Johnny Irving

Suzanne Jacobs
World Religions
20 April 2016
Religion Comparison Paper
There are hundreds of religions out there, a lot of which are based off another religion but
somewhere down the line people began to disagree with certain parts of the religion so they make
adjustments and end result call it its own religion. Not in all religions but most, what the religions core
beliefs are widely based off of depends on the time-period and what is going on in the area, in the political
system, nature, so many things go into making certain religions believe in what they believe in. In this
paper Im going to compare and contrast between 3 different religions. I am going to talk about what the
religions core beliefs are, an estimated time of roughly when the religions were beginning. I will also
touch on some of the events going on in the time period that these religions first started. Of course I will
also talk about similarities and differences between these three religions. I will discuss the ways of
practice and how they differ from one another, the symbolism behind certain areas of practice and
religious totems. First I will cover all of the core beliefs of these religions and go into my comparisons
of the different religions, and whether this class has persuaded me to believe differently about these
religions or confirmed my way of thinking.
The Buddhists
Buddhism is the religion that most people correlate with peace, love, unity, and often times
hipsters. My knowledge of buddhism before taking this class was a fat man who ate a lot of food and was
happy go lucky, jolly all the time kind of guy. Coexist is one of the best words I can think of to describe
buddhists, before and after this class I will always believe this. In buddhism one can say they believe in a
way of life more than considering it a religion. Buddhists worship either at home, or in a buddhist temple.
The man who became known as the buddha preached an alternative to the ritual oriented
Brahmanism (creative principle which lies realized in the world) of India. The man known as the buddha
isnt a god nor should he be worshiped as a god. Shakyamuni Buddha is the man buddhists refer to as the
buddha, not because of a un-manlike miracle that he performed but because of the way he achieved full
enlightenment through meditation. Something all humans are capable of and one of the many empowering
things in this world. The people of buddhism realize that there is suffering in this world, through
meditation and becoming consciously aware of what makes one suffer, you are able to enlighten yourself
and not suffer. The buddha that people are working towards isn't a deity, he isn't some creator of the
world, he is a human. The true buddha is not a human body--it is Enlightenment. A human body must
die, but the wisdom of enlightenment will exist forever in the truth of the Dharma, and in the practice of
the Dharma. (Living Religions, PG 142.)This thought process resonates with me so well, I can't imagine
any better way of looking at a way to live, there is no search for knowledge that isnt there, no search for
if a god is real and what form of mortality he is in.
The Practice of Dharma
The buddhist religion goes hand in hand with the practice of dharma. In life there are things that
people are going to have to deal with no matter what. The principle of buddhism is the extinction of
worldly suffering. To me it isn't all of a sudden getting rid of, its not learning to deal with issues like old
age, depreciation of health, and whatever. But it is knowing that you will go through these things with
positive attitude. Simply put 1. Life inevitably involves suffering, dissatisfaction, and distress. 2.
Suffering is caused by craving, rooted in ignorance. 3. Suffering will cease when craving ceases. 4. There
is a way to realize this state: The Noble Eightfold Path. ( Living Religions, PG 144 first paragraph). The
noble eightfold path is the path to realizing what is causing your suffering, and the goal is to reach
nirvana. Essentially nirvana is the end-goal, liberation, reaching nirvana it is believed you follow the
noble eightfold path.
Life and Death
Many religions believe in reincarnation, surprisingly the majority of religions that do have arisen
in from India. Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism are the main indian religions that believe in
reincarnation. However they have different interpretations of life after death. For instance in Hinduism

when a person dies their soul doesn't die it is transferred to another life form, like one life human the next
an eagle. In buddhism you are constantly building positive or negative karma, and how much positive or
negative karma you receive is passed on similar to a flame onto a new life in a realm of existence that
reflects your past karma. In the wheel of birth and death it shows the life people will live in the next life
with good karma sided to the life people would live with a life of bad karma.
Path to Enlightenment
The path to enlightenment is what most buddhists are conscious about and continuously working
towards. Within their path to enlightenment there are multiple different ways that buddhists work towards
enlightenment. One way is through meditation, another is living the noble eightfold path and being aware
of the four noble truths. Buddhists are a peaceful people and don't focus any energy to anything that
brings harm or dissatisfaction to them. On the path to enlightenment there is a sense of focus on ridding
suffering from their lives.
In buddhism there is a sacred text for these people to refer to. There are three texts that they refer
to, most popularly is the Pali canon or the Tripitaka, Mahayana Sutras and also the tibetan book of the
dead. The Pali Canon is commonly known as the word of buddha it includes some of the Buddhas
discourse, but it also incorporates the teachings of his pupils. (http://www.findingdulcinea.com, website
buddhist portion) Buddhism texts follow canonical and non canonical scriptures to varying degrees. In
judaism they follow the Tanach which is made up of different teachings, and talks about a wide array of
things. Islam you have the Quran which talks about what they believe to be the revelation from god and of
course different teachings.
Islam
The perception of Islamic people is poor. That simple, it is poor. Here in America the way these
people are portrayed as terrorists and suicide bombers, whereas there is the portrayal of religions like
buddhists, people believe they are loving tree-huggers. If asked about jews and judaism, the response
would be oh, they are penny pinchers and not a good friend to nazis without knowledge of the depth of
each religion. Media gives you surface knowledge that generally isnt the most respectful or honest.
Before I start the section on Islam I want you to ask yourself, When you see someone wearing a turban or
any piece of religious clothing different from your own, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Take it in and think of why it it is that what you first thought of was something connected with terrorism
or a fear for your life. I know when I see someone wearing a turban or looks slightly like a muslim or
islam follower I am instantly scared for anything in the surrounding area, because of whats been shown
to me throughout the years in connection with 9/11. Today there is ISIS. The Islamic State, what a thing
to broadcast across the world. It is a terrorist group directly connected with a religion.
Islamic Beliefs
When I visited the Islamic place of worship, known as a mosque, in west valley the Khadeeja
Islamic Center, the Imam talked about the Quran for a while and also gave a speech. He talked about the
god Allah, how he is the creator and everything is his creation, and how the people in the world can honor
is creations and maintain respect for his creations. A part of teaching that I learned in the service is how
muslim and islamic people are taught to not drink alcohol. In my church you are told not do it just for the
shear fact its a sin, In this service he gave reasoning behind it. Do not drink alcohol because of the
damage it causes, the chaos it creates in family life, personal life, community life. The way this principle
was taught in the community gave me a higher level of respect for them. This religion is monotheistic,
their god is Allah. In arabic the word Islam means peace, purity, acceptance, and commitment.
In Islamic/Muslim Belief, God is all-knowing and has intelligently created everything for a
divine purpose, governed by fixed laws that assure the harmonious and wondrous working of all
creation. (Living Religions, PG 388) In islam to believe is to surrender totally to god. In the Quran there
are many things talked about of which you should and shouldn't do. Beliefs are bestowed that if you don't
do the things that allah tells you not to do, you will be rewarded in the life after with things that are more
amazing then what you would ever experience. You are not meant to worship anything but the one god,
Allah. The way you worship worldly things like food, family, nature, you worship the creator of these
things directly, and that in someway is an indirect worship towards his creations.
Its not taught for followers to go out and spread the word of Allah but for the word to be true and

