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Comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions. Religion can be defined as "Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual[5], or divine"[1] (see also spiritual formation, divinity).
In the field of comparative religion, the main world religions are generally classified as either Abrahamic, Indian or Taoic. Areas of study also include creation myths and Humanism.
Main article: Abrahamic religion[6]
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 Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah Proceeding to obey, he was prevented by an angel as he was about to sacrifice his son, and slew a ram which he found on the spot.
(larger image)Abrahamic religions
In the study of comparative religion, the category of Abrahamic religions consists of the three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which claim Abraham (Hebrew: אברם 'Abram "exalted father," later to be named Avraham אַבְרָהָם "father of a multitude" or "chief of multitude" by God (אלהים 'elohiym[3]), cf. Genesis 17:5[4] Arabic Ibrahim ابراهيم ) as a part of their sacred history. Other religions (such as the Bahá’í Faith) that fit this description are sometimes included but also often omitted.
The original belief in the One God of Abraham eventually became present-day Judaism. Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Jewish Old Testament, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God.
Islam[2] believes the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have been modified over time and are no longer the original divine revelations as given to Moses and other prophets.[7][8] For Muslims (see Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims) the Qur'an is the final revelation from God, with Muhammad as his messenger for its transmission.
By the same token, Some Christians and Jews believe that the Moslem faith was originally derived from Arab pagan moon-god worship, and never divinely inspired at all. According to Mohammad A. Khan, the Qu'ran has been researched widely, in the last century, to probe whether it is the word of God (Allah) or made up by a human or humans. In his article title, The Quran Confesses Allah Was a Pagan God before Islam, he goes on to say:
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The topic of this article is that the same Quran proves that Allah was a pagan god before Islam, whom the Arabians, especially Meccans, venerated, and prayed to, in pre-Islamic days. But Muslims’ belief regarding Allah (god) is totally different. They firmly deny that Allah is or was the god of the pagans, also known as “Moon God”. We will probe this point in light of the Quran as to how Allah, unknowingly, made a mistake and got himself caught in Sura Nahl, verse 57 (Quran 16:57). Read the whole article.
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Comparing Abrahamic religions
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Christianity and Judaism are two closely related Abrahamic religions that in some ways parallel each other and in other ways fundamentally diverge in theology and practice. The article on Judeo-Christian tradition emphasizes continuities and convergences between the two religions. The articles on Christianity and Judaism describe some different views held by both religions.
Main articles: Christianity and Judaism
Further information: Judeo-Christian and Supersessionism
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 Sites on the Golan in blue are Jewish
communities. Sites on the Golan in black
are Druze and Circassian communities.
Areas of the Golan controlled by Israel are
light-coloured while those under Syrian
control are grey. The Golan Heights are
surrounded by four countries: Lebanon,
Syria, Jordan, and Israel.
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- With over 32% of the world population following the Christian faith, Christianity is the World’s largest religion.
- Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, who currently number more than 14 million, mostly dispersed across Israel and the United States.
- The total population of Sikhs is about 16 million; the majority of whom (about 13 million) still live in the religion’s place of origin-the Punjab in Northwest.
- Islam is currently the fastest growing world religion, and now boasts over a billion followers, second only to Christianity.
- Claiming to be the oldest religion in the World, Hinduism has over 800 million adherents worldwide, forming the third largest religious population.
- Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, with over 357 million devotees worldwide.
Source: Religious Intelligence |
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The historical interaction of Islam and Judaism started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam. There are many common aspects between Islam and Judaism, and as Islam developed it gradually became the major religion closest to Judaism. As opposed to Christianity which originated from interaction between ancient Greek and Hebrew cultures, Judaism is very similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice. There are many traditions within Islam originating from traditions within the Hebrew Bible or from postbiblical Jewish traditions. These practices are known collectively as the Isra'iliyat.
Main article: Islam
The historical interaction between Christianity and Islam connects fundamental ideas in Christianity with similar ones in Islam. Islam and Christianity share their origins in the Abrahamic tradition, although Christianity predates Islam by centuries. Islam accepts many aspects of Christianity as part of its faith - with some differences in interpretation - and rejects other aspects. Islam believes the Qur'an is the final revelation from God and a completion of all previous revelations, including the Bible.
