The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 1

The Similarities and Differences of the Five Major Religions and Utilizing Them as a Unifying

Force Between People

Zinyka Wessells

Global Studies and World Languages Academy

The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 2

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 2

Abstract.. 3

Introduction. 4

Limitations of Study. 5

Literature Review.... 6

Basic Information and Fundamentals of the Major Five Religions.. 9

Formation of Religious Viewpoints 12

Religious Wars and Conflicts 13

Religious Conflict Resolution and Prevention. 16

Conclusion.. 19

References.. 20
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 3

Abstract

Religion can be most accurately and broadly defined as a system of beliefs accompanied

by some object of devotion and a written set of laws that demand to be followed. The five major

religions of the world share many beliefs, ethics, and practices but have been separated through

their minor differences which have resulted in past and present conflicts that have divided them;

however, by communicating, understanding, and educating one another, these same religions can

function as a unifying force between people globally. Religion has been the cause of many

conflicts on a global scale such as the past Crusades and the ongoing war in the region of

Kashmir. These wars are caused by the differences and forced separation of religion that has

occurred over the years as well as the developing negative view that the West has on many

eastern and traditional religions. These conflicts can be prevented and stopped if dialogues

between groups of people are formed on an international scale in an effort to understand and

educate rather than disprove one another.

The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 4

The Similarities and Differences of the Five Major Religions and Utilizing Them as a Unifying

Force Between People

Introduction

Think of the definition of the word religion. Religion is difficult to define because every

religion and its beliefs are varied and complex. When someone attempts to define the word

religion, their definition usually holds some sort of bias based on their beliefs and religious

preference. This results in majority of the attempts to define the word excluding one or more

groups of people; however, this sort of exclusion based on personal beliefs and preferences does

not end at the definition of the word, it extends to real life situations where groups of people are

actively divided by the beliefs, ethics, and practices of the worlds many religions. The five

major religions of the world share many beliefs, ethics, and practices but have been separated

through their minor differences which have resulted in past and present conflicts that have

divided them; however, by communicating, understanding, and educating one another, these

same religions can function as a unifying force between people globally.

The main purpose of this essay is to address the differences and similarities of the five major

world religions and explore the way that these have resulted in divides between these religions.

Historically and currently, differences in human belief have been the known cause for many

internal and external conflicts. Wars have been and are being fought over something as simple as

a few differences between systems of beliefs. These past wars not only influence current wars

but also influence the worldview on certain religions. Past events and the media have painted

religion as a whole as well as specific religions to be hateful and violent which only increases the

conflict that is already present.

The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 5

In order to prevent this conflict from furthering it is important that nations educate themselves

of past and current religions and religious events. Religious peace can be found in other ways

than uniformity, such as education and communication between religious leaders and followers.

This essay will explore possible solutions for the lack of communication and sharing of

knowledge between religions and what affects the addition of this communication and

knowledge would have on future conflicts and that attempts toward peace.

Limitations of Study

Due to the thousands of world religions that are currently available to people to choose from

or be brought into and due to the nature of some of the far more exclusive and hidden religions

this study has been narrowed down to what may be called the major five religions. These five

religions were chosen due to the duration of time in which theyve been present in the lives of

many and the sheer number of followers that they have. Since the majority of the worlds

population identifies as either Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, or Hindu, these are the

religions that will be focused on within this study.

Though these religions have numerous followers around the world this study has been

narrowed down further to focusing on the countries that house the majority of each of these

religions followers. This narrows the focus of the study to the United States, Israel, India, and

countries in the Middle East and East Asia.

Major limitations of this study come from the sources and the bias that can occur. Journalists

in the media and writers of the intellectual journals and articles that are commonly found on

databases often contain some form of bias either for or against the topic. Religious bias is hard to

identify and almost impossible to avoid in modern media and even in academic journals.
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 6

Just as there is a limitation of research there is also a limitation of personal knowledge and

experience. Due to the lack personal experience and inability to speak with many religious

people or leaders there is a bias in my personal research and data analysis. All of this will have

some sort of impact on the final results and the final product will be analyzed carefully.

