Christianity and Islam are some of the most influential religions in the world. However, the history of the spread of these religions is rather insightful and encapsulates various complications and important events. While some parts of the world continued supporting those beliefs, others did not. The following text will review a similarity between the spread of the two religions, a difference and how they changed in the process.
Christianity has a significantly longer history than Islam. The former was first developed in the 1st century CE by Jesus of Nazareth, while Islam dates back to approximately the 7th century with the help of the prophet Muhammad (Denova, 2022; History.com Editors, 2022). He was declared to be the messiah by his supporters and became well-known due to his miracles. After the death (and later, resurrection) of Jesus Christ, one of his disciples, Paul, continued his mission by spreading the religion all over the world.
There was one similarity regarding how the two religions were being spread from their places of origin. During the first years, Christianity and Islam relied on one influential prophet who would spread the word of God and Allah to the people. For the Muslims, it was Muhammad who preached the beliefs to the world, having received a message from Gabriel. Meanwhile, Christians had Jesus, who became renowned for his miracles and impactful religious sermons.
However, there are some differences in the events related to the spread of those religions. For example, as a result of the ongoing persecution, Muhammad’s supporters immigrated to Yahrib. The followers later planned an act of retribution against those who oppressed them (Khan, 2019). This event led to the Battle of Badr, which was triggered by raids on Arabian caravans and brought victory to Muhammad’s supporters. This made the latter a military force that was not to be silenced. Six years after the battle, Mecca was passed to the Muslims and Mohammad provided those who surrendered with an amnesty, as they would later convert to Islam.
Meanwhile, Christians would bring petitions to emperors, which were declined until 313 CE. They did not experience military conflicts due to their actions; however, they were blamed for every misfortune that Romans faced. However, the situation took a shift when Constantine had a vision of the Christian cross prior to the Battle at the Milvian Bridge. The emperor then thanked the deity for winning the conflict with Maxentius. This led to the publication of the Edict of Milan, which became the first step to the further spread of Christianity.
One of the main causes for the change in beliefs of Christianity was disagreement in the interpretation of God and Jesus. For example, Jesus Christ was temporarily demoted to God’s subordinate in the 4th century. This happened due to the conflict between the perception of the former and the latter. Worshipping Christ as a deity was rather contradictory to God’s role. According to them, since God formed the universe, He would later create Jesus as well. However, in 325 CE, it was decided in the First Council of Nicea that the Lord and Christ were identical in essence.
Christianity’s split into two branches is known as The Great Schism. It took place in 1054 and was caused by religious and political disagreements. There were arguments about whether it was right to use unleavened bread for communion or not and if clerics should remain celibate (National Geographic Society, 2022). Constantinopole’s disagreement with Rome’s belief that the Pope should control the Patriarch resulted in the split into Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
Regarding Islam, the religion witnessed a split into two branches due to differences in opinions and interpretations. The belief was divided into the Sunni and Shia branches. The separation was caused by disagreements regarding Muhammad’s future successor. The former thought it should be Umar and Uthman, while the latter suggested Ali. Moreover, Sunnis viewed imams as a guide into Islam, while Shia Muslims viewed them as the link between humans and Allah. Thus, these separations had a great impact on Christianity and Islam.
References
Denova, R. (2022). Christianity.World History Encyclopedia. Web.
History.com Editors (2022) Islam.HISTORY. Web.
Khan, S. M. (2019). Islam.World History Encyclopedia. Web.
National Geographic Society. (2022). JUL 16, 1054 CE: Great Schism. Web.