CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

This study aims to determine the different perspectives of some of religions being
observed and practiced all around the world namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism
and Judaism. Each religion has their own set of beliefs which plays a very vital role on the life of
every individual who hold on to it thus making it imperative to each and everyone to study it so
as to have a clear understanding on its different ways and ideology.

As mentioned, each religion has their own beliefs and more often these are all linked
to supernatural beings such as God, a number of Gods or spirits. They may also be linked to an
idea such as a path that the spirit of each person should take towards goodness, truth and duty.
This they called spirituality. Moreover, each religion also has a "moral code" which is a set of
beliefs about how humans should act. Each religion usually has their own type of "devotions"
when people worship or pray. They often have rituals (special things that are always done in the
same way) for certain times of the year or certain times of a person's life. Other words that are
used for religion are "faith" and "belief system". Altogether, followers of religion can be known as
'believers', or 'the faithful'. Few people follow more than one religion at a time.

Here are some largest religions in world the Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,

and Judaism. Let’s see what are the differences and similarities of each Religion.

Christianity is the number one world religion by number of adherents. Members of the
religion are called Christians. Christians generally believe Jesus to be son of God, the second
person of the Trinity. It is a monotheistic religion, meaning it has only one God. It is the largest
religion in the world and is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Christians believe in justification by faith - that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of
God, and in his death and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose
forgiveness was made once and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.
Christians believe that there is a life after earthly death.
While the actual nature of this life is not known, Christians believe that many spiritual
experiences in this life help to give them some idea of what eternal life will be like.

Prayer is the means by which Christians communicate with their God.

The New Testament records that Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and that he encouraged
them to address God as Father. Christians believe that they continue this tradition.
Sometimes the prayers are formal and part of a ritual laid down for hundreds of years.
Others are personal and spontaneous, and come from personal or group need.
Whilst prayer is often directed to God as Father, as taught by Jesus, some traditions encourage
prayer to God through intermediaries such as saints and martyrs.
Prayers through Mary, as the mother of God, are central to some churches and form a
traditional part of their worship
The Christian church is fundamental to believers. Although it has many faults it is
recognized as God's body on earth.
The church is the place where the Christian faith is nurtured and where the Holy Spirit is
manifest on earth.
It is where Christians are received into the faith and where they are brought together into
one body through the “Eucharist”. (Greek word for thanksgiving)
The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the
Earth from its earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old
Testament and the New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, including the
the publication of the King James Bible in 1611 and the addition of several books that were
discovered later.
The Old Testament is the first section of the Bible, covering the creation of Earth
through Noah and the flood, Moses and more, finishing with the Jews being expelled
to Babylon.
The New Testament tells the story of the life of Jesus and the early days
of Christianity, most notably Paul’s efforts to spread Jesus’ teaching. It collects 27
books, all originally written in Greek.

Islam is the religion of peace and on the other hand youth is the machine or the
engine of the society. It is the youth right now who will shape up the societies and give
rise to different ideas that will be immensely helpful for coming generation.
 Islam began with the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Islam means "surrender" and its
central idea is a surrendering to the will of God. Its central article of faith is that "There is no god
but God and Muhammad is his messenger". Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims
believe that they are following in the same tradition as the Judeo-Christian figures Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus who they believe were significant Prophets before Muhammad.

The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, provides very little detail about Muhammad’s
(S.A.W.) life; however, the hadiths, or sayings of the Prophet, which were largely compiled in
the centuries following Muhammad’s death, provide a larger narrative for the events in his life
(although there is significant debate in the Muslim world as to which Hadiths are accurate). 

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.)- was born in 570 C.E. in Mecca, and his early life was
unremarkable. He married a wealthy widow named Khadija who was 15 years older and his
employer. Around 610 C.E., Muhammad (S.A.W.)had his first religious experience, where he
was instructed to recite by the Angel Gabriel. After a period of introspection and self-doubt,
Muhammad (S.A.W.) accepted his role as God’s prophet and began to preach word of the one
God, or Allah in Arabic. His first convert was his wife.

Muhammad's (S.A.W.)divine recitations form the Qur'an and are organized into books
(surahs) and verses (ayat). Because these revelations focused on a form of monotheism
considered threatening to Mecca's ruling tribe (the Quraysh), which Muhammad (S.A.W.) was a
part of, the early Muslims faced significant persecution. Eventually in 622, Muhammad (S.A.W.)
and his followers fled Mecca for the city of Yathrib, which is known as Medina today, where his
community was welcomed. This event is known as the Hijra, or emigration. 622, the year of the
Hijra (A.H.), marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar, which is still in use today.

Between 625-630 C.E., there were a series of battles fought between the Meccans and
Muhammad (S.A.W.) and the new Muslim community. Eventually, Muhammad (S.A.W.) was
victorious and reentered Mecca in 630.

One of Muhammad's (A.S.W.)first actions was to purge the Kaaba of all of its idols (before this,
the Ka’aba was a major site of pilgrimage for the polytheistic religious traditions of the Arabian
Peninsula and contained numerous idols of pagan gods). The Kaaba is believed to have been
built by Abraham (or Ibrahim as he is known in Arabic) and his son, Ishmael. The Arabs claim
descent from Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. The Kaaba then became the most
important center for pilgrimage in Islam.
In 632, Muhammad (S.A.W.) died in Medina. Muslims believe that he was the final in a line of
prophets, which included Moses, Abraham, and Jesus. Despites of Prophet Muhammad’s
(SAW) death the Islamic Religion is still exist and practiced by many Muslim all around the

world.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/cultures-religions-ap-

arthistory/a/introduction-to-islam-2