Literature Review

Basic Information and Fundamentals of the Major Five Religions

J. L. Carnagie (2007) seeks to provide accurate information on the formation and advancing

developments of a variety of world religions. Carnagie (2007) provides insight into the ethics,

morals, and beliefs of the many world religions and provides context for changes to these beliefs

over time. Though there is a heavy focus on the five major world religions, other religions are

also brought into view as a way to show other variations in ethics, tradition, and global

viewpoint.

Similar to Carnagie (2007) but with a heavier focus on one specific religion per book, the

chosen books from the World Religions series by Wagu (1991-92), Morrison and Brown (1991),

Gordon (1991), and Brown (1991) all have a primary focus on one religion and its relation to

the world rather than how the various religions relate to and differ from one another. These

combined sources provide a necessary foundation for understanding for the essay to build upon.

The Formation of Religious Viewpoints and Ways They Can Be Affected

The way that religious and nonreligious people develop opinions of one another is directly

influenced by factors such as their home countries viewpoints as well as the media. According

to Gross (1999), comparing religions is a practice done by all peoples and when an open mind is

kept can aid in the understanding of independent religions and their differences and similarities;
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 7

however, so many people allow their own opinions to influence them when they begin to

compare religions which result in biased works on the topic of comparative religion. Quinn

(2006) talks about the way that people usually associate morals with religion and the way the two

intermingle on a daily basis. They continue with this that people are more likely to have their

morals influenced by religion or by the opinions of a religious person or group of religious

people and the ways that this can have a negative or positive impact on a person.

This ties into the heavy influence that opinions of the media have on a person, especially with

articles involving religion. The majority of global media in the world comes from the western

world which according to Pasquier (2007) and Mattar (2004) is heavily biased against traditional

religions and especially Islam. According to Benson (2012), this bias against Islam stems from

past conflicts and terrorist attacks with the Middle East that have yet to be resolved and a lack of

communication between the countries leading to a lack of understanding and fear. This results in

a spread of media information on religion that is heavily biased and influences the opinions of

people who read it according to Gugino (1999).

Past Conflicts Affecting the Present

Many past wars in history have been fought over religion. Groups of religious people when

conquering other nations believed that the difference in religion was wrong and fought for

uniformity. They would force natives to conform to their religion and would often kill those who

refused and in some cases even kill those who agreed. The Crusades were a series of religious

wars that were fought to take over Jerusalem which was currently under Islamic rule

(Davis-Secord, 2013). Over a million soldiers and civilians lost their life to the Crusades and the

holy land of Jerusalem is still a territory that is fought over. Scholars such as Schipper (2010),
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 8

believe that the events of the crusades are still impacting the relations between these religions

today.

The Crusades not only influenced the relations between Muslims and Christians but also

relations between Christians and Jews. The interactions between these three groups of people

have been strained ever since the Crusades according to information from Nanji (1996).

Current Religious Conflicts

Though the majority of religious conflicts seem as if they are long in the past, there are still

current conflicts involving religion and of religious interest. For example, terrorist attacks that

have happened in the past two centuries have sparked a lot of strife and hatred between Islam

and other religions (Uddin, 2013). Terrorist attacks on America by the Middle East such as what

occurred on September 11th alongside religious media has caused fear among people of Islamic

people and nations (Darity, Jr, 2008). Islams belief system is often seen as treating what is seen

as basic human rights to the Western World as ungodly and this is due partially to a lack of

communication. The Western World has a major influence on the rest of the world but due to our

limited contact with the Middle East individuals often have to fight for their own rights and

commonly are killed for doing so (Uddin, 2013).

Religious Conflict Resolution and Prevention Through Religious Equality and Freedom

Many different suggestions for religious conflict resolution and prevention have been made;

however, many involve tactics that when viewed from a global standpoint will not succeed. Yet,

all suggestions for this resolution share the same theme of true religious freedom and working

together to communicate and form a basic understanding of one another. Some examples of true

religious freedom and presentation that should be installed to create a more peaceful world
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 9

according to Haynes (2011) is that public space that is open to one religion should be open to all

religions in order to prevent unequal representation.

Another common suggestion is that religions should be represented and taught about equally

in public schools without fear or judgment. According to (Passe & Willox, 2013), It is

necessary, even crucial, to follow the route of teaching about religion if we wish to maintain the

principle of religious tolerance that undergirds the democratic republic. We cannot claim to

breed a society of religious tolerance when our school systems only teaching one to two religions

reflect otherwise.

