Kyler Clements

World Religions

Spring Semester 2018

“Are All Religions the Same?”

 Religion is a set of beliefs, morals, and standards that lead one to live in a specific way,

in hopes of achieving a specific spiritual goal or destination. If this is what religion is defined as,

is all religion the same? One might ask if all food is the same, if all movies are the same, or if all

people are the same. While all food is meant to be enjoyed and to satisfy hunger and effect the

body and brain either positively or negatively. It is safe to say that a chunk of broccoli is not the

same as a delicious cheesecake. Religions of all kinds are meant to better one’s life. They are

meant to encourage people to live better and more pure lives. They are meant to help us

positively affect the world as we know it. However, just as broccoli is much different than

cheesecake, so is one religion different from another.

Spiritual Destination/Goals

In Buddhism, the objective is to reach a level of spirituality to achieve a state known as

Nirvana. They don’t worship Buddha, but they follow his teachings. While they acknowledge

deity as existing, they don’t worship a specific deity. A state that is free from pain, suffering,

loss, etc. In Christianity they follow and worship Jesus Christ. In many sects of Christianity, they

view him as part of the Holy Trinity in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all are one

being. They strive to live the commandments of God so that when they die they go to Heaven.

The alternative is that they suffer in Hell for eternity. Both religions encourage their followers to

live better lives, they strive to focus less on themselves and more on others. They are however,

very different. In Buddhism they believe in reincarnation. You have as many life times as you

need to achieve Nirvana. In Christianity you have this life to choose Jesus and go to Heaven and

avoid Hell.

The spiritual destinations/goals of Buddhism and Christianity are very different.

Christianity is trying to live in a specific way to reach one destination and avoid another.
Buddhism is trying to come to a better understanding of one’s self and achieve a specific level of

spirituality to reach a state that is free from suffering and rebirth.

Religious Figures

All religions have specific religious figures that are important to that religion. They might

be a revered guru, teacher, or prophet in one religion and be completely unrecognized in another

religion. Some religious figures are recognized in multiple religions but recognized in different

and significant ways. Abraham is a prophet that is recognized and revered in Islam, Judaism, and

Christianity.

In Judaism they focus on Abraham being promised by the Lord that he will be blessed

with seed as numerous as the sands of the sea. They focus on the Twelve Tribes of Israel being

descendants of Abraham’s lineage (Fisher and Rinehart, section 8.1). Christianity focuses on the

famous story of Abraham being commanded to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord.

Christianity views this story as a similitude to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They believe this as

an example of God the Father’s willingness to his son to be sacrificed. Islam greatly varies from

their Christianity and Judaism, in the sense that rather than focus on Isaac and his descendants,

they focus on Ishmael the first born of Abraham and those who are descendants of him. All three

religions believe this man was a prophet, but all three focus on different aspects of this man’s life

both in lineage and events. None of the eastern religions acknowledge Abraham.

Scriptures

Scriptures, or Holy Books are vital in almost everyone religion there is. They vary drastically

from religion to religion. They come from different sources, different languages, and contain

varying writings. Each of the main religions has scripture that is sacred to them, while holding
significant spiritual value. In Hinduism they use the Puranas and the Vedas. The Puranas are

ancient stories about historical and legendary figures. The Vedas are split into multiple parts

including the Brahmanas which contain the rituals, and the philosophical part known as the

Upanishads. Buddhism uses the Pali Canon which are the oral teachings of the Buddha. They

were compiled long after the Buddha was here on earth. They were passed down from generation

to generation until they were written down. Sikhism uses the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib)

which are the teachings of the 10 Gurus. Jainism uses a collection of books called the Agamas.

They are a collection of teachings from their main teacher Mahavira.

Islam believes in the Qur’an which they believe were given to Muhammad by the angel

Gabriel, and the Hadith which are acts or sayings from the life of Muhammad, also known as

“The Messenger of God” (Fisher and Rinehart, section 10.4). Judaism has the Hebrew Bible and

the most well-known part of the is the Torah which are the first five books. Christianity uses the

Old Testament and the New Testament as their sources of scripture.

While some of these religions books of scripture hold some similarities such as the

scripture that are used in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, most of the books of scripture greatly

differ as we see from the eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

These four religions don’t share similar books of scriptures with each other or the western

religions.

Karma and Reincarnation

Karma is a belief of the eastern religions that is not shared among western religions.

However, the viewpoint of Karma is different among some of the eastern religions. Karma is the

principle of you reap what you sow. In Hinduism and Buddhism karma affects you in this life or
in one of your next reincarnated lives. In Jainism they believe that it leaves particles of subtle

matter on your soul that you must rid yourself of before you can break free from samsara, “The

continual round of birth, death, and rebirth in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.” (Fisher and

Rinehart, Glossary).

Reincarnation is “The transmigration of the soul and into a new body after death of the

old body.” (Fisher and Rinehart, Glossary). Reincarnation is only an eastern religious practice. It

directly ties into the belief of Karma. How you live your life largely determines the conditions of

your next life. The more good you do the more karma works for you in your next life. The more

bad you do the more karma works against you in your next life. The western religions of Islam,

Judaism, and Christianity don’t believe in karma or reincarnation.

Path to God

The pathway to God varies from religion to religion. In Buddhism their goal isn’t to make

it back to a deity. They strive to achieve the final liberation into Nirvana (Fisher and Rinehart,

section 5.1).

Sikhism does not claim to have the only path to God. (Fisher and Rinehart, section 11.4).

They come to know God in the world through working and serving throughout their lives. This

differs greatly from Christianity who believe that Jesus is the only way back to God. They

believe that accepting the Grace of Jesus into one’s life is the only way to avoid spending

eternity in Hell. Much of Christianity will even go so far as to quarrel among the different sects

and attempt to prove they are the only true Christian church.

Holidays
 Religions celebrate many different holidays, each having significance to their beliefs.

Sikhism celebrates the spring festival Baisakhi which is a celebration of the formation of the

Khalsa. Christianity celebrates Christmas and Easter. Christmas is where they celebrate the birth

of Jesus, and Easter is where they celebrate his resurrection. One of the most well-known

celebrations in Judaism is Hanukkah. Which they celebrate about the same time that Christians

celebrate Christmas. Hanukkah is a holiday celebrating the rededication of the Holy Temple.

“Hinduism honors the divine in so many forms that almost everyday a religious celebration is

being held in some part of India.” (Fisher and Rinehart, section 3.5). Each religion has its own

meaningful celebrations, holidays, and festivals that it chooses to recognize. Each holiday they

choose to celebrate, has some meaningful association with the beliefs of their religion. Each

religion has different and varying holidays.

A Religion is meant to better the lives of those who choose to follow it, and to help them

better the world around them. It is meant to bring purpose and guidance in one’s life. It is meant

to bring happiness. Religions come in many different sizes and forms, with such a variety of

people being attracted to each one. While they have some similarities in purpose they are

different in so many other ways. Whether that be their path to God, their spiritual destinations or

goals, their scriptures, religious figures, or even holidays. They have some similarities here or

there, but the differences are staggering. Just as broccoli and is much different than cheesecake,

so is one religion from another. It doesn’t matter whether the religion is from the east or the west,

and sometimes it doesn’t even matter if it’s a different sect or group in the same religion.

Religions are very different from one another. The important aspect of religion is that those who
choose to be part of one make a difference for good in their lives, their communities, and the

world.

Works Cited

Fisher, Mary Pat. Rinehart, Robin. Living Religions 10th edition. Pearson Publishing. 2017