Sarah Weaver

Rels 2300
7/3/16
Comparison Paper
Are religions ultimately the same? Many ask this question,
and although it is a favorite question, different people will come to
different conclusions on this issue. Personally, I believe thinking that
religions serve the same purposes is a sound answer. Religions can be
ultimately the same in regards to what they teach its people, their
moral values, and their final goals. Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam
all have something in common and share mutual grounds.
Buddhism
Buddhism was found under a man named Buddha. Although
Buddha did not intend on creating a religion, Buddhism is now the
fourth largest religion in the world. Buddhism is a religion that found
the middle path between extreme Hinduism behavior and lower
stances of Hinduism actions. Buddha taught about how to reach
enlightenment and how to achieve it.
From the teachings of Buddhism, they understand that
unhappiness is the other side of the coin of happiness. This is a
teaching the Buddhists know well because they teach awareness that
they cannot control their happiness. They show openly that: flowers
wilt, friends die, and our bodies eventually age and decay (Fisher,
144). A phrase used from Living Religions, by Mary Pat Fisher who is an
author that specializes in religion. Teaching that bad things will happen

Sarah Weaver
Rels 2300
7/3/16
is not only just what Buddhists do; this instruction is also shown in the
Bible for Christianity as well as a teaching taught by Muhammad for
the Islamic culture. These three religions know well that bad things will
happen to good people or will inevitably happen to them regardless.
When I attended the Buddhist temple; I also witnessed the Dali Lama
teaching that bad things will indeed occur to anyone at anytime.
Morally, Buddhists teach that one should not do evil because
they teach that if you do, they will have a bad afterlife. The Buddhists
believe in the afterlife, otherwise known as The wheel of birth and
death (Fisher, 146). Because of this, they teach not to do evil things
as it will build up bad karma and their afterlife will be of something
much worse than their life they have now. So, it teaches people to
either, create no karma, to reach Nirvana, or to build good karma by
doing good things so that their afterlife is excellent. Again, Buddhists
do not only teach this, but Christianity also teaches its followers to be
kind to yourself and your neighbors. Likewise, Islam believes they
should always do good because they want their God to see they are
genuine people.
Buddhists ultimate goal is to reach Nirvana and end the wheel of
birth and death. However, if you want to achieve this, you will have to
create no karma for yourself. This involves not creating any good or
bad karma for yourself. You might say this ultimate goal is different

Sarah Weaver
Rels 2300
7/3/16
from Christianity and Islamic. However, personally, this goal has the
same base as the other two. Again, Buddhists want to end the cycle of
suffering (Fisher, 149). It is a goal that ultimately teaches to do good
for the world. This is much like Christianity and Islam who both want
the world to be in better standing.
Christianity
Much like other religions of the world, Christianity also teaches
multiple subjects to their followers. Christianity began after the death
of Jesus, who was thought to be the Son of God. Jesus taught about
love and peace and how God is a forgiving person. Without intending
to, Jesus also created his own religion. It is a religion that is now the
first largest religion in the world.
Because Jesus mainly taught about love, Christianity preachers
also teach their followers this. Christianity teaches that one must show
love to God as well as show love and kindness towards their neighbors.
On page 310, Fisher states: to love ones neighbor means selfless
service to everyone, even to those despised by the rest of society.
Fisher also quotes from the Bible: What goes into the mouth does not
make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth makes him
unclean (Matthew 15:11).
Although these are inspiring teachings, they are not original and
can be found in other religions as well. Religions such as Buddhism and

Sarah Weaver
Rels 2300
7/3/16
Islam teach this very same concept. Buddha has taught to consider
other as yourself, which means to treat others the same way you
would want them to treat you. As for Islam, Muhammad taught that
you should do good for your neighbors and those in need. This
teaching of loving your neighbor and treating them the way they would
want them to treat you is something religions teach, and it sets a good
moral for their followers.
As for Christians ultimate goal, they want to be more like Christ,
bring peace, and try and resist sinful temptations. For Christians, they
have a set of Ten Commandments they must follow. Failing to follow
these Commandments will lead you to a sinful life. These
Commandments are like laws, and Christians try hard to abide by
them. Reading from the Exodus 20 excerpt from the Bible, one can
gather that some of these Commandments want to bring peace to the
world. Commandments such as: You shall not murder. You shall not
commit adultery. You shall not steal(13-15). Like other religions,
Christianity wants what both Islam and Buddhists want: doing good for
the world by showing peace and love towards your neighbors.
Islam
Islam is a religion based off of the Prophet Muhammad. Although
Muhammad is no more important than the rest of the written Prophets
from the Quran, he was the last of the prophets, making him the most

Sarah Weaver
Rels 2300
7/3/16
relevant. The people of Islam looked up to him as he was an example
of the Sunnah, the secondary source of the Islamic law compared to
the Qur'an. Islam is now the second-largest religion in the world, but it
is similar to its other religious counterparts.
Much like the other religions, Islam instills inspiring teachings to
its followers. One, for example, is that Muslims must pray five times a
day. When praying, it is an indication that they are coming closer to
Allah and acknowledging what He has done for the world. Because
they have five prayers a day, faithful Muslims will stop whatever they
are doing, no matter where they are, and begin praying. This is a sign
that they can let any materialist things go and just recognize Allah.
Although Christians do not have a set of times they should pray to their
God, they will still pray to Him. In Christianity, it is perfectly okay to
pray whenever or wherever you want to acknowledge his presence and
strengthen your bond with Him. Buddhists, however, dont believe in a
God, and some may think Buddhists are different in this regard, but
this is not true in my opinion. Faithful Buddhists will purposely not get
attached to any material object so they may continue creating good or
no karma. When Buddhists begin their meditation to achieve Nirvana,
just like Muslims, Buddhists will drop any material objects to recognize
what is truly important.

Sarah Weaver
Rels 2300
7/3/16
Morally, just like Christianity, they believe they should do the
right things to please Allah so that their good deeds may judge them in
the afterlife. Again because Buddha believed in many gods and not a
God, he thought only his karma would affect his destiny. To please the
afterlife, all three of these religions, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam
believe they should do good in the life that they have now. The moral
concept of this is to do good in this world to either please Allah, God,
and their neighbors to live a happier afterlife.
Islams ultimate goal is to please Allah. They want to do all
that is right for
Him so that when they are being judged, Allah will know what
good deeds they have done. They believe Allah is merciful more than
wrathful. The Muslims have a very personal relationship with Allah and
trust that God will judge them rightfully on all the good things they
have done in their life. Just like Chirality and Buddhism, Islam has the
base idea that people should be a good person.
Religions can be different in regards that they may have their
own separate reasons as to why they should be good people. However,
because they have such similar teachings, moral values, and goals, I
believe this makes these religious ultimately the same. Despite the
different stories these religions tell, the various backgrounds of each

Sarah Weaver
Rels 2300
7/3/16
tale, these religions share the common idea of being a good person
and wanting the world to become a more peaceful place to live.