Running head: ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME?

Are All Religions Universally the Same?

Adrian Sadler
Salt Lake Community College
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 2

Introduction

Those who are religious may seem themselves as different to others who do not practice

their religion. But is this true and to what extent? In general, religion has been a part of humanity

ever since its beginning. There have been splits, sects, division, and different beliefs that have

surfaced. Religions and religious practices help worshippers in their relationship to their deity

and in most cases*, to others around them. However, despite this universal similarity, religions

are vastly different many other capacities. If religions were universally the same, there would

only be one religion on earth.

The Concept of Deity

When the topic of religion is mentioned, the idea of a deity is brought to the mind of the

individual. Each religion has a deity which they worship but each religion has a different

concept. Firstly, there is a difference between polytheistic and monotheistic beliefs. Polytheistic

religions worship multiple deities while monotheistic religions focus their worship on one deity

(Fisher, 1.3). Two contrasting religions would be Hinduism and Christianity. Hinduism has many

gods that specialize in different aspects of life. These aspects include knowledge, safety, charity,

etc. Each has their own deity that one can pray to. Christianity on the other hand focuses all these

aspects into God, believing that God and Christ can provide all these things as well (Fisher, 9.2).

Buddhism is an interesting example because even though the Buddha is somewhat considered a

deity, it is not similar to that of the Christian God. Buddhists rather worship to and for the way of

the Buddha and attempt to attain what the Buddha originally did (enlightenment).

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 3

Our Purpose

Each religion states a concept in which they believe as to what humanitys purpose is in

this life. Some of the beliefs of Hinduism are that Brahman, truth, and souls are eternal and that

each persons main goal is to achieve moksha (release from the life and death cycle of

reincarnation). Buddhism believes that through the Four Noble Truths lead to the Eightfold Path

and as they follow the Middle Way, they can become enlightened (to know the truth about life

and stop the rebirth process) (Fisher, 5.2). Judaism believes in one ultimate God who created

everything and continues to work in the world, as well as the coming of a future Messiah for the

covenanted people. Christianity believes in the original sin of man and that through Jesus Christ,

anybody can reach salvation and live in heaven. Islam believes that through Muhammad, he

restored the original faith and religion God established since the time of Adam (Fisher, 10.3).

There are other religions we discussed such as Jainism and Zoroastrianism that share similar

beliefs (Fisher, 4. & 7) There are more doctrines and beliefs that make each religion unique but

these points just give a brief overview on how to gain ones maximum potential. Upon

examination of the five religions described, each believes that there is a higher purpose. Whether

it be purity of worship, personal enlightenment, or faith. The process to reach our maximum

potential is different as well because each religion believes that we have a different potential.

Personal Progress

How we progress spiritually is different in each religion. Some promote isolationism

while others involve groupism. Isolation is more common among worshippers in eastern

religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Even though there are temples that are dedicated for

people to congregate and worship together, there are still many cases of people praying to deities

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 4

in specific rooms called shrines (Fisher, 3.5). In western religions, it is more common to worship

in groups. In mosques and Christian churches, for example, many people congregate together to

pray and worship. Even though worship can also be carried out within households, it is more

common to see people do this in public spaces.

How we personally progress is also decided upon by the individual? An example that

comes to mind is when one practices a monastic lifestyle (Fisher, 5.3 & 9.3). This consists of

someone isolating themselves from the rest of the world to focus on dedicating their lives to their

deity. In Christianity, this can be people like nuns and priests. They dedicate their lives to God,

practicing things like celibacy and complete obedience to the commandments. They act as a

representative of God trying to help people grow closer to Christ, repent and confess, and partake

of the Eucharist and other sacraments (Fisher, 9.8). Buddhist monks do something similar, as

they spend years learning Buddhas teachings, but they do not represent the same authoritative

figures that Christianity has. Monks help guide followers of the Buddha but do not enforce rules

but instead allow people to find their own way to enlightenment.

Holy Texts

Holy texts are present in every religion and is one of the ideas that is core to each belief.

Here is a brief description of each religions core text:

Hinduism: The Vedas-Philosophical teachings and guidance for uses of rituals. Also included

scriptures such as the Upanishads (Fisher, 3).

Buddhism: Pali Canon-Contains teachings of the Buddha and some of his followers (Fisher, 5).

