Comparing three religions of the Middle EastJudaism, Christianity, Islam

Types of Religion

Monotheism

• Belief in one god

• Examples:

– Judaism

– Christianity

– Islam

Polytheism

• Belief in many gods

• Examples:

– Ancient Egyptian Gods

– Ancient Greek Gods

mono = one

poly = many

JudaismJews

Judaism: God

• One God (monotheistic)

• God of Abraham - Adonai

Judaism: Holy Book

• Tenakh

▪ Torah: stories of the ancient Hebrews & Hebrew law

▪ Nevi’im: history of Hebrew prophets

▪ Ketuvium: psalms

• Hebrew is sacred language

Judaism: Key Beliefs

• Moses was the most important prophet

• Goal is to live a good life according to the laws of the Torah

•Jerusalem is holy city

•Hebrew people are the “chosen ones”

Revelation - something

that is revealed by God to

humans

Judaism:Practices & Rituals

• Follow laws of the Torah

• Pray and worship

• Keep the Sabbath day holy

• Give to the needy

• Dietary Laws

• Share bread and wine

• Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah- major holidays

Judaism: Religious Holidays• Hanukkah

▪ Festival of Lights

▪ 8-day Jewish holiday

▪ Lighting candles on a menorah

• Yom Kippur

▪ Day of Atonement

▪ Holiest day in the Jewish year

▪ Day of fasting and reflecting on one’s sins

• Rosh Hashanah

▪ The feast of the Jewish New Year

▪ September or October each year

▪ 8 days before Yom Kippur

Judaism: Worship Services• Weekly holy day is Shabbat (Friday night

to Saturday night)

• Synagogue - building where services are held

▪ Rabbi leads congregation

▪ Pray, sermon, psalms

Judaism: Sects

• Orthodox

• Conservative

• Reformed

Sect - a religious group that is a smaller part of a

larger group and whose members all share similar

beliefs

ChristianityChristians

Christianity: God

• One God (monotheistic)

• God of Abraham - Yahweh

Christianity: Holy Book

• Bible (story of Jesus’ life)

▪ Old Testament: history of the law and stories of the prophets

▪ New Testament: stories of Jesus’ life

• No sacred language

Christianity: Key Beliefs

• Jesus Christ is divine and is the Son of God

• Goal is to achieve salvation

• Jerusalem is holy city

• Prophets are the ancient Hebrew messengers of God’s word

Christianity: Practices & Rituals

• Participate in Sacraments

▪ Baptism

▪ Communion

• Pray and worship

• Share bread and wine

• Give to the needy

• Christmas, Easter -

major holidaysCreed - a formal statement of Christian beliefs

Christianity: Religious Holidays

Christmas

• Observance of the birth of Jesus Christ

Easter

• Observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Christianity: Worship Services

• Weekly holy day is Sunday

• Church - building where services are held

▪ Minister leads congregation

▪ Experience sacraments, recite basic beliefs, pray, sermon, psalms

Christianity: Sects

• Catholicism

• Orthodox

• Protestant

Sect - a religious group that is a smaller part of a

larger group and whose members all share similar

beliefs

IslamMuslims

Islam: God

• One God (monotheistic)

• God of Abraham -Allah

Islam: Holy Book

• Koran/Qur’an (God’s teachings made to Muhammad)

• Arabic is the sacred language

Islam: Key Beliefs

• Muhammad is final and most important prophet•Goal is to live according to God’s guidance•Jerusalem is holy city

• Believe in the story of Jesus, but not that he was divine

• Mecca is the center of Islam

Islam:Practices and Rituals

• Five Pillars of Islam1. Public declaration of faith

2. Pray 5x a day towards Mecca

3. Give to the needy

4. Fast during Ramadan

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

• Ramadan - major holiday

Pilgrimage - a journey, especially a

long one, made to some sacred

place as an act of religious devotion

Islam: Religious Holidays• Annual Hajj

▪ All Muslims try to take a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime

• Ramadan

▪ Holy ninth month of the Islamic year

▪ Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset each day during Ramadan

• Eid al-Fitr

▪ Celebration that marks the end of Ramadan

Islam: Worship Services

• Friday prayer service is most important

• Mosque - building where services are held

▪ Imam leads prayers

▪ Pray, sermon

Islam: Sects

• Sunni

• Shiite

Sect - a religious group that is a smaller part of a

larger group and whose members all share similar

beliefs