Indian religions
There are a number of religions that have originated on the Indian subcontinent. They encompass Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
The religion of the Vedic period is the historical predecessor of the Hindu religion. The Vedic and the Sramana tradition co-existed and influenced each other since pre-historic times. Jainism and Buddhism are a continuation of the Sramana tradition. Buddhism further diversified, into Chinese and Japanese schools.
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Comparing "Dharmic" religions
Buddhism and Hinduism are both post-Vedic religions[9]. Gautama Buddha is mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Some Hindus believe the Buddha accepted and incorporated many tenets of Hinduism in his doctrine, however, Buddhists disagree and state there was no such thing as Hinduism at the time of Buddha and in fact, "Indeed, it absorbed so many Buddhist traits that it is virtually impossible to distinguish the latter in medieval and later Hinduism." Prominent Hindu reformers such as Mahatma Gandhi and Vivekananda acknowledge Buddhist influence.
Buddhism and Jainism are the two branches of the Shramana tradition that still exist today. Until recently Jainism was largely confined to India, while Buddhism has largely flourished outside of India. However the two traditions share remarkable similarities. In his life, the Buddha undertook many fasts, penances and austerities, the descriptions of which are elsewhere found only in the Jain tradition. Ultimately Buddha abandoned these methods on his discovery of the Middle Way or Magga. To this day, many Buddhist teachings[10], principles, and terms used in Buddhism are identical to those of Jainism, but they may hold very different meanings for each.
Hinduism and Sikhism have had a long and complex relationship. Views range from Sikhism being a distinct faith in itself to Sikhism being a sect of Hinduism. A vast majority of Sikhs oppose the notion that Sikhism is a sect of Hinduism, while others stress the similarities, but recognise that the religions are distinct.
Jainism and Sikhism have both originated in South Asia and are Eastern philosophical faiths. Jainism, like Buddhism, rejected the authority of the Vedas and created independent textual traditions based on the words and examples of their early teachers.
Taoic religions
A Taoic religion is a religion, or religious philosophy, that focuses on the East Asian concept of Tao ("The Way"). This forms a large group of religions including Taoism, Confucianism, Jeung San Do, Shinto, Yiguandao, Chondogyo, Chen Tao and Caodaism. In large parts of East Asia, Buddhism has taken on some taoic features.
Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order. It is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered and is associated with nature, due to a belief that nature demonstrates the Tao. The flow of Chi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is compared to the universal order of Tao. Following the Tao is also associated with a "proper" attitude, morality and lifestyle. This is intimately tied to the complex concept of De, or literally "virtue". De is the active expression of Tao.
Taoism and Ch'an Buddhism for centuries had a mutual influence on each other in China, Korea and Vietnam. These influences were inherited by Zen-Buddhism when Ch'an Buddhism arrived in Japan and adapted as Zen-Buddhism.
Humanists (see Humanism), in particular, favour the teaching of comparative religion.
References
- « Religion Facts What is Religion? Definitions and Quotes
- « A History of Midieval Islam by J.J. Saunders
- « Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for 'elohiym (Strong's 430)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. Retrieved 08/10/2009
- « Blue Letter Bible. "Book of Beginnings - Genesis 17 - (ESV - English Standard Version)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. 10 Aug 2009. Retrieved 08/10/2009
- « "Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, and divine" Encyclopædia Britannica (online, 2006), cited after What is Religion? Definitions and Quotes. Retrieved 08/10/2009
- « Why Abrahamic? Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions at the University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 08/10/2009
- « Rabbi David Rosen, Jewish-Muslim Relations, Past and Present, November 2003. Word Doc Retrieved 08/10/2009
- « Rabbi Justin Jaron Lewis, Islam and Judaism, October 2001
- « “owes on eternal debt of gratitude to that great teacher,”Mahatma Gandhi and Buddhism Y.P. Anand An Encounter with Buddhism. Retrieved 08/10/2009
- « Swami VivekanandaThe Ideal of Karma-Yoga. Retrieved 08/10/2009
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