Religious Comparisons

Comparing and Contrasting Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Written By: Mikaela Smith
May 4, 2012


HUMA 2300
World Religions
Suzanne Jacobs
Rabindranath Tagore said, "Religion, like poetry, is not a mere idea, it is expression. The
self-expression of God is in the endless variety of Creation; and our attitude toward the Infinite
Being must also, in its expression have a variety of individuality ceaseless and unending."
Throughout this course I learned about several new religions, and like this quote said, I found that
religion truly does extend beyond the idea what a religion believes to encompass its expression.
This includes everything from how the religion is actually practiced, what it means to individuals
and how they apply it to in their lives.

I had the opportunity to not only receive a lecture style education about several religions,
but the opportunity to personally experience how these religions worship. In this paper, I am
focusing on three different aspects of religion that I experienced, using the three Abrahamic
religions we discussed, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This paper will discuss the beliefs,
method of worship and emotional atmosphere of each of these religions.

Religion is defined in many ways, but the easiest place to start is generally a history of
their beliefs and the importance of their heritage. In many ways, heritage is especially important
to the three Abrahamic religions as they all share a common root. Because of this common
ancestry, it is important to understand their beliefs and how this caused them to separate into
three distinct religions.

Judaism, like Christianity and Islam, is a monotheistic religion that traces its history back
to the time of Abraham. It follows the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and finally Jacobs twelve
sons, the twelve tribes of Israel. Judaism is believed to have originated in ancient Egypt when
the Hebrews were led from captivity by the prophet Moses. Moses is an especially important
person in Judaism and is believed to have received the five books of the Torah, Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy as well as the Ten Commandments. The Torah is a part
of the Jewish Bible called the Tanakh, which also includes the Neviim and the Ketuvim. Jews,
like Christians and Muslims, believe in a Messiah who will come to earth one day, create a new
age and solidify them politically. However, unlike Christians, Jews do not believe that Jesus Christ
is the Messiah, they believe the Messiah has not yet come to the Earth. However, this Messiah
is not coming for the sake of Salvation as Jews do not believe in a concept of damnation or the
Christian idea of original sin.

Jewish rituals can vary in their intensity depending upon whether or not the practioner is
reform, orthodox or conservative, however, all of these groups have similar rituals. These include
the holidays such as weekly Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Pesakh among others.
Other rituals Jews may follow include the act of keeping Kosher, modest dress and up to 613
other Jewish commandments. Most practice the importance of living a good life and believe that
the goal of life is to imitate the behavior of God.

Attending the field trip for Judaism at the Kol Ami synagogue was an interesting
experience. It was made clear throughout the service the deep importance Jews give to the Torah
and it played a key role in their actual services. While I had an idea of the importance of the
Torah, I didnt truly understand the degree to which it is revered. The Torah are kept covered and
stored in the Holy Ark at the front of the synagogue. It was a big event to remove and replace the
Torah from the ark, including a ritual for dressing and undressing the Torah. The Rabbi carried
the Torah throughout the congregation and many reached forward to touch or kiss the Torah as
it passed.

A large portion of the service was spoken in Hebrew, however, translated prayer books,
Siddur, were provided to the congregation allowing everyone to follow along. This was very
important as much of the service included group participation and repetition. The whole service
done in Hebrew was spoken in an almost sing song, chanting rhythm that was led by the Rabbi
and joined in by the congregation. It was a powerful feeling to worship in such a communal group
and I really enjoyed the experience of the singing and chanting. It was easy to feel the deep
sense or conviction and sacredness within the synagogue.

Christianity shares many roots with Judaism, including following their lineage through
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. Our focus in class was primarily on
Catholicism which is the oldest branch of Christianity, which has fractured and become several
different offshoots. The bulk of Christianity revolves around the importance of Jesus Christ, who
is considered to be the son of God and the Savior of the world. Jesus Christ was born in the city
of Nazareth, and while little of his personal life is known, his teachings are recorded in the bible,
including his crucifixion and resurrection. Christians believe that 40 days after his crucifixion on
the cross and resurrection he ascended to Heaven.

The Catholic Church was formed after Christs ascension and was primarily guided by
Paul, previously known as Saul. This is known as Pauline Christianity, which distanced itself from
Jewish law and instituted ideas such as the need for salvation through faith and repentance. It
focused primarily on the divinity of the resurrected Christ and Christs importance for repentance
and the salvation of mankind. Because of Christs roots as a Jew, we find the books of Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in the Christian bible, however, there are 27 books
in the Christian bible and include the teachings of Christ, his apostles and prophets.

One of the most important rituals practiced by Christians is Baptism, which was created
by Paul and Barnabas as a way of converting people to Christianity without the need of
circumcision. Christians also worship weekly on Sundays, as opposed to Saturdays like Jews, at
a service called Mass. In Mass, one of the most important rituals performed is the blessing and
distribution of the Sacrament. The Sacrament is taken as a symbol of the blood and body of Christ.
They also have two very important religious holidays, Christmas and Easter.