Basic Information and Fundamentals of the Major Five Religions

In order to truly understand the causes of religious conflict it is necessary to look to the

origin of the five religions being studied in order to better understand them. Religion is most

accurately and inclusively described as a system of thoughts that revolves around some object or

being of devotion that features a specific set of laws and morals that should be followed

(Carnagie, ONeal, Jones, Means, Schalger, and Weisblatt, 2007, p. 1). Religion is often used to

answer questions that plague the human mind and cannot be answered through science alone

such as the purpose and meaning of life and what takes place after death (Carnagie et al., 2007,

p. 2). However, the ways that these questions are answered varies between religions just as do

the moral code and system of thoughts.

The origin of religion can be separated into two different theories. The first theory is the

faith-based theory which, assumes that religions are the result of divine messages from one or

more gods, or from prophets (messengers) of such a supreme being or universal consciousness or
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 10

awareness. (Carnagie et al., 2007, p. 3). Religions such a Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

would fall under this category due to the origin of their sacred texts and prophets. Christianity,

Judaism, and Islam all feature a God that revealed his message to a worthy prophet who

proceeded to share his new found information until it became a religion.

Judaism was founded in a time where the Middle East was most commonly polytheistic.

Judaism defied this normality by worshipping only one God. Judaism is a features one God who

chose the prophet Abraham to lead the Israelites and later the prophet Moses. Abraham leads the

Israelites down the path of salvation through spoken word while Moses is credited with dictating

the sacred text of the religion. This sacred text is known as the Torah and features the teachings

of God as well as the moral code and most basic beliefs of the people. Judaism does not believe

that death is the end of life and prefers to focus on what can be done to improve the spirit now,

thus Judaism does not have a specific answer to what comes after death.(Morrison and Brown,

1991)

Christianity holds many similarities with Judaism and due to this fact, many consider

Judaism to be a basis of Christianity. Christianity and Judaism are both monotheistic religions

with one God who is omnipresent and eternal; however, Jesus of Nazareth is the born prophet of

the religion. Christianity is centralized around the life of Jesus of Nazareth who is accepted to be

a historical figure despite the only records of his life being found in religious texts. Jesus Christ

was born to the virgin Mary and according to Christianity is the son of God who was sent to

cleanse humanity of their sins. Jesus preached the basic beliefs and moral code of Christianity

which was recorded by his disciples and various other prophets into the Bible. The Bible is the

sacred scripture of Christianity and despite order and difference in translation is the same as the
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 11

Tanakh which is regarded to be the spiritual text of Judaism. Christianity answers the question of

life after death by granting devote followers of the religion an eternal life in Heaven through

worship and repentance of sins; however, if one does not repent their sins or does not follow the

teachings of Christ it is said they will find themselves in Hell as punishment. (Brown, 1991).

Islam is the dominant religion of the Middle East. Just the same as Christianity and

Judaism the religion also features a God, named Allah, which selects prophets to lead people

down the path of righteousness. The main prophet of Islam is Muhammad who was spoken to by

Allah and is seen as the founder of the religion. Allah is said to have revealed the Qur'an, the

sacred script of Islam, to Muhammad as well as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus Christ. The Quran

contains the core beliefs and unique laws and morals of the religion. Islam, like Christianity and

Judaism is what is known as an Abrahamic religion which is simply a religion that believes in

Abraham as a prophet (Religion: Three Religions, One God, 2002). Due to this, Islam shares

many similarities in its history and core beliefs but differs greatly in its moral code which is

known to cause conflict with other religions. Islam believes that death is simply a continued

existence of the soul until the Last Day arrives. The Last Day is a shared concept with other

Abrahamic religions and involves the end of the world with God or Allah deciding who is

worthy of eternal Paradise and who will spend the rest of eternity in Hell. (Gordon, 1991).

The second theory for the origin of religion is based on the beliefs of anthropologists

who believe that humans created religion and spirituality in response to some form of cultural

need (Carnagie et al., 2007 p. 4). ...religion emerged from the human brains ability to think

about the process of existence. (Carnagie et al., 2007, p. 4). Although Buddhism and Hinduism

do not perfectly fit under this idea of religion created as a response to death, they are good
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 12

examples of religions that have formed and been influenced by the cultures in which they exist.

