Blake Bailey

World Religions
Positions/Comparison
Paper
December 8, 2016

Intro:
There are so many different religions in the world. We all have so many different
questions to be asked about them. With the vast number of religions, there are many differences
and similarities. When you study religion, you find so many similarities; it begs the question are
all religions the same? My answer to that is no. While there is a lot of religions founded on
some core beliefs and values, religions are all very different in their own ways. While many
churches have similar core values, there are so many different ways religions are different such
as the people, the way the worship and practice their religions, the holy books they use, different
languages and tongues they use, different rules and laws they have set in place, and many other
differences. Below I will talk about some individual Religions that I have studied over the last
semester. I will give a brief overview and point out some similarities and differences they have
between other religions.
In Depth Look at Individual Religions studied:
Sikhism:
The first religions I studied in depth was the Sikh religion. Sikh is one of the most
different religions. They follow a great teacher named Guru Nanak. He was succeeded by nine
enlightened gurus after him (Fisher, 432). Sikh is most similar to Hinduism and is popular in the
same area. Sikh is the 5th largest religion in the world (Fisher, 432). However, Sikhism is not
known much outside of the densely populated country of India. A quote is living religions
textbook states that Many Sikhs understand their path not as another sectarian religion, but as a
statement of the universal truth within, and transcending, all religions, (Fisher, 432). That quote
separates Sikh from most religions in the world. It is stating itself is different from most religions

because they focus most on what they believe is the truth of the universe. One similarity Sikhs
have to other religions is a devotion to one God. Most religions have this belief and have a belief
in one single God. A similar belief they share with the Hindu people, but not most religions, is
they believe their god does not have a form. In Sikh God is what you make of him in terms of
physical characteristics. When it comes to worship for the Sikh people they live a disciplined life
devoted to god. They have a free community meal once a day. The Sikh community worships in
congregations called a Sangat (Fisher, 444). In the Sikh community, and generally the Indian
community in general, men and women sit separately. It is common to find the Sikh people of all
origin bathing in holy places (Fisher, 444). The Sikh people pray every morning and every night
for about two hours. According to the textbook, in addition to the prayers, passages from the
Guru Granth Sahib are chanted and sung (Fisher, 446). In some traditions like the Golden Temple
in Amritsar, men are the only people allowed to sing these passages (Fisher, 446). With all of this
being said, Sikh people are also encouraged to privately meditate and pray to start their day.
Political and Social Factors in Sikhism:
The Sikh people only account for 2% of Indias population (Fisher, 447). With that being
said, the Sikh community has and still does play a powerful and very impactful role in the
Political and Social climate of India. Dr. Manmohan Singh was Indias prime minister from 2004
to 2014 and he was a Sikh (Fisher, 447). Generally speaking the Hindu community and the Sikh
community get along and dont have problems, but that changed from 1978 to 1992 (Fisher,
447). Violent altercations occurred over some severe disagreements over new policies. The Sikh
community wanted to be a separate state from the Hindu people and as a result had their Golden
Temple attacked by the Prime Minister at the time. As a result of this decision by the prime

minister, her bodyguards, who were Sikhs, killed her. Hindus and Sikhs are very similar in a lot
of ways, but have had a history of altercations to prove otherwise.
Hinduism:
The next religion I will talk about is the Hindu Religion. Mentioned a couple times in my
Sikhism section, the Hindu religion and community is fairly similar to the Sikhs minus a few
altercations and disagreements they have had over the years. Like Sikhism, Hinduism is mostly
found in the country of India. Hinduism was introduced in the 19th century under British rule
(Fisher, 72). Some differences within the religions itself is over the expansion of the Hindu
religion. Some devout Hindus from India claim that the western expansion of the Hindu religion
was from individuals and groups, they call outsiders, that did not like the Indian way of life and
were very biased (Fisher, 72). The Hindu religion has a very broad range of beliefs. On one end
of the spectrum you have a very extreme devotion to a deity and on the other there is much
devotion to abstract philosophy on life and the universe. According to the book, the Hindu
religion has over 330 million types of deities they have represented (Fisher, 72). They believe
that god and their deities have no gender, appearance, or any physical traits, so deities can be
represented by anything. That explains why the Hindu community, especially in India, has
represented their gods and deities in so many forms and ideas. I had the opportunity to visit a
Hindu temple called the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple. This was a very good experience for me. I
got a first had experience of a Hindu worship ceremony and got to physically see their deities
and temple. They sung scriptures in a foreign language and did many rituals and worship
services. I had the opportunity to see a bathing ceremony where they bathed one of their deities
in all the things they view good in life, water, milk, honey fragrance, and other things. The Hindu
scripture the sing are called Vedas. The origin of these Vedas is very unknown (Fisher, 76).

