The Three Main Belief Systems

The principles of today’s religions were largely shaped from three main belief systems; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although other religious movements have developed throughout the years, these three belief systems have had the most impact on Western civilization. Together they have over four billion followers. Overall, they greatly influenced the structure of our current government and laws, as well as societies’ social roles and norms. In order to truly appreciate the effect of these religions, it is important to identify the relations between the three. While each belief system has its distinct differences, they have many similarities due to their shared roots.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are typically referred to as Abrahamic …show more content…
Major values or rules for human behavior are based upon these books. For instance, the Torah, Bible and Qur’an collectively imply that everyone is capable of making their own choices (free will) and when a person lives according to God’s commands they become more like him. On the other hand, if a person were to steal or murder someone, they have committed a sin and must repent of their evil doing. They all believe that God always wants us be kind and honest with one another. One of main ways that each religion is manifested, is by giving God glory, and being devoted as well as obedient to his commandments.
Pertaining to what the future holds Judaism, Christianity and Islam all belief that there is a life after death. Depending on if you are “good or bad” on earth, you will either spend eternity in heaven or hell. Heaven can be viewed as a blissful reward, while hell is thought to be as a punishment. Altogether, they agree that there is limited time on this earth, and at some point the earth will end. Specific signs will be revealed by God when the time is near, for instance more wars and natural disasters will …show more content…
On these days, the community will gather together and practice traditional rituals. For the Jews, they claim Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to be two important holidays. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, while Yom Kippur is essentially a way to get closer to Good, consisting of ten days of worship and fasting. Shabbat is their time of rest and it begins Friday evening and ends late Saturday evening. The Christians celebrate Christmas (the birth of Jesus) and Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. Other days they claim to be rather holy are Sundays. On Sundays they join together to worship God, prayer and read the Bible with one another. Muslims have two significant holy days, Ramadan and Hajji. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast, pray and reflect on what they have learned from the Qur’an. Haji is a pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim that is able to must complete this journey once in their life time. As stated earlier, each religion has their own traditions and customs. Because of these differences, certain aspects of their life will be dramatically different from one another. For example, Muslims are required to pray five times a day, while some Jews have special dietary laws of kashrut (keeping