Throughout the world, there are many well-established religions with a variance of how they are practiced; however, out of all the religions, there are five that are widely practiced. The religions are as follows: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. There have always been arguments as to which religion is the correct path, but when one takes an objective look, it becomes clear that all five of these religions strive to attain the same result. While these five religions have their own unique differences, they also share many common traits that create a strong foundation for their beliefs.
The number one trait the five religions share is that they all believe in a deity or deities. Religions that only worship one god are referred to as monotheistic. Hinduism has belief in many gods, but the focus is on one god called Brahman, the world spirit who is supreme power. In Islam, they worship Allah and follow Muhammad’s teachings or instructions on how to live life. Christianity and Judaism both hold belief in the same god, but have different views on the form he can take. In Buddhism, they try to achieve enlightenment, which is similar to becoming a divine being. Buddhist do not worship a so-called god, yet when enlightenment is achieved, it is considered god like. The second characteristic is that all five of these religions teach salvation. Each religion has their own path to salvation, yet the end result is the same. For example, in Christianity, one must seek salvation to go to heaven and achieve eternal happiness and if not he or she will be punished in hell for eternity. In Buddhism and Hinduism, it is often worldly desires one must stray from, but instead of heaven or hell, they believe in reincarnation with no knowledge of the past life. The third trait is a code of conduct or having moral standards. While all religions have different teachings, they all teach morals. The best example is the golden rule, which states treat others as you would want to be treated. Even if one is not religious, having a set of morals is instilled at a very young age. Lastly, the major religions all have scriptures or teachings that are held sacred. Christians and the Jewish use some of the same text or gospels, yet they conceive of these books in very different ways. The scriptures are used to reaffirm the faith and teachings of each religion and are used to emphasize the importance of each religion.
Those four characteristics are the backbone of the five major religions, and there are many more traits that intertwine the religions together. They all have sacred places for pilgrimages, they have holy and sacred days, and also prayer and worship. Religion is a key component in keeping peoples moral compasses pointing in the right direction, by teaching morality, equality, and unity. All religions believe their path is the right path to god, but ultimately all paths lead to the same place.
Good points. I agree 100% with the points that you touched on. all religion have their own ways of doing things but when it all boils down they all focus on pretty much the same things. All religions believe in a higher being of some kind, whether it’s one or multiple. There been wars over religion in the past and it still happens today when the world fails to realize and accept that they’re fighting for the same reasons. All the religions have their own style of worship and there’s no right or wrong way to worship. All religions teach salvation but they all have different ways of achieving it. I know that Buddhism achieves their salvation through meditation and the oneness with their superior being. That’s the most unorthodox way but it works for them and it seems to be working really well since Buddhism is a religion that is still on the rise. Like Christianity has the Bible and Islam has their Koran, all the religions have their sacred books of teachings as well as scriptures that have been passed down from generation to generation dating back before Christ. There are Christian extremists who say that the Koran is wrong and hate on the Muslim religion but who are they to say what is the right or wrong way to teach everyone has their own beliefs and one must not agree with another’s belief but one must respect it. All religions have their differences but in the end we are all still one people.
Good points. I agree 100% with the points that you touched on. all religion have their own ways of doing things but when it all boils down they all focus on pretty much the same things. All religions believe in a higher being of some kind, whether it’s one or multiple. There been wars over religion in the past and it still happens today when the world fails to realize and accept that they’re fighting for the same reasons. All the religions have their own style of worship and there’s no right or wrong way to worship.
ReplyDeleteAll religions teach salvation but they all have different ways of achieving it. I know that Buddhism achieves their salvation through meditation and the oneness with their superior being. That’s the most unorthodox way but it works for them and it seems to be working really well since Buddhism is a religion that is still on the rise. Like Christianity has the Bible and Islam has their Koran, all the religions have their sacred books of teachings as well as scriptures that have been passed down from generation to generation dating back before Christ. There are Christian extremists who say that the Koran is wrong and hate on the Muslim religion but who are they to say what is the right or wrong way to teach everyone has their own beliefs and one must not agree with another’s belief but one must respect it. All religions have their differences but in the end we are all still one people.