The Roots Of Abrahamic Religions In The World

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism are some of the most historical religions in the world. The first three descended from what is known as the “Abrahamic religions” because their roots trace back to Abraham, from the Hebrew Bible. The roots of Buddhism can be traced back to an Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni Buddha), who sought enlightenment. Today there are 14 million followers of Judaism, 2 billion of Christianity, 1.3 billion of Islam, and 360 million of Buddhism, practicing these religions worldwide (“The Big Religion Chart”). All these religions had a beginning with a rich history, let’s explore the roots of how they got to these numbers today. It is believed, Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, originating

It developed as a minor sect of Judaism that developed more, after the birth of Christ. After the birth of Christ nothing is known about him, but around the age of 30 Jesus reemerges and received the blessing of God, believing himself to be the long-awaited Savior who would usher in God 's kingdom on earth (Sayre). Hostility mounted against Jesus, and he was ultimately crucified by the Romans. The Christian religion was born in ancient Palestine, an area of land on the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which was under Roman rule. In 324CE the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, this was a major turning point in Christian history. With his conversion, he made Christianity a legal religion of the land, persecution ceased, and thousands convert to the emperor 's faith. Christianity gradually rose in power until it encompasses the entire Eastern and Western Roman Empire. Social conditions for centuries had dealt with conflicts in the region, this allowed Christianity to develop in an environment very conducive to the spread of

It is also a monotheistic religion, who worship the God called Allah, the meaning in Arabic is “the God”. Islam originated from the word “salam,” its meaning is “peace” or “salvation”. The word “Muslim,” signifies a follower of Islam, who submits him or herself to the will of God. It is believed that the prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the year 622 CE, as member of the Arabic Quraish tribe from the West-Central part of the Arabian Peninsula in the region of present-day Mecca. Muhammad was believed to have lived from 570-632 CE. This religion started when the angel Gabriel read the first revelation to Muhammad, about 610 CE, to help explain the teachings of the holy book of Islam, which is called Holy Qur’an. These revelations that Muhammad received confirmed God’s unity and directed life in the world. A civil war broke out following Muhammad 's death, causing vast military expansion of Islam during the Umayyad Period. On the website, The Islam Project they state, “The Umayyads conquered all of the Persian empire and half the Roman (Byzantine) empire. They spread across North Africa, conquered Spain and Portugal, and marched across Europe until they were finally repulsed in the heart of France by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732” (The Islam Project). With radical Islam being preached today, you can see how war affects how religions grows. Sometimes not in a good way, especially when the name of the religion came