Unlike Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism have not spread far outside the reaches of their

country of origin and thus the religion has remained mostly unchanged and become a major part

of the culture for those areas. Although someone in India may not be Hindu the chances are that

they are following some form of Hindu ethics due to the culture and religion growing so closely

with one another over time.

Buddhism, rather than being based on the teachings of a prophet through miracles, is

instead focused on the teaching of its founder, Siddhartha Gautama. His teachings are centralized

around the idea of limiting human suffering by eliminating unnecessary desires. He searched for

years to understand the meaning of life and in his pursuit gained followers that would spread his

teachings orally until they were eventually written into what is known as the Tripitaka

accompanied by the Ten Precepts. These two writings give detail on how to avoid suffering in

life as well as rules and laws to follow to achieve nirvana. Buddhism has no named God and

rather focuses on what can be done for the spirit of the human spirit during its lifetime.

Buddhism believes heavily in karma and reincarnation; however, the cycle of reincarnation and

physical and spiritual suffering can be ended when one achieves nirvana by following the

Eightfold Path. (Wangu, 1992).

Hinduism, also known as Sanatana Dharma, shares many things in common with

Buddhism. The belief in karma and reincarnation is the same in Hinduism as it is in Buddhism;

however, the cycle of reincarnation does not end in Hinduism. Hinduisms system of

reincarnation is based on the life that one lives prior to their death. Due to this system rather than
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 13

seeking an end to the cycle of reincarnation Hinduism seeks to use this cycle to grow spiritually

and expand the human consciousness through the scripts of the Vedas. (Gordon, 1991).

Formation of Religious Viewpoints

These five religions share many similarities and differences with one another, so much so

that comparative religion has become a prominent subsect to the study of religion. Comparative

religion focuses on the various religions as complex concepts and works to discover patterns and

commonalities (Religion 101: What is Comparative Religion?, 2015). The problem with

comparative religion is that religions change and adapt with time and location. The majority of

religions have separated into different sects which interpret the religious texts differently and in

some instances, such as certain schools of Buddhism, even ignore certain scripts as a whole

(Carnagie et al., 2007). The location also interferes with the study and comparison of religious

beliefs as various countries intertwine religion and culture and with religions as widespread as

Christianity, which is currently being practiced in over 200 countries, it is difficult to choose

what should be compared (Liu, 2011).

Despite what many religious leaders and followers may argue, many theologists have

come to the conclusion through comparative religion that the major five religions are all one in

the same (Valea, 2015). According to the many patterns found through the study of comparative

religion, the differences may simply be diverging paths from the ultimate truth that can be found

through the unity of religion (Valea, 2015). The five world religions, and more specifically Islam

and Christianity, claim to be the only right religion and often argue over who is more correct and

make attempts to forcefully convert one another.

Religious Wars and Conflicts

The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 14

Religious conflict is something that occurs locally, nationally, and most notable,

internationally. Despite religion being peaceful in nature, interactions between differing religions

tend to be anything but. Religions have fought over and continue to fight over sacred land, holy

scripture, moral codes, and most simply over which is the true religion. According to a survey

conducted by Matthew Jackson and Massimo Morelli (2009), religion is seen as one of the most

common causes for war by the majority of people. These religious wars and conflicts of the past

have had an impact and are partially responsible for the generally negative views of alternative

religions that are still held today.

Myanmar is a country divided both physically and religiously. Myanmar is divided into

eight separate states and is the home to followers of each of the five major religions. In the past

and present Myanmar has been a common area for religious conflicts between Buddhist and

Muslim communities. The other religions residing in Myanmar fear that Islam may take over and

replace Buddhism as the dominant religion; this is resulting in a rather violent string of threats

and attacks from the various Buddhist communities throughout the country. The current violence

in Myanmar was unanticipated due to the nature of Buddhism but has grown to be so severe that

international organizations are now monitoring the situation as the number of displaced citizens

rapidly approaches 200,000. Myanmar is a country surrounded by countries of a similar nature

that are now concerned about their own well-being as the conflict grows and the violence begins

to mobilize itself. (Schissler, Walton, and Thi, 2015).