The Catholic service I attended at the Cathedral de Madeleine was for Palm Sunday,
which is first day of the most holy week in Christianity, leading up to Easter Sunday. The
Cathedral itself was unbelievably beautiful. It had a high, arched ceiling held up by pillars
throughout and decorated with beautiful murals. The walls were decorated with art work depicting
important people within Christianity and the crucifixion of Christ. The altar was on a raised dais
located at the front of the congregation. The congregation sat in benches, known as pews, aligned
in front of and to the sides of the altar. The pews also had a small bench that would fold down
and allow a parishioner to kneel in order to perform different parts of the service.

The Palm Sunday service was led by priests in their formal robes. It began with a
procession into the church accompanied by an organ and choir. The priests than gave a sermon
on the last supper, betrayal of Christ by Judas, the crucifixion and finally the resurrection of Christ.
This narration was accompanied by some very lovely solo and choir pieces, recitation by the
congregation and personal reflection. We were asked to rise, sit and kneel at various parts
throughout the ceremony.

Islam like both Christianity and Judaism begins with Abraham, however, Muslims believe
that their lineage descended through Ishmael and his 12 sons that form the 12 tribes of the Arabs.
Christianity, Judasim and Islam share many of the same religious texts as Islam uses the Quran
(Muhammad), Injul (Gospels of Jesus), Torah (Moses), Psalms (David), Scrolls (Abraham) and
the Avestas (Zoroaster.) Like both of the other Abrahamic religions, Muslims are strictly
Monotheistic, believing there is only one true God, Allah, and that all others are required to submit
to him. And while they do believe that Jesus was a prophet of Allah, they do not believe he was
crucified or resurrected.

The most important prophet for Muslims is Muhammad ibn-Abdullah, who was born in
Mecca to a powerful, but impoverished tribe and is the founder of Islam. It is believed that he
received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel and wrote the Quran. After the death of
Muhammad, Islam became divided into Sunni and Shiites due to a disagreement regarding the
lineage of Muhammad.

One of the most commonly critiqued aspects Islam is often the perception of women in
Islam. Muslims believe that both men and women serve very important roles in society, however,
each has a different role to perform. Islam teaches that women are to be protected and respected
by Muslim men. Upon its introduction, Islam provided many new rights and protections for women
as compared to the rights they experienced within the Arab tribes. While modesty is most
noticeably required for women, it is also required by men, and the wearing of a Hijab is not a
religious requirement.

Islam is defined by the five pillars of Islam, revealed in the Quran, which are Shahada
(witnessing), Salat (prayer), Sawm (fasting), Zakat (Charity) and Hajj (pilgrimage). These five
pillars are the five requirements made of all Muslims. These, in addition to the Sharia, Islamic
law, are some of the most noticeable forms of ritual in Islam. Sharia can be practiced to different
extents depending upon where in the world you live. Places like Saudi Arabia have some of the
most noticeable examples of Sharia. The purpose of the Sharia is to provide everything a person
needs for their wellbeing, physically and spiritually.

Muslims have services weekly on Fridays that are required only for men, however, women
are allowed to attend these services. This is the service I attended for my field trip and I was
interested to see what my experience as a woman would be in attending this service. Women
were required to enter through a side door and go upstairs to a private balcony that was separated
from the men. I did not choose to approach the glass and look over, so I am not sure what the
majority of the mosque looked like, however, the upper balcony was relatively plain.

The carpet was very intricate, and the pattern provided places for the women to pray
during the service. The places were very close to one another as it is important in Islam when
you are praying that you touch shoulders, providing a form of unity. While this service does not
require women to attend, many chose to attend and I was interested to watch their personal
worship during the services. Many seemed very devoted to being there and spent much of the
time in personal reflection and private prayer.

The service ended after a communal prayer involving both men and women, still separated
of course, and a private prayer or moment of reflection. I was surprised at how nice everyone
was. I was nervous as a non-Muslim women about how I would be treated, especially since I was
in work clothing, specifically pants and a tight top.

Overall, I was very appreciative of the opportunity to learn about and attend the services
of the different religions throughout this course. And while many of these religions differed in the
specifics of their practice, more than the differences, I was surprised at the similarities. Every
religion was built with the desire to help people reach for something beyond this life and
encouraged people to become kinder, more generous and loving individuals. I hope this
perspective is one I can continue to carry with me throughout my life, seeing the common goals
of all people, rather than the differences in our practices.
Works Cited


D 11182031 Casejustin. "A World of Faith, 12 World Religions." http://www.dreamstime.com. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. <http://www.dreamstime.com/
stock-image-world-faith-12-world-religions-image11182031>.

Matthews, Warren. World Religions. Seventh ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.

Class Lecture Notes Provided by Suzanne Jacobs