Emilia DeMarco
Period 5
November 12th, 2014
Essay Comparing and Contrasting Three Monotheistic Religions
Many Americans would be surprised to know that there are one billion Islamic people in
the world. Actually, there are 986,700,000 more Muslim people in the world than there are
Jewish people. Today, there are three monotheistic religions in the world, Christian, Judaism,
and Islam. These three religions are the most populous in the world. In addition, these three
religions share certain aspects of their faith, such as the ways they worship, their religious sects
and divisions, and salvation, and while they have similarities, they also have differences
including their ideas in the second coming, dietary restrictions, and their views on Jesus.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims all share views on their ways to worship to God. Jewish
people show their faith to God by praying in a holy place called a synagogue. A rabbi will lead
the Jewish people in prayer, and he will preach from the Jewish holy book called the Torah,
which is a collection of Holy Scriptures written in Hebrew. Rabbis must have special training in
the scriptures. Christian people also have a holy place to worship God, and it is called the
church. Priests are also in charge of leading the Christian people in prayer, and they preach
from the Christian holy book called the bible, which is a book with writings from the Old
Testament and the New Testament. Priests or Pastors must have special training, and they are
viewed to be higher up than ordinary Christian people. Islamic people worship in a place called
a mosque, and when they pray, no matter where they are, they must be facing the holy city of
Mecca, and this is following the Islamic pillar of Shahadah. Imams lead the Islamic people in
prayer, but imams do not have to be trained in any special way. The holy book is called the
Emilia DeMarco
Period 5
November 12th, 2014
Koran, and the Koran is said to be the exact words from God. “In Judaism, leaders are called
Rabbis, and they receive rigorous training in the scriptures and other Judaic writing. In
Christianity, priests or pastors serve as part of a church hierarchy, or ranks of authorities. Only
trained, ordained, or initiated priests can fulfill sacred functions of worship for the lay, or
ordinary people. In Islam, there is no priesthood, ordination, or religious hierarchy. A prayer
leader is called an imam- ‘one who stands in front’ of the lines of worshippers” (Abrahamic
Faith Reading Notes.) This shows that all three monotheistic faiths have different names for
their leaders, and these leaders have different statuses in a religion, and followers worship in a
holy place with a holy book.
All three religions are divided into different sects and religions, and each division of that
religion has different viewpoints inside their faith. Jewish people have four different sects in
their religion, Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructism Jews. Orthodox Jews live a
type of lifestyle demonstrated by the Torah, and this division is most dedicated to their faith.
Reform Jews follow religious laws and customs that were set up by the Torah many years ago,
like how Conservative Jews are mainly focused on keeping their traditions of the religion. Lastly,
Reconstructism Jews are trying to modernize their religion to help in fit into modern day
society. In addition, Christians have many different sects in their religion, but some of the main
forms are catholic, Presbyterian, protestant, and Roman Catholic. While all of these groups are
a part of the Christian faith, Catholics and Protestants have different viewpoints on salvation.
Catholics believe that in order to get to an Eternal Heaven, people must believe in God and do
good deeds, while Protestants believe that people must only believe in God. Islamic people also
divide their religion into different sects. Some of the different Islamic sects include the Sunni,
Emilia DeMarco
Period 5
November 12th, 2014
Shi’ite, Shia, Alawi, Sufi, Wahhabi, Druze, and Ba’hai Islam. The two most common forms are
Sunni and Shi’ite. Just like Protestants and Catholics, and Orthodox and Reform Jews, the Sunni
and the Shi’ites have different viewpoints on their religion. Shi’ite Muslims believe in a strict
form of Islam like Muhammad demonstrated in the Koran, while Sunni Muslims are more like
Reconstructism Jews. “For seventeen hundred years religious sects have done nothing but
harm” – Voltaire (Voltaire.) This is explaining how religious divisions have caused many
controversies throughout time, even though they believe in the same things. The Jews,
Christians, and Muslims have all divided their religions into different sects, and some that share
different viewpoints.
Judaism, Christian, and Islam all believe people must complete certain deeds for their
souls to enter into Heaven. For Jewish people they believe that they must complete two things
throughout their lifetime. First, people must believe in God, they must respect him, and they
must follow the Ten Commandments that they set up for people. Also, they must complete
good deeds during their lifetime. Christians also have beliefs in how they must enter Heaven.
