Similarities Between Religions

Religion and belief systems are a powerful force in society. An individual may fight, kill or die for what they believe. Importance must be placed on understanding and knowing the differences and similarities between the religions to appreciate why an individual may believes or acts the way they do. While the religions may have differences surrounding beliefs and texts, all share some of the same concepts. This paper will discuss the similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam religions are monotheistic. Monotheistic religions believe in only one God. Each religion also believes that all things are created equal and follow the word of God through different books. Judaism follows the Torah while Christianity follows the Bible. The Islam religion follows the Qu’ran. While the books that each religion follows may be different, all are believed to be God’s word.

Each religion also has a belief in The Holy Land.

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...

The Holy Seapulchre Church, Jerusalem. Catholic Ho...

English: A picture of people performing (circumamb...

The Holy Land is a major area that was left to the people by God. For Jews and Christians, this area is Jerusalem. For thousands of years, Jerusalem has been the temporal and spiritual center of the Holy Land for which more tears and blood have been shed and more prayers offered than for any other region of the world (Osher, 1996). For Muslims, this area is Mecca. Mecca is the center of the Islamic world and the birthplace of both the Prophet Mohammad and the religion he founded (Sacred Sites, 2006).

Another similarity between these religions is that each has a sacred place of worship. People of the Jewish faith practice worship in a synagogue while Christians worship in church. People of the Islamic religion practice worship in the mosque. Each also has a day of rest when the sacred place of worship is visited. For...