Fasting in the Christian and Muslim Faiths

2660 Words6 Pages

Would one dare to go a day without food? Food in the twenty first century can be used as medicine, energy and center piece for social gatherings. However in many religions people take time to separate themselves from such consumption in an activity called fasting. The practice of fasting is incorporated in several denominations of Christianity, the Muslim faith, and Hinduism. Fasting can be personal and completed any time of year or seen specific times of year in forms of a holiday. In particular some denominations of Christianity people celebrate Lent whereas Muslims commemorate receiving the Quran by celebrating Ramadan. Although Muslims have a historically made Ramadan fasting significantly more important to their religion than Christians do Lent, secularization and globalization overtime have brought the two faiths perception of fasting to an almost equal weight.

The Christian and Muslim faiths have historically different elements, clearly distinguishing them into their own separate religions. In regards to this point, Mallory Nye has reviewed the basic outlines of both religions in a comparative table form on page 10 of his book titled Religion: The Basics. Nye states the Christian religion is based on the principles held within their main text, the Bible which is split into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Whereas the Islam main text is stated to be the Qur’an. In this table Nye concludes that the essential idea in Christianity is the belief in a single god and the holy trinity incorporating Jesus Christ as the founder. Similarly Nye states that Muslims believe in a single god as well however, they call him Allah. Nye states the country of origin of Christianity is Palestine and Rome and the origin o...

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...e, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Nematy, Mohsen, et al. "Effects of Ramadan Fasting on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Prospective Observational Study." Nutrition Journal 11. (2012): MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Nye, Mallory. Religion: The Basics. 2nd ed. Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Pascual Soler, Nieves. Hungering as Symbolic Language: What Are We Saying When We Starve Ourselves? Lewiston: Mellen P, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Smith, Ted A. "Making Lent Difficult." Christian Century 130.5 (2013): 26-29. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Tamney, Joseph B. “Muslim and Christian Attitudes toward Fasting in Southeast Asia.” Review of Religious Research 19.1 (1977): Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Ramadan. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2004. Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.

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