Monotheistic Religion Essay

In the early parts of human history, religion began to develop and rapidly establish a foothold strong enough to assert the topic’s prevalence even to the modern day. The most popular religions of the modern day are monotheistic, this being a newer philosophy in reference to the beginning of religion itself. The earliest religions were polytheistic, or worshipped many gods, whereas most of the religions following Zoroastrianism adopted the omnipotent singular deity framework. The popular monotheistic religions include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Buddhism strays from these faiths in that it does not worship a deity, but rather an individual who separated himself from the average mortal through enlightenment.

Judaism was founded by the

Patriarch Abraham, who brought down the 10 commandments from Mount Sinai to the chosen people, the Jews. Judaism was originally founded in the seventh century BCE (“Just”). Moses played an incredible role in the survival of the jewish faith in his insurrection against the Egyptian Pharaoh. He came forth, after receiving a message from God, to free the Jews from their oppressors, he lead the Jews through the Red Sea to freedom. The pertinent dates of the Jewish faith are Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah. Judaism originated in the Southern Levant, otherwise known as modern-day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan (“Just”). Judaism has rooted itself in two geographic strongholds aside from the Southern Levant, those being in Eastern Europe, the place of Ashkenazi Jews, and Spain, the place of Sephardic Jews (Sharik). The Jewish people were so able to flourish in Europe in part due to their religion’s lack of bars on financial lending versus the Christian and Muslim faiths which strictly forbade the act. The religion evolved due to the Jewish diaspora, or displacement from the homeland. This event lasted hundreds of years and forced the Jewish influence to all corners of the Earth to escape consistent persecutions.
Christianity was founded by the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was, as the Christians believe, the supposed Messiah, or anointed one. This differentiated them from the Jews who do believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Around 30 CE, Jesus Christ was killed, and rose three days later. To many this act sealed him as the Messiah, son of God. The religion spread due to the expansion of Christian empires, the crusades, and the religious teaching of Peter and Paul, who took it upon themselves to travel around the world and spread the teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ. The Christian faith celebrates Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, Easter, the day he rose from the dead, and Saints’ Days, which celebrates the lives of saints such as Patrick and Valentine. Christianity originated in the Southern Levant, like Judaism (“Just”). Through the conversion of emperors, Christianity set up a geographic stronghold within the expanses of the Roman Empire and then later the Byzantine Empire (“Rome”). The social conditions surrounding the birth and spread of Christianity were of war. A massive philosophical uprising took place. The majority of the world at the time did not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah, so tens of thousands of devout men took it upon themselves to spread his influence and to kill those who did not accept him as their savior. Christianity evolved through the rapid expansion of its community. Those who preached against him were persecuted and killed. Through trade routes and expansion of Christian empires, Christianity

evolved.
The Islamic faith was established by the self-declared prophet Muhammad. Around 622 CE, Muhammad abandoned his life to follow the words being brought to him through the angel Gabriel (“Just”). He traveled to Medina to escape persecution until finally returning to Mecca with an army to siege the city and take it for Islam. Dates that hold importance in the muslim faith include Al-Hijra, Ramadan, and ‘Id al-Fitr. Born in the Arabian Peninsula, Islam later set up strongholds in Mecca, Iran, Iraq, as well as the entire domain of the Ottoman Empire (“Just”). The spread and evolution of Islam was, like Christianity, done so by military force. Due to the constant battling of the Persian and Byzantine empires the muslim forces were able to swiftly capture territories from the empires. The fact that the newly conquered peoples, for the most part, shared the native language of the Muslim faith again contributed to the evolution and rapid spread. The Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, is not translatable. The book is said to no longer be the Qur’an once translated, so the conquered peoples sharing the native language of the Qur’an was a very specific component in the successful adoption of the religion in new regions. The social conditions during the time were combative. The successful spread of Islam was entirely due to the combative nature of the time. It left vast areas poorly defended so muslim soldiers could conquer.
Buddhism
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“About”). He was a highly respected prince who abandoned his worldly possessions due to the intense poverty he saw outside his palace walls. Around sixth century BCE, he traveled through the desert to seek worldly enlightenment (“Just”). When he achieved enlightenment, he gave himself the title of Buddha. The religious followers of Buddhism celebrate the Buddha’s birthday, the day he reached enlightenment, and the lunar quarters. The religion originated in India, the home of Siddhartha. Buddhism set strongholds within Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and China (Sharik). The religion was adopted so readily due to the social distress of these regions. Buddhism offered a different social code for society to be organized. It stressed personal responsibility, through the expression of Karma. A theory that stated good would be paid forth in the following life, as would evil.
Religion’s importance to modern society is no small matter. Radical Islamic followers have taken it upon themselves to declare a Jihad against the Westerners. The strong viewpoints of the Christian faith have dramatically impeded genetic experimentation on humans, potentially for the worse. All the while, religions have also sought to increase the wellbeing of those worse off than they. It cannot be denied that religion has had a dramatic influence to modern society, be it for good or bad, the influence is immeasurable.