Religion Essay

Making up the two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, both look at marriage as a major part of one’s life journey. Thus the idea that the sacred ritual of marriage in both Christianity and Islam are full of rich symbolism, ceremony and grounded in religious and cultural traditions, can be explored. However, the ritual of marriage differentiates between Christianity and Islam, as Christianity is founded on deep symbolic meaning and religious tradition in contrast to the culturally rich marriage ceremony found in Islam. This can be further investigated through an in depth analysis of the ceremony, symbols, religious and cultural traditions involved in the ritual of marriage.

Though there is not much common ground to be found between the marriage ceremonies of Islam and Christianity, when examined closely it is noticeable that each allows the marrying couple to connect with their God. In Christianity, it is believed that by having the ceremony in a church the couple is able to become closer to their god. This allows the couple, then to link their marriage to that of Jesus’ relationship with the human race. The same can be said for Islamic marriage ceremony, in which, the marrying couple proclaims their devotion to their lord, Allah. Though in both ceremonies are based on the joining of two people, two families into one, the ceremonies are completely dissimilar. In Christianity, the marriage ritual is seen as a celebration of love, yet in Islam, marriage is seen as more of a contract between the couple. This is because of the Islamic idea that marriage isn’t based on love, however, love spawns from the marriage. So unlike Christianity, where the couple makes vows to love each other through everything, the Islamic...

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...ly two examples of cultural tradition within Islam, they demonstrate that Islam is vastly stronger in cultural tradition throughout their marriage ritual in comparison to the vastly religious traditions found in Christianity.

The marriage ritual, in accordance to Islam and Christianity, is an important step in one’s religious journey. Through detailed research, it is understandable that Islam is firmly grounded in a culturally rich marriage ritual in comparison to the symbolic religious marriage ceremony found in Christianity. This leads to the belief that the ritual of marriage in Christianity and Islam differentiate in the areas of ceremony, symbolism and religious and cultural traditions; making it clear that the sacred ritual of marriage in both Christianity and Islam are not full of rich symbolism, ceremony and grounded in religious and cultural traditions.