Similarities between Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam

The five major, and most common religions in the world, are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. These five religions possess different beliefs and responsibilities, but they still share similar attributes.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion focused around their God, God the Father, and was founded around 1812 BC by Moses and Abraham in the Middle East. It is based around the teachings of the Torah, their sacred scripture most like the Christian Old Testament. In the Jewish religion they believe that God continues to work in the world and effects everything people do.

Christianity, similar to Judaism, is the world's largest religion with over 2 billion followers. Christianity was founded in the 1st Century AD by Jesus. The Bible, composed of the Old and New Testament, is the sacred teachings of Christianity. The Torah is the Old Testament, in a different order than in the Bible. The two religions worship the same God. However, there are also an abundance of differences. In the Bible, not only is there the Old Testament but there is also the New Testament, written during and after the time of Jesus Christ, known as the Messiah, the Savior, and the Son of God in Christianity. The beliefs of a Christian is that God is always with us and has a plan for your life. Furthermore, they believe wone dies and will be saved and will descend into heaven through salvation. Christians believe the Son of God, died for our sins to give us an opportunity to repent from our sins to achieve salvation. The duties of a Christian is to be baptized, trust that Jesus is their Savior, admit they are sinful, and ask for forgiveness.

Unlike Judaism and Christianity, the Islamic god is Allah. Islam was founded in the seventh century by the prophet Muhammad. The Muslims relationship with Allah is simple. They must pray five times a day; morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night, recite the declaration of belief, fast during Ramadan, give to charity, and go on the hajj, a spiritual journey to Mecca. The sacred text of the Muslims is the Quran. The Quran is similar to the Bible because there are over fifty mutual people in both.

Buddhism, unlike the previously mentioned religions, has no specific god. The Buddhist worship the Buddha, ?the Enlightened One'. The religion was founded in the sixth century and was a result of Siddhartha Guatama's quest for the purpose of life. The focus of Buddhism is spiritual development and Buddhists believe that change is always possible, there is no set path for one's life and the path to enlightenment is through meditation and wisdom. The duties of a Buddhist are the four noble truths and the eightfold paths.

Hinduism is distinctly different from the four religions. It is the oldest known religion, because of which there is no record of a founder. It is believed to be founded in 2300-1500 BC. Unlike the previous mentioned religions, Hinduism is polytheistic, meaning Hindus worship more than one god. In addition to being polytheistic, the Hindus use a caste system to separate the classes of society. One of the highest classes is the Brahmans. The Brahmans are believe to have power beyond the ordinary human, they are treated with the same respect as the gods. The sacred texts of the religion are Vedas. The text contains hymns, philosophies, and guidance.

All things considered, there are many resemblances and contradictions of the five mainstream religions including; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

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