Introduction
Religion has always been an extremely influential aspect of the lives of human beings beginning from thousands of years ago to the present.
In the present day, many people from different walks of life face a number of challenges and problems concerning such issues as security, health and death. These problems and challenges are the reason why there has been continual existence of religion. According to Wenner, “religion is the universal tool for explaining things which we do not understand through the context of the known physical world” (Par. 1).
Even if we have many different religions, but what is common among them is that they all work towards the same goal. Each religion gives answers to questions asked by all human beings. These include questions like, as Wenner points out, “why are we here? What happens when I die? How will I live my life?” (Par. 1).Therefore, if one looks below the surface; all religions have basically the same goal and lead to the same place and this can be seen when a comparison of the various religions is carried out.
Comparing Religious Traditions
The major religions in the world include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism among others. Among these, we have those classified as Western religions which include Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and those classified as Eastern religions which include Buddhism, Hinduism. Looking at Judaism, this is a religion that has existed for a longer time as compared to most of the world’s religions.
The Jewish people were the initial group of people to belief in the existence of one god. Christianity and Islam came up from this religion. The Christianity and the Judaism religions believe in God sending them a deliverer. However, these religions do not agree on the issue of the coming of a deliverer; on one hand, the Christians believe that the deliverer was Jesus but on the contrary, the Judaism belief holds it that that deliverer will come at a later time.
The followers of the Christianity religion (Christians) believe that their God sent Jesus Christ, His only beloved son in to the world to save all the people from their sin so that whoever believes in Him and turns away from his or her sinful ways may have everlasting life. It is through the death and resurrection of this savior that this purpose was accomplished.
The followers of the Judaism religion believe in the same God. On the other hand, the Islam religion has its followers believing in Prophet Muhammad who was sent by God (Allah) to offer guidance to the people and to serve as their messenger. This religion is the second largest in the world after Christianity.
Another religion that has been there for a very long time is Hinduism. A larger number of the followers of this religion live in India where it originated, but there are still other followers who live in other parts of the world. In this, there is a belief in many gods as opposed to other religions that have been looked at.
According to Simond, the followers of the Hinduism religion, “make out one supreme character called Brahman….their objective is to sooner or later join with Brahman and until that union takes place, believers are in a continuous process of rebirth called reincarnation” (Par. 6).
More so, the other religion is Buddhism which originated in India over twenty five centuries ago and its founder was Prince Siddhartha Gautama. The followers of this religion regard this person as their Buddha. Simond points out that, in several instances in history, this religion “has been a leading religious, civilizing, and social force in most of Asia” (Par. 7). Currently, a larger number of the followers of this religion are found in southern Asia, Japan as well as Sri Lanka.
In summary, looking closely, it can be seen that these religions have several things in common alongside differences. Christianity, Islam and Judaism religions have something in common in that; they have a belief in a single god. This is not the case when it comes to the Hinduism religion where there is a belief in many gods.
Both Christianity and Judaism religions have a belief in the existence of a savior or messiah. More so, the Christianity, Islam and Judaism religion have something in common on the ground that they all hold on the belief that there will be a judgment day at the end of time.
On the other hand, the Hinduism religion and the Buddhism religion have something in common in that, in both, there is a belief in reincarnation. Reincarnation is a belief in which it is held that when a person dies, she or he is born again in a new life. More so, the Buddhism and Hinduism religion, “both have a belief in Nirvana, an ideal state of rest, harmony, stability, or joy” (“Comparing world religions”, Par. 2).
Conclusion
All religions have basically the same goal and lead to the same place and this can be seen when a comparison of the various religions is carried out. It can be realized that the religions have similarities which can be traced in the components they have.
One of the components that they have, seen in the discussion is that in each religion there is a belief among followers in a rule that is beyond their power. The human life is under the control of supernatural powers or supernatural being. The religions also have a code of conduct that guides human behavior to realize harmonious living.
Works Cited
“Comparing world religions.” BookRags, n.d. Web.
Simond, Mathew. Five most common world’s religions. Ezine articles, n.d. Web.
Wenner, Sara. Study of world religion, eMuseum, 2001. Web.