Orthodox Hindu people believe the Vedas were not created by any human, but were transmitted
and reviled from god (Fisher, 76). Like I mentioned above Hindu and Sikh are similar religions,
but are traditionally different from other religions from a very straight forward standpoint. They
still have similar values to other religions like become one with god, be a better person, treat
people with respect, follow their doctrines, etc.
Judaism:
The next religion I will talk about is Judaism. Judaism is where we start to get very
similar to other religions. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all have similar historical beliefs and
some common values. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism differ when it comes to their holy books,
their worship, and with prophets and leaders. Judaism is a diverse religion that dates back to
some of the earliest religions (Fisher, 250). Jews have a very long and at times very prosperous
history, and at times a very difficult history. Similar to other religions that have their good times
and their hard times, but the Jews seemed to have some extremes in each category those other
religions didnt. Part of the reason some of the persecution has happened to the Jews is they are
very open about their belief that they are the Chosen people. Often in the Jewish religion, it is
referred to as Biblical Judaism, and Rabbinic Judaism. Jewish history starts in the Bible
(Similar to Chritisanity). The bible starts with the creation of this world, and then makes its way
to Abraham, who the Jews believe they are decedents of, Moses, and other important individuals
to Judaism. Where Judaism differs from other religions is in their belief in the rabbinic form of
Judaism. The rabbinic form of Judaism is where we begin to talk about Rabbis, synagogues, and
the Torah which are unique to Judaism. According to the textbook, Rabbis were teachers,
decision-makers, and creators of liturgical prayer (Fisher, 265). Synagogues are simply the
meeting places in the Jewish religion. This is where Jewish people meet and have prayer, and

worship god. Animal sacrifice used to happen in synagogues, but does not happen anymore
(another similarity to Christianity, Christians used to believe in animal sacrifice in biblical
times). The Torah is unique to Judaism, but different at the same time. The Torah is ultimately
the five books of Moses (Fisher, 279). Other religions believe in the five books of Moses, but the
way the Jews hold to it and interpret it is different. This is a good example of religions having
similar beliefs, but carrying them out in a different way.
Christianity:
Christianity is next up on the list of religions I will talk about. Christianity is solely based
off of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Ironically Jesus was born as a Jew (Fisher, 305). The
Christians believe in the bible. This is one similarity Christianity shares with Judaism, except
they follow it more devoutly than the Jews do. The bible is split up into two sections, the New
Testament and the Old Testament. In Christianity the Old Testament is organized differently than
the Old Testament in the Jewish religion. The Old Testament is about the prophets and teachings
leading up to the Birth of Jesus Christ. The New Testament is about the life and teachings of
Jesus. Different from the religion of Islam, Christians believe Jesus was the son of god. Islam
recognizes the existence of Jesus but does not believe he was the son of god, just a person.
Christians believe in baptism, prayer, scripture, and resurrection. Those core beliefs are similar to
other religions, but Christians and mostly everyone else goes about them in different ways.
Christians believe in prophets and apostles of god. These spiritual figures records are kept in the
bible as well. They tell people about parables and other teachings which are an effort to teach a
moral message to the readers. The reason that Christians believe in resurrection is because when
Jesus was crucified, they believe he rose from the dead on the 3rd day after his death and that

record is in their bible. The way religions find and go about believing in things is all found
through different ways and theories.
Islam:
The origination of Islam starts from a prophet. Around 570 ce, a man named Muhammad
was born who would start this church (Fisher, 374). The Prophet Muhammad who they believe
had certain things revealed to him by god. Muslims do not worship Muhammad, because all their
faith relies on who they believe is the only god, Allah. However, Muslims do follow the
teachings of Muhammad. The revelations Muhammad received are kept in a book called the
Quran. The Quran is the heart and soul of the Muslim religion. The Quran gives Islam their laws
and teachings. It gives them Saria law which is a central set of laws that Muslims believe in. The
goal of the Muslim religion is somewhat similar to all other religions, become one with god.
Conclusion:
A common theme with religion is this whole idea of becoming one with god. And while
most religions have a set of laws, a holy book or books, a god, and certain sets of worship, they
all do it in different ways that make religion unique. If you have been to multiple religions you
understand that religions can be very different. Even certain sects in individual religions have
different beliefs and forms of worship. In Christianity you have Lutherans, Catholics,
Protestants, etc. In Islam you have Sunnis, Shiites, Sufis, etc. In Judaism you have Othodox,
Reform, Conservative, etc. There are so many different beliefs in religion and even in specific
religions by itself. And while they all have similar goals they are very much different. The best
thing we can do as humans is be respectful and listen to each side of the story. People hold their

religious values very close to them, the best possible thing we can do is hear them out, accept our
differences, and be respectful about it.
Work Cited:
Class observation, Khadeeja Mosque, Dec 2, 2016
Class observation, Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple, September 17, 2016
Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. 10th ed. N.p.: Pearson, 2016. Print.