Myanmar is not the only country divided and in severe conflict due to religion. The

long-lasting conflict in Kashmir, though not solely based on religion, is a religious and territorial

war. China, India, and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir for approximately 70 years and
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 15

the war does not seem to be coming to an end with a death count of over 70,000 and over 8,000

missing people (Kashmir: Conflict Profile, 2013). Kashmir features a majority Muslim

population which with the territorial dispute featuring Pakistan has resulted in mass killings of

Hindus and Sikhs. A number of treaties and agreements have been signed but the end of the

conflict is still unseen as the number of refugees fleeing the country and spreading the conflict

into the neighboring countries. (Kashmir: Conflict Profile, 2013).

India, a neighboring country of Kashmir, is facing similar issues in the realm of

religious conflict. India is home to both Hindus and Muslims, Hindus being the majority in the

central and eastern regions and Muslims being the majority in the western regions (Sarafan,

2011). The conflict stems from the caste system that still takes place in the country today and

more importantly the fact that the Muslims were at the top of the caste system in the uppermost

classes of society (Sarafan, 2011). The Muslims noticed the increasing number of Hindus in the

poor and lower classes of the country and concern began to form as they slowly began to gain

power as a group of many (Sarafan, 2011). The Hindus, tired of making up the majority of the

lower class, formed a rebellion that has resulted in over 4,000 deaths and over 200,000 citizens

who have become homeless or made to flee the state they resided in for their safety (Ethnic and

Religious Conflicts in India, 2010).

These religious conflicts are not the only wars being fought over territory and religions.

One of the major conflict causing similarities between the three Abrahamic religions is that each

of these religions regards Jerusalem to be the Holy Land where their beliefs stem from. Each of

these religions not only believes the same location to be Holy but also believe that the other two

religions are incorrect in one or more of their teachings. This has resulted in many wars fought
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 16

and lives lost over the territory and which religion it should truly belong to. The most

recognizable wars over Jerusalem are the Crusades.

The Crusades were a series of wars over religion between Christian Europe and

Muslims who were seen as direct enemies of the church (David-Secord, 2013). The Crusades are

the most well-known wars fought over religion and is seen by many as the true beginning of the

Christian-Muslim conflict that can still be seen today. Christian warriors were told to recapture

the Holy Land, Jerusalem, from the infidel trespassers, also known as the Muslims currently

residing there (David-Secord, 2013). Most of the Christian knights and Europe had little to no

knowledge of the Islamic people; however, the Crusades changed this and those living in Europe,

a majority Christian country, soon developed a very negative image of Muslims that still carries

on in the Western World today. In addition to being the formation of the negative view of Islam

by the Western World, the Crusades are also believed to have prompted the resurgence of

jihadists (David-Secord, 2013),

The Crusades were the first real contact that the Western World had with the Islamic

World and people. The Crusaders were told and viewed the Muslims to be godless infidels who

were soiling the Holy Land of Jerusalem. The Muslims saw the Crusaders and thus Christians

and the Western World as invaders attempting to take away something so sacred to them. These

views and opinions of one another are clearly something that has carried over into the modern

age and will not be something so easily forgotten and dismissed by new generations. Islam feels

that it has been attacked and threatened from every angle by every religious group of people and

forced to change their values, morals, and ethics in order to conform to their conquerors. This

information accompanied by the Crusades marking the resurgence of jihadism only gives more
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 17

evidence to the Crusades still actively shaping our modern world and the interactions that take

place within it. (Schipper, 2016)

Other scholars would argue that the Crusades never truly ended but instead are a slow

and continuous string of wars waged on Islam by Christianity. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 led

by George W. Bush is seen by some as a continuation of the Crusades due to the commonalities

between the two (Benson et al., 2009). Bush painted the Islamic nation of Iraq as violent

potential invaders through the claims of Saddam Hussein harboring weapons of mass

destruction. To most theologists, this resembles the viewpoints, feelings, and affects of the

Crusades and has slowly led to terrorist events such as September 11th. (Benson et al., 2009).

These views of Islam have slowly moved from simply being Western views to being

almost global views due to the majority of international media coming from the Western World.

The West has a generally negative view on the Middle East that results in an overwhelming

amount of bias on stories focusing on Middle Eastern countries due to opinions that were formed

from prior interactions that have been passed down through the centuries (Pasquier, 2007).

Media has over time through biased reports created somewhat of a divide between the world of

modern and traditional religions. (Gugino, 1999).

