COMMON ELEMENTS OF RELIGIONS 1

Common Elements of Religions

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Common Elements of Religions

Defining religion is difficult so is a comprehensive understanding of different

religions. However, there are similarities and differences between religions that help

individual form inferences about these religions. In a way, religion can be classified as

eastern or western depending on the origin of the religion. Eastern religions originated from

the Indian subcontinent or the east while the western religions originated from the present day

Middle East, Americas, and Europe. There are three categories of religions that are classified

as eastern and these include Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism while western religions are

categorized into Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. In understanding the differences and

similarities between the western and eastern religions, a comparison of key elements in Islam

and Hinduism is done east presenting a major category for each religion.

Like Christianity, Islam is a western religion that originated in the present day the

Middle East and founded by Prophet Muhammed, a religious leader considered by Muslims

as the last and greatest prophet of God. In Islam, an ancient language, Arabic is used with the

religion dating back to the Common Era. It is one of the three monotheistic religions and

worships only one God, Allah and denies the existence of any other gods. Islamic actions are

guide by a holy book, Quran which is believed to have been given to Mohamed as a

revelation by Allah (Primal Religions, n.d.). An important festival by this religion is

Ramadan. On the other hand, Hinduism is an eastern religion and is one of the oldest

religions in human history dating back 4000 years. Its geographical history is different from

that of Islam. Further, Hinduism is referred to as henotheistic religion as there is no one

Supreme Being that is worshiped as it is the case of monotheistic religions. This implies that

one would worship a single God but does not deny the existence of others (Primal Religions,

n.d.). The ancient language in Hindu is Sanskrit which is no longer spoken with the sacred

text used in Hinduism being Veda. An important festival observed by Hindus is Diwali.
COMMON ELEMENTS OF RELIGIONS 3

Among the key differences between the two religions include their concept of God

with Islam being monotheistic religion believing in only one God and denying others while

Hinduism is henotheistic religion believing in one God but not denying the existence of other

Gods. Compared to Islam where the place of worship is the mosque, Hindus worship in

Temples. Another key difference is that under Hinduism, death is a constant cycle of

reincarnation and enlightenment but under the Islamic religion, death is a journey towards

heaven or hell depending on one’s deeds on earth.

While the two religions are different in the above aspects, they share some

similarities. In Islam and Hinduism, there are laws and beliefs that followers of these

religions must adhere to with Hindus following Dharma while Muslims follow Sharia law. In

both Islam and Hinduism, men are allowed to marry more than one wife implying they

acknowledge polygamous life. In creating an inner connection to the divine, both religions

allow remembering and reciting of the names of God with Muslims reciting names like Al-

Quddus, Al-Malik, and Al-Salam while Hindus recite Shiva, Ganesh, Laxmi, and Durga.

While Islam and Hinduism are different religions in terms of origin, beliefs in God,

their festivals, and their holy books, they are similar in other ways including the recitation of

the names of their God (s), their use of holy books to guide their actions, and the existence of

laws that guide them.

Reference

(n.d.). Primal Religions [MOOC]. In Approaches to Studying Religions. Sophia

Learning. https://app.sophia.org/spcc/approaches-to-studying-religions--2/unit1/study-

guide/7845/primal-religions-2