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 5

Judaism: The Tanakh-Writing consisting of the Torah, Neviim, and Kethuvim (Fisher, 8). More

commonly known as the Old Testament among Christians.

Christianity: The Holy Bible-Consists of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the teachings of

Christ, his death, and teaching of the apostles (New Testament) (Fisher, 9.1).

Islam: The Quran-Revelations given to the prophet Muhammad from God that talk about unity

under God and the organization of Islam (Fisher, 10.3).

Each scripture helps provide moral and ethical guidance to its followers, of this there is no

denial. These scriptures are relatable to anybody and everybody, but to the followers of that exact

religion it has a deeper meaning. Upon deeper analysis of each text, each one has a different

doctrine as to how one should reach their maximum potential (please refer to the section labeled

Our Purpose). Each scripture is meant to help a specific individual or a specific people.

Hinduism is focused on the individual and individual progress while Judaism is more focused on

a covenanted people who made a promise with God (Fisher, 8.1). One seems to be an individual

effort and the other seems to be a group effort.

Leadership

It is somewhat agreeable that in most religions there is a consensus the God(s) is(are) the

ultimate head of the religion. This section will be discussing the worlds leaders, what they

represent, and why they are leaders in the first place. Leaders can range from more local

positions to that of a worldwide basis to that of one that is not alive anymore. On a local

example, Judaism can have rabbis in their local synagogues to help carry out worship services.

On a global example, the Dalai Lama for Tibetan Buddhism is a continuing leader that has lasted

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 6

for many years (Fisher, 5.5). As of a leader that has passed on from this life, Islam reveres the

prophet Muhammad has the last prophet who lived on this earth who received revelation from

God (Fisher, 9.2). These leaders have the duty to serve their deities and to serve the people that

want to worship said deities.

On a different note, when we look at some of the most defining entities of each religion.

Hinduism-Brahman. Buddhism-Buddha. Judaism-Moses. Christianity-Christ. Islam-Muhammad.

They each have different stories of how they started their religions and what legacy they left

behind. Each respective leader also focuses on different teachings (as discussed in the Holy

Text section).

Geography

On a more physical perspective, the geography of these religions is fascinating to look at.

Religion is all around the world and it has always been spread between cultures and across

peoples. These main five religions are spread all throughout the globe and practiced among a

variety of cultures. However, there are parts of the world that still predominantly practice a

certain religion. Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced at large in southern and eastern Asia.

Islam and Judaism is practiced predominantly in the Middle East. Christianity is the more

common religion in Europe and the Americas.

Other Religions

During the semester spent in this course, we discussed many different religions and many

different belief systems. This does not mean we covered every religion in the world. This can be

seen as going hand-in-hand with the geographical locations of religions. Examples of religions

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 7

that we did not discuss in depth or at all are Polynesian, Native American, African (Indigenous),

and ones that are already extinct. It would be impossible to discuss every religion with only a

few months time, but I found it interesting about the ones we did discuss. It shows that they are

the most wide-spread religions in the world. Their traditions and beliefs have withstood time,

wars, and famines while other religions came crumbling to the ground. This is another reason as

to why religions are not universally the same. Many religions have come and gone and there are

still a few that have existed the test of time. Those we have studied have withstood time while

others which died out did not gain traction or lost their following. Some religions are more

durable and encompass a wider audience, which in turn have allowed them to gain more

followers. An example of this is once Christianity had been established for several years, Peter

(the leader at the time) had a vision to not only preach to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (the

non-Jews aka the rest of the world) (Fisher, 9.3). With this vaster mindset, some religions have

risen above others with a narrower view of the world.

Conclusion

There are a wide variety of religions that bring different beliefs and ideas to the world.

They appeal to different cultures and to different peoples, all the while trying to share their

messages with each other. The purpose of most religions is to grow closer spiritually and to help

others in one aspect or another. However, religions are not ultimately the same because if they

were, there would only be one religion. Each religion provides a different doctrine and a different

style of life that is compatible with certain beliefs. These religions are then adopted and

implemented into that society. As diversity grows, so does religion.

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.
ARE RELIGIONS THE SAME? 8

References

Fisher, M. (2016). Living religions. Boston: Pearson.

*I use most religions because saying all religions denies the law of falsifiability, thus most religions is more accurate for the context of this paper.