Comparison Essay: Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Atheism, Buddhism

Relationship to God(s)

There are many Gods, Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva / Only one God, Yahweh / Believe in Christ, Jehova / Believe in one God only, Allah / No God / No God

Relationship to People

All human beings are the works of Brahman, they have no selfworth

Primary Scriptures: Tanakh / Talmud / Bible / Quran and Sunna sayings / None / None

Primary Rules of Conduct

Diverse and tolerant / Hereditary castle system / Self-control / Honesty and truthfulness / Following the ten commandments / Righteousness / Truthfulness

Kindness and humility Love of God and other people

Observing the ten commandments

Humility

Truthful and justice

Creed

Prayer

Almsgiving

Fasting and pilgrimage None Control of ones mind

Contemplation

Mindfulness

Right knowledge

4 Primary Beliefs

There is growth toward perfection by reincarnation.

Regarding afterlife, Nirvana is the destiny of human spirit.

After death there is reincarnation.

There is no redemption since karma eliminates passions. Salvation was brought about by the shedding of blood of Jesus.

Have faith in Jesus as mediator to God.

There will be final judgement where some will go to heaven and others hell.

Those who serve God will go to heaven and those with no faith in Jesus will go to hell. Believers must submit to the will of Allah

Believers must live by the five pillars.

There is final judgement for heaven and hell.

Allah is beyond human questioning, humans must accept life as it is. None Salvation is through reincarnation and working with the laws of karma.

There are deities who act as saviors .

Regarding afterlife, Nirvana is the final destiny of human spirit.

Mahayana Buddhism has afterlife states known as hells and heavens.

Using the analysis that you did for the comparison table, explain what you think about each of the different categories of religions.

Based on the analysis above, atheism religion is the only religion with no beliefs or rules. The subscribers of this religion do not believe in the existence of God or a supreme deity. Rather, they believe that nature has its own way of controlling and regulating itself. This belief is also held by Buddhists. However, unlike atheists who have no strict rules, Buddhists have rules and beliefs that govern them. Buddhists and atheists are uniquely different from Christians, Muslims, and Judaists primarily due to their belief in God. However, Hindus believe in God but many Gods. Christians, Muslims, and Judaists believe in the existence of one supreme God. They also believe in the final day of judgement where good doers will go to heaven and wrong doers will go to hell. On the other hand, Hindus and Buddhists believe in reincarnation whereby Nirvana is the final destination of human spirits.

The diversity of religious beliefs benefit human beings by increasing tolerance for different view, opinions, cultures, and behaviors. Similar to how people practice religion tolerance, the same is exhibited in other aspects. However, the diversity of religious beliefs has in some instances been used to cause conflicts whereby the subscribers of one religion view others as outsiders who must be eliminated. This has happened because many people ignore the similarities between the different religions and only focus on the ways they are divided. This is attributed to the fact that some people perceive their religion to be superior to others.