all of the Persian empire and half the Roman (Byzantine) empire. They spread across North Africa, conquered Spain and Portugal, and marched across Europe until they were finally repulsed in the heart of France by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732” (The Islam Project). With radical Islam being preached today, you can see how war affects how religions grows. Sometimes not in a good way, especially when the name of the religion came
In today’s society, there are roughly around 4,200 religions that exist on this planet. Some define "religion" as a cultural system of behaviors and practices that help people make important decisions in life. Out of the many religions, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism have many similarities that connect them to one another. Themes of morality, justice, love are found through both the Buddha's teaching and the Hebrew and Christian Bible.
Islam is a monotheistic religion which is originated from the Middle East or more specifically in the Arabian Peninsula early in the 7th century. This religion was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed who named this religion after the Arabic word acceptance. Islam has 2 major sects the Sunni and Shi’a. This split occurred when Mohammed died. The Sunni believed that the new leader of Islam should be determined through election but the Shi’a thought that the new leader should be Imam Ali a cousin and son in law of Mohammed. Another branch of Islam is Druze but only a small minority of Muslims who live in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are followers of this sect (3 Faiths with One God - Islam, Arab American National Museum).
Christianity developed with Jesus of Nazareth (6 BCE- 29 CE). He was born during the reign of Augustus Caesar. He practiced Christianity from 26 CE to 29 CE. He was the Son of God and the Redeemer of all Mankind. The Romans viewed him as someone “rocking the boat” with what was already a nation of the religiously obsessed. Eventually h...
Centered around revelations of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam was founded thousands of years ago. According to Mary Fisher, author of Living Religions, followers of Islam are commonly referred to as Muslims (Fisher, 2008 p. 381). Very similar to the structures of both Christianity and Judaism, Islam is a monotheistic religion, where worshipers believe in a single God, commonly referred to as Allah, according to Mary Fisher (Fisher, 2008 p. 386). In fact, many Muslims recognize some of the prophets from Judaism and Christianity, such as Moses and Jesus, as messengers of God, according to Mary Fisher
In today’s world, there are various religions that are worshipped by millions of devout followers every year. Of these religions, two of these include Buddhism and Christianity, which have dated back for thousands of years. According to. Experiencing the World 's Religions and The World’s Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions, both Buddhism and Christianity originated through a single enlightened leader and were known as each religion’s teachers: Buddha and Jesus Christ. Both of these prophets became what shaped their respective religions and had a large influence on being bringers of hope to the world and proclaiming peace among the nations.
Born into the people of Israel, Jesus gathered a small group of followers living and working with them until his ascension to heaven. From these few, the Christian faith spread to other Jews in Israel and the further reaches of the Roman Empire, including parts of southern Europe and Southwest Asia. As Christianity was later adopted by the Roman Empire, much of Europe became the focus of conquest for Roman Christianity, though much of this was due in part to the fall of Western Rome.
All too often in modern society it is the differences and conflicts that serve to separate religious groups that are emphasized. The mainstream media, fundamentalists’ propaganda, and other sources choose to ignore the numerous similarities that many religions share, and instead focus on the divisive elements. In this paper, I will attempt to shed light on the many commonalities in dogma that I believe exist between the major religions of the world. I also want to illustrate the fact that in addition to having similar core teachings, many religions have histories that have either endured or arisen during times of persecution. It is ironic that in many cases, the persecution that a particular group faces happens to be at the hands of the mainstream of a society who at one time or another had been persecuted themselves for their religious beliefs.
Islam is also a monotheistic religion that believes there is one God. Islam is based on the teachings and normative example of Muhammad, who is considered to be the last prophet of God . People who follow the Islam faith are called Muslims. The Qur’an is the central text of the Islam faith, and Muslims believe it to be a revelation from God. There are two main denominations of Islam. There is Sunni, which is the largest denomination making up 75-90% of all Muslims and Shia, which is the second largest branch with 10-20%.
Although many people generally think that the religions in the world are ends in themselves, they are often interrelated. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to show their relationship by examining the histories and practices of the world’s most well known religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Buddhism is slowly becoming one of the most popular religions in the world, and is estimated to have about 300-400 million followers at the beginning of 2014. The numbers of followers have declined in the countries where Buddhism originated, due to the arising of “New Age Religions” in that part of the world.
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
Christianity and Buddhism are two of the most widely practiced religions, with roughly 2.7 million followers all over the world. With Christianity ranking number one in the world with almost 32% of the worlds religious followers, and Buddhism ranking number five with around 7% of the worlds religious followers. If the followers of Christianity and Buddhism compared the two religions, a few striking similarities could be acknowledged: both religions are taught through parables, both religions have similar individual code, and both religions have strong belief in spiritual leaders. Although Buddhism and Christianity have some similarities, they are ultimately different because of the different views on salvation, God, and life after death.
...hrist in the country of Palestine during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (42 BC - AD 37). Christianity took its rise in Judaism. Most of the Roman Emperors that came after Constantine were Christians. Christianity then became the official religion of the Roman Empire instead of the old Roman religion that had worshipped many Gods. During the Dark Ages and Early Middle Ages the only accepted Christian religion was the Catholic religion.
Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and the Eastern Roman Empire as well Persia and Africa. Many different practices and methods were used to spread Islam. The religion itself was appealing to, in addition to the inhabitants of Arabia, other people in the surrounding areas because of its distinct religious beliefs and practices, such as the five pillars, as well as the humility and prayerfulness of the Islamic people. They fought cruel, vicious wars with their enemies. Many different things motivated the warriors to expand, but above all, the riches they would gain from the people of the Fertile Crescent encouraged them to expand.
Today's religious beliefs, governmental structures, laws and traditions of social behavior find their roots in the development of three main belief systems - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Although other religious movements have developed throughout the years, these three belief systems have had the most impact on civilizations of the West. To better understand this impact, it is important to trace the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and review the relationships between them. While each belief system is unique, there are many similarities due to their common beginnings.