Religion is the set of beliefs that binds a person to something beyond their individual selves. It promotes a sense of humility that functions as the borderline of attitudes and morality. Religion also fosters a person’s loyalty to the faith, may it be past, present or future. Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity are basically the same when it comes to the core values that they all follow. Christianity was originally Judaism, except that the other Jews separated because of their belief in Jesus and His teachings.
In Judaism, it was predicted that a prophet, the Son of God will come to save all mankind from sin, and the ones who became Christians believed that it is Jesus who was mentioned, making Christianity and Judaism one except for that one major difference and all the other minor differences that has arisen from the teachings of Jesus. A set of beliefs, a way of life and a community of people is the best way to define Christianity. All three religions believe in one ultimate being who is the beginning and ending of all things, omnipresent and has no physical bodies.
They all also believe in holy books that they all live by. The Hindus believe in the four Vedas while Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, both believing that the whole of the said figures conform to only one God. Judaism and Christianity both believe that there should be no other God other than Him, and of life after death as a price to their goodness here on earth. But Hinduism believes in reincarnation and that the promise of God is within themselves and that they can reach it with the ultimate consciousness.
All three religions believe that a messiah or a divine prophet will come to save the world. Historically, the origin of Judaism and the Jews themselves could not be traced, except for the Holy Scriptures in their religion. While Hinduism, on the other hand is believed to have been brought to be brought more than 5000 years ago by the Persians who migrated there. It is believed that Hinduism is the oldest religion in the history. Hinduism is believed by many to be a religion of many Gods, but in actuality, their basis is the unity of everything.
Religion is something we are born to believe nowadays, not inherent but rather something we acquire by birth. A baby born to a Christian family will automatically be undergoing baptismal rites a few months after his birth. Culture defines a person. It does not only tell him how to be mannered, how to dress, or how to act but it also tells him what is right or wrong. (“Culture and Religion”) As a culture changes in time, religion must adapt to societal norms to stay with it.
The interpretation of the scriptures is relative as well. The degree of ambiguity in how the readings were translated, and also, the decoding of the message is high. Another good example of how culture affects religion is the story of the “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato. It talks about a man who has stayed in the cave for so long and has always believed that to be the real world. When he went out of the cave, he could not believe what he was seeing.
It is not only a good Philosophical argument, but also a good argument in regards to faith. When you have always believes in something all your life, you don’t really try to break free because you may not even question it. Simply how faith works, but one thing is for sure. One superior Being created all these, however we may perceive him to be is just a simple technicality. References: 2006. Religious Worlds. <Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. “Culture and Religion. ” Routledge, 2006.