people who seek the truth to find the truth. That is something I find to be cool about this religion, they
don't send missionaries across the world to recruit people. But if someone believes it to be true so be it,
practice it and learn about it. The Quran is respectful of all religions, profits, and scriptures in other
religions.
Practice of Worship
Religions practice their worship in some way or another, in their thoughts, teachings, doings.
Mormons attend church every sunday, partake in the sacrament. Each religion has there own way, in
Islamic and Muslim practice they attend a mosque, and some even do it from their home. Where it is the
dominant religion, middle east and a few other areas, they pray about five times a day. There is a call to
prayer known as the Adhan, means to listen, to hear, to be informed. It is time to come and learn and pray
to Allah. Like the service I attended it is a time to hear a summary about islamic belief and core
principles.
Their are versus they recite a certain amount of times and it is acknowledging Allah as the only
god and being the greatest. Followed by insight taught that day. In these worships, there are symbolic
things everyone does. Bowing, crossing arms across hips, wiping ear lobs, etc....
Judaism
From site visits to core beliefs, judaism is one I am most fond of. Each religion has bits and pieces
that reside well with me but overall judaism is at the top. What I took away from the jewish beliefs was a
sense that what they teach is real, a guideline for life that would be great for me personally. Judaism
adapts to times and culture, adjusts to the rights and wrongs of teachings.
Jewish Law
Like I have talked about throughout this paper, with religions having sacred texts/laws and a set of
writings that they follow. In judaism the daily life and religious observances, the way, is known as
Halakhah An elaborate framework of divine mitzvoth, or commandments, combined with rabbinic laws
and traditions, this law is central to judaism.
Sacred Text
The torah is the written and oral law. It is the main text in judaism which covers everything. The
jewish laws dictate their lives, basic principles, to the food that they eat. In judaism the food that they eat
must be kosher, (blessed by a rabbi) making sure food is kosher is an opportunity to show obedience to
god, it also contributes strongly to jewish unity and identity. This is an example of the many laws,
Mitzvoths are considered laws, in judaism there are 613 of them. Jewish law incorporates a large body of
rabbinical rules and laws. In these 613 Mitzvoths there are things as simple and basic as dont sleep with
your close ones to not stealing. Things that people know aren't right but still do anyways.
Place of Worship
Jewish people practice their faith in a synagogue, it is one of the most welcoming sites that ive
visited yet. The people were amazingly friendly and inviting. A service is made up of reciting of the torah
and teachings. They speak in hebrew and english, there is also the option of hebrew writing if into it.
Everyone in the community is involved. There are a few ways that they show symbolism in the service,
with different spiritual objects and clothing they wear.
Personal Reflection
I have come to the conclusion all religons are unique in their own way. Unique in the way they
worship and the spirituality connected with objects and certain ways of doing things. Unique in Texts that
they consider as law, ways of life, guidelines to living the right way. Unique in the culture and community
that is involved with the beliefs.
Region is a huge part in religion. The principle of beliefs are heavily influenced on where they live
and the time period of origination. In Middle-eastern religions there is a lot of similarities because they
are branched off of other religions and manipulated to fit the time period. Beliefs in time periods will
differ depending on laws going on at the time and political systems that govern. Majority of Indian
traditions have similar beliefs of reincarnation for instance and western traditions have similar beliefs that
are branched from jesus christ and what was going on in his time period.
It is cool to take in perspective of millions of people that believe one way and millions of other
people that believe in a another way. Major religions that are monotheistic and major religions that are

polytheistic. Nothing makes any one religion more right then others, maybe personal opinion on them
makes them more right to you but thats not everyone. Peoples spirituality is intriguing, and religion is
one of the most fundamental ways for people to come together and share beliefs, ideas, and bring together
communities.