Some Christian believers think they must complete good deeds during their lifetime. While
other Christians believe that they must complete good deeds, some Christians believe that
people must complete good deeds, and people must believe in God and respect him. Some
Christians (Catholics) also believe in a place called Purgatory, and that is for that people who
aren’t good enough to go to Heaven, but they aren’t bad enough to go to Hell. Conversely,
Muslims believe that to get into Heaven, people must only believe in one God, and they must
complete the five pillars of Islam in their lifetime, which are Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Saum, and
Hajj. A part of salvation is “The promise of God is for eternal life after death in a heavenly
Emilia DeMarco
Period 5
November 12th, 2014
paradise. Equally, those who do evil will be punished in Hell” (Abrahamic Faith Reading Notes.)
This shows that as long as people do well in their life, they will be granted with an eternal
paradise, and those who do evil will be stuck with an eternal hell. All three religions believe that
the followers must complete certain things during their lives for their soul to be entered into
Heaven.
While Jews, Christians, Muslims share similarities in their religions, they also differ in
many ways. While Muslims and Christians believe that one day there will be a second coming,
Jewish people do not believe in that. Two of the three religions, “Muslims, also share the belief
with Christians in the second coming of Jesus at the end of time” (Abrahamic Faith Reading
Notes.) This shows that while Muslim and Christian people believe that Jesus will come down
one day and judge them based upon their actions, Jewish people do not. Jewish people do not
believe in the second coming, but they are more focused on living their life to the fullest, and
they are not concerned about an afterlife. Christians believe that one day God will come down
and judge people based on their actions during their lifetime. From there, God will send the
good to Heaven and the bad to Hell. Islam people also believe in the idea of a second coming.
They believe that their God, called Allah, will send them to Heaven, or “paradise”, or he will
send them to an eternal Hell. Jewish people view an eternal Heaven and an eternal Hell
differently than Muslim people and Christian people do.
Jewish and Islamic people believe that dietary restrictions will bring them closer to their
God, but the Christians do not believe in that. In the Jewish religion, people are not allowed to
eat certain foods, such as beef, shellfish, turkey, or pork. Also, during certain Jewish holidays
such as Yom Kippur, which is the strictest Jewish holiday in regards to fasting. Jewish people
Emilia DeMarco
Period 5
November 12th, 2014
must fast for a certain amount of time to rid themselves of sins and bring them closer to God.
Christian people do not believe in any dietary restrictions; the only time they give up a certain
food is during the season of Lent, and this prepares them for Easter. In the Islamic religion, the
followers are restricted from eating pork or drinking alcohol. During the holy month of
Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to eat from sun rise to sun down, and this follows the
Islamic pillar of Sawm. “Christians do not follow either the very detailed laws about food of the
Jews, nor do they follow the laws in Islam that forbid eating pork and drinking alcohol
beverages” (Abrahamic Faith Reading Notes.) Jewish people and Islamic people are very strict
on what they consume, while the Christians have not set dietary restrictions.
The biggest difference between the three religions is their views on Jesus Christ and his
roles in their faith. Jewish people believe that Jesus is only a prophet, and that he is not the
Messiah, and they are still waiting for the Messiah to come at a later time. “Jews believe that a
messiah is still awaited, and coming at a future time” (Abrahamic Faith Reading Notes.) Jewish
people do believe in Jesus, but they have very different views on him. Christian people have
the strongest belief in Jesus Christ out of all three religions. Christians believe that Jesus died on
the cross to save everyone from sins. They believe that Jesus was resurrected, and he ascended
into Heaven with God. “Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They also believe that
Jesus was the son of God, who came to redeem human beings from sin or wrongdoing, and that
he compensated for all human sins with his suffering and death.” (Abrahamic Faith Reading
Notes.) Christians have the strongest view on Jesus out of all three monotheistic faiths. Islamic
people believe that Jesus did not die on the cross, but a disciple took his place, and from there
he ascended into Heaven. “Muslims also believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but they do not
Emilia DeMarco
Period 5
November 12th, 2014
believe that he was the son of God, and Muslims also believe that God did not allow him to die
at the hands of human beings.” (Abrahamic Faith Reading Notes.) The Islamic people believe in
some of the same things the Christians do, but not to the extent that Christian people do. One
of the main controversial topics between the three monotheistic faiths is what really happened
to Jesus Christ and who he was.
Judaism, Islam, and Christian may be different religions, but they do share some
similarities in their faith. Certain similarities include the ways they worship, the different sects
and divisions, and required means for salvation. The difference between the religions are their
ideas on the second coming, dietary restrictions, and their views on Jesus. Even though
Judaism, Christian, and Islam differ in many ways, they share some of the same viewpoints. If
the 2 billion Christians, 1.3 billion Islam, and 14 million Jews got together, they would realize
that they have a lot more in common than they think.
"Voltaire." Brainy Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/voltaire.html>.
"Abrahamic Faith Reading Notes." Abrahmaic Faith Reading Notes. N.p., n.d. Web.
21 Oct. 2014.