Religious Conflict Resolution and Prevention

The cause of this divide between religions is due to a lack of knowledge and

communication between them. Many theologists who specialize in comparative religion agree

that the start to forming a truly united world is to have religions form dialogues with one another

to truly gain understanding. Many agree that this dialogue should start between Christianity and

Islam as this is where the largest conflict resides and if this conflict can be resolved other
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 18

religions will slowly begin to communicate on their own. (Letter: Muslims and Christian Must

Form a Dialogue, 2004).

The first step to preventing this forming dialogue from becoming a war is to ensure

that both sides are entering without the intent of deliberately changing the other. Christians and

the Western World often observe the teachings and sacred text of Islam and have noticed a

recurring pattern within that shows things that are considered basic liberties such as freedom to

be almost sinful and immoral (Uddina, 2013). It is important that the Western World does not

enter a discussion with Islam over what is moral and immoral with the intent to force Islam to

change their ethics as they have in the past, but rather to inform and enlighten them of other

ways of life and opinions. It is important to show them through examples that freedom of speech

and religion do not create a godless anarchy but rather a more orderly country and world (Uddin,

2013).

Though Christians should not enter the conversation attempting to change Islam, they

should make active attempts to avoid future conflict by encouraging Islam to look at past

religious wars (Preventing A Religious War in the Mideast, 2014). If universal peace is a goal

that has any hope of ever being achieved religious wars need to come to an end as they result in

never-ending tension and a building fear among the people. The past and current religious wars

have shown the violent acts that people can commit when motivated by fear.

Formings dialogues and starting conversations leads to another important component

in unifying the world religions. The wars in Myanmar and India both deal with states of a

country identifying as a separate religion from other states and in some cases the country as a

whole. State neutrality among any country where there is not one accepted religion is necessary
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 19

in order to allow various religious groups to peacefully coexist with one another (Clark, 2008).

Even with conversation and developing understanding, religions may never agree with each

other due to their different opinions, ethics, and morals. State neutrality allows every individual

in a state to choose the religion they wish without being oppressed by the religion that has been

incorporated into the culture or government (Clark, 2008).

State neutrality and a truly neutral government is accompanied by the necessary reforms

to religious freedom. Many countries such as America claim to promote religious freedom but

often discriminate against other religions in one or more ways. One example of this

discrimination is religious representation or more specifically the lack thereof. Though many

public spaces and even government property are open to Christian symbols they are often

opposed to symbols of other religions despite America not having a national religion. In order to

truly promote religious equality and create a more unified world public space that is open to

symbols of one religion must be open to symbols of all other religions. (Haynes, 2011).

Finally, with the religious understanding and representation comes education. The fear of

other religions that has built over the years is majority due to the lack of knowledge that citizens

have on religions other than their own. Many scholars such as Passe and Willox (2013),

professors such as Wansink (2016), and even most teachers agree that teaching religion in

schools is necessary for religious tolerance. Not only is an understanding of religion necessary in

order to gain a deeper understanding of the content taught in social studies, it is also necessary

for interpreting media and determining bias. Understanding and comparing religions is crucial in

not only understanding past actions but also present and future ones as the world evolves into

what can only be known as a global village. (Passe and Willox, 2013).
The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 20

Conclusion

Conflicts between religion is not solely caused by religion itself but rather by the

supporters of said religion. Close analysis supports the idea that there are more similarities

between not only the Abrahamic religions but between religion as a whole; however, the

exclusive nature of religion and those following religion leads to a more noticeable list of

differences.

Every world religions works to fulfill the same biological, social, and spiritual needs of

humanity as well as seek an answer to the essential question. Religion was formed either by a

supreme being or mankind itself to answer the questions and relieve the stress brought about by

the human ability to understand and evaluate existence beyond death. In nature, religion is a

peaceful construct of the human mind that has brought social groups together for millennia.

However, religion often seeks to disprove and discredit other religions as not being the correct

way to achieve enlightenment.

In order to achieve religious peace and prevent future religious conflict people need to

form a religious dialogue on an international scale. These dialogues should be inclusive and lack

judgement in order to be effective in creating a greater understanding between the world

religions. If these dialogues are conducted properly they can be used as a basis for changes that

are necessary to promote peace and end religious conflict globally.

The Comparison and Future Unification of the Five Major World Religions 21

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