Analysis of Religions

Analysis of Religions Around the World

Islam: The central theme of Islam is submitting to the will of God. Islam means “submission” in Arabic. Followers of Islam believe that the angel Gabriel came to the prophet Muhammad over 20 years and gave him messages directly from God. Followers are called Muslims and they practice the 5 pillars of Islam: faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims believe in the existence of a soul and in a heaven and hell, much like Christianity.

Buddhism: A religion started by Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama. He searched for enlightenment and only found it by sitting underneath a tree and meditating for days. He spent the rest of his life as Buddha, “The Enlightened One,” teach others his path to enlightenment. Buddhists believe that the purpose of life is to end suffering. They also heavily believe in reincarnation and they do not believe in a creator God.

Christianity: Based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the son that God sent to die for all of mankind. Christ is regarded as the Messiah from Jewish teachings and prophecies. The main belief in Christianity is that there is only one God who created all of the heavens and earth and we must love him and follow his word, the Bible faithfully to make it into heaven one day. Jesus also expressed this in his teachings.

Hinduism: A religion with no founder and has developed throughout thousands of years. Brahman or Isvana is the ultimate reality and there are hundreds of other gods and goddesses. The purpose of Hinduism is to achieve “moska” or liberation from this world. Hindus believe heavily in karma, and if you do good things in this life, you will achieve moska, but if you do not, you will be reincarnated into a new soul.

Judaism: Shares many of the same beliefs as Christianity, however they do not believe that Jesus Christ was the messiah, so they still follow all of the old testament law, or the Hebrew Bible. They do...