Mere Religiosity

Jonathon Llyod Wells

Note to Readers: A difficulty occurs in the attempt to find the root elements of a religion, while not openly disregarding the specific points that make the religion important to those who choose to believe it. I fear, however, that in order to find out what the root points of these religions are, cultural divisions and denominational additives must be pushed to the side, at least for a moment. This is done for the greater goal of placing the beliefs side by side, to see what they really say about man's relation to the Higher being (God, Allah, Yahweh, etc). This issue merits news because of the way religion tends to place a lens over the way we see the world.

Abrahamic Religions
According to historical and religious texts, the Abrahamic religions consist of three major belief systems, stemming back to the dawn of man. Chronologically they are the following: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Each religion traces its history back to a patriarch, Abraham (first called Abram in the Bible), a man of Chaldean descent. A religious sect derived from Islam, Baha'i Faith, is sometimes placed in this category as well. Each major Abrahamic religion is monotheistic, or believes that there is only one God.

Judaism
The start of Judaism is not directly known. Michael Satlow, Associate Professor at Brown University and author of "Creating Judaism", believes that any attempt at creating a history of Judaism would not do the religion justice.

"A history of Judaism creates a history where none truly existed, drawing a straight line through a tangled web and thus almost arbitrarily declaring some things central to its story and others marginal," Satlow wrote.

The Jewish G-d is believed to be the Creator and Ruler of all things. G-d is so revered and holy that many religious texts do not spell out His entire name. It is said in the Written Torah (a group of books containing Jewish history, customs and a guide to living) that a prophet named Moses was given the Jewish Law on tablets written by G-d.
 
The Written Torah is part of a larger group of Jewish scriptures called the Talmud, according to Judaism 101.com, a comprehensive religious website. The Talmud includes an Oral Torah, said to be taught to Moses by God and handed down through generations.

While the Judaic texts spell out the duties of a Jew in detail, the ultimate goal of Judaism is to live a moral, studious life. Ricky Kamil, co-president of the MSU Jewish Student Union, agrees that actions, rather than belief, tends to have more emphasis in Judaism. There can also be confusion in understanding the difference in being of  the Jewish ethnicity and being a follower of the Jewish religion.

"Judaism is interesting in that you can be Jewish (ethnically) without actually being Jewish (religiously). Pretty much anyone who is born Jewish would be considered Jewish. To be a complete Jew you have to have both the culture and the religion," Kamil said. Rabbinic Judaism--established during the Rabbinic Period, 70-640 CE-- is the most popular version held in America, though there are many denominations in existence.

Christianity
About 81 percent of the U.S. population is Christian, based on a 2006 Pew Research Center survey. Christianity follows the Jewish tradition. The Christian Bible is divided into two parts: The Old and New Testament (OT and NT). The OT is actually the Written Torah of the Jewish Talmud. Christians believes that humanity is naturally inclined to do those things that are against God (sin) and must either be punished, or somehow brought back to God. This resolution to God comes in the form of believing that a Jewish man from Nazareth named Jesus was the human form of the God of the Written Torah. This means that Jesus was perfect in every way, based on Judeo-Christian teachings.

Specifically, the Christian must believe that Jesus --who was ultimately sentenced to death by crucifixion--willingly died and was resurrected from the dead three days later. This was done so that humanity is now able to have a familial relationship with God. 

Christianity assesses that Jesus was also the fulfillment of the OT, foretelling of the Messiah (in Hebrew, Moshiach, meaning "anointed one"). The Messiah was foretold to be a powerful military leader, who would bring peace to Israel and the world. While Jesus did not fulfill this militaristic role in His life, Christians believe that this will occur when He returns and gathers all His followers. Until this occurs, the goal for Christians is to demonstrate the pure life of Jesus in thought, word and action.

The emphasis on different parts of this religion is varied, depending on which denomination or branch is inquired. The survey mentioned above was based upon both Catholic and Protestant followers in the US. Reference to Mary, the mother of Jesus, was neglected due to cultural attributes from which the belief was possibly derived. Devotion to Mary was believed to be the result of a cultural shift, holding women to a praise-like status during the Middle Ages, according to Linda Woodhead, senior lecturer in Christian Studies at Lancaster University. She writes in her book, "An Introduction to Christianity" that division in the early Christian era was eminent at the start. It was supported by some in becoming a governmental power in Rome. Others thought differently:

“Sacred power was understood not as the institutionalized and regulated power of the church, clergy and the secular leaders they supported, but as a possession of all those who lived by the Spirit of Christ," Woodhead writes.

Islam
The words "Islam” and “Muslim" are derived from the Arabic word for "peace." Many have then defined Islam as a "submission to God," or Allah, as He is called in the religion.

Islam is the second largest and one of the fastest growing religions in the world, according to Foreign Policy.com, an online compilation of international information. Two important texts in Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an was said to be given to the last prophet, Muhammad, by the angel Gabriel when Muhammad was about 40 years old. The Hadith is a book of Muhammad's additional sayings.

To become a Muslim, a person must make a public testimony of faith by saying: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." This is the first of the Five Pillars of Faith, those tasks that must be followed in a Muslim's life. The Five Pillars also state that a Muslim should pray five times a day, kneeling in the direction of Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia believed to be where Muhammad received the first of his visions from Gabriel. This event occurred in the Arabic month of Ramadan (about September 1st through the 30th), a time when present day Muslims fast each day until sunset (Qur'an 2:184-186).

"It must be understood that when Mohammed taught in the seventh century to those in Arabia, that these students were part of a violent warrior society in which they had to fight in order to survive," said Aisha Geissinger, an professor at MSU and a religious studies doctoral student at the University of Toronto. The term "jihad" however, though frequently used to describe religious warfare, is more often translated in the Qur'an to mean "struggle." This often pertains to internal struggle to keep the Islamic faith, or an external struggle against leadership.

"If anyone's talking about jihad within the religious community, you must understand: What are they trying to say?" Geissinger said. In Islam, Jesus is acknowledged as a prophet. He only appeared to die during his crucifixion, but was actually taken up to Allah alive (Qur'an 4:156-159).

Questions? Comments? Contact Jonathon Lloyd Wells at wellsjo4@msu.edu

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