The Abrahamic (Western) Religions
Abrahamic religions are given their name from the shared religious lineage leading back to the prophet Abraham (also called Abram). Abraham is claimed by Jews as their patriarch and ancestor, while Christians claim him a “father in faith” (Romans 4), and Muslims see Ibrahim’s (as Abraham is known in Arabic) son as the ancestor of all Arabs. Abraham is seen as the forefather of the three Western religions because of his devotion to monotheism (belief of one god or the oneness of God). Abraham’s family is identified as polytheistic (identifying as a believer in multiple gods), as they “worshiped other gods” (Joshua 24:2). When Abraham enters into a covenant with God, it is between that one god and a specific family. This shows promise of monotheism and thus the beginning of modern Western religion. This also makes it clear why the Jewish people all Abraham an ancestor, and why it’s a blood-based religion, meaning followers are born into it and are not likely to be converts. Abraham had three wives: Sarah (also Sarai), Hagar, and Keturah. Sarah and Abraham couldn’t have children, so Sarah told Abraham to take her Egyptian slave, Hagar, and have a child with her so that perhaps Sarah could have a family. Hagar quickly conceived and gave birth to a son, who Abraham named Ishmael (Genesis 16). A few years later, God approached Abraham to make a covenant. In doing so, God blessed Sarah will a son named Isaac so that Abraham’s people would flourish (Genesis 17). The split between the Western religions can be associated with the sons of Abraham. Ishmael is seen as the ancestor of all Arabs, and through an extension, Islam. Isaac, then, is seen as the predecessor to the Jewish (and eventually Christian) people, as the covenant between God and Abraham was set up as an “everlasting covenant for his descendants after him”. This draws out the relationship between the three major Western religions as sister religions, established through Abraham.
The covenant between God and Abraham was established when Abraham agreed to abandon his way of life, leaving his home and family; this occurred roughly around 1713 BCE. Moses led the Jewish people out of Egyptian slavery in 1250 BCE. Around the mid-900s BCE, King Solomon builds the First Temple in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah. Around the 720s BCE, the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel, thus marking the prequel of the Jewish Diaspora. In the year 70 AD, the Romans breech the walls of Jerusalem and destroy the Second Temple, taking control of Jerusalem, and thus Israel. This marks the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora. Eventually the Jews find home in Europe, but the First Crusade begins, Jerusalem is taken, and Jews are murdered or expelled in order to purge the cities. Around 1700 AD, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov is born; he will go on to found Hasidism, a secondary sect within Judaism. In the mid-1800s, Abraham Geiger becomes prominent in Europe, promoting Reform Judaism, another strong sect in Judaism. In 1897, the First Zionist Congress convenes, led by Theodor Herzl. Zionism is a movement calling for the creation of a Jewish nation state. In 1935, Nuremberg Laws came into effect in Germany, restricting the rights of Jews and setting up the stage for their eventual termination at the hands of Nazi Germany. In 1938, Kristallnacht occurred in Germany, where Nazis and sympathizers, as well as those blending in for fear of their lives, took to the streets to torch synagogues, and vandalize Jewish homes, schools, and businesses. In 1948, the head of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion, announced the creation of the Jewish state of Israel; on the same day, U.S. president Harry S. Truman announced the U.S. recognition of the state.
Judaism is a religion focused more on action than belief (orthopraxy) (like eating appropriate foods or sitting shiva). Some important actions Jews must take include going to synagogue and eating kosher. The sacred texts of Judaism can be abbreviated into the acronym “TaNaKh” (Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim). The Torah is made of five books and are the Old Testament of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Nevi’im is the culmination of the prophets and their teachings. The Ketuvim are miscellaneous writings that couldn’t be categorized as Torah or Nevi’im and are typically the writings of Rabbis finding their way through their faith.
Some of the most important foundational figures to Judaism are Abraham (aforementioned), Moses, King David, King Solomon, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses is known for breaking the Jews out of Egyptian bondage and bringing them to freedom in Canaan. King David unified the Kingdom of Israel. King Solomon was the son of King David and built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Isaac is the son of Abraham and Sarah and was the most difficult test of Abraham’s faith to God, as God asked Abraham to present his son as an offering. Jacob is the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and having 12 sons, was the ancestor to the 12 tribes of Israel. As they do not believe the Messiah has yet to come, the Jewish faith doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ as a holy object, but at most, as Jewish teacher.
Four of the most popular and important Jewish holidays are: Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Chanukkah. Passover represents the Israelites’ departure from Egypt. It is a week long festival, with special meals called seders. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and is known as a day of remembrance and introspection, to figure out how to make one’s life better. It is one of the holiest holidays. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, where practitioners will stay home from work, fast, and attend synagogue, to atone for the sins of the past year. Chanukkah is the “Festival of Lights” (noted by menorahs) and is a eight day celebration. It is a celebration of re-dedication when Jews took back the Holy Temple from the Greeks.
There are four main sects (splits) among Judaism: Conservative, Hasidism, Orthodox, and Reform. Conservative Judaism sits somewhere in the middle of Orthodox and Reform and has its roots in North America. It called for a reevaluation of the idea of revelation, but didn’t want to abandon traditional values, like it saw Reform Judaism doing. Hasidism originated as a elitist movement to get closer to and seek spiritual revelation from Baal Shem Tov. It can be seen as a more mystic ideology to get closer to God. Orthodox Judaism looks to remain with original principles of Judaism and get away from liberal movements. Reform Judaism is the most liberal sect, as it sees the written and oral Torah as written by human hands and thus contain timeless truths and thus focuses on individual religious study.
Christianity is a largely proselytizing religion, meaning that part of its foundation is to seek out possible converts and then actually work to convert them. Islam is the same way and Judaism is not. That being said Christianity is the largest religion in the world, having 31.2% of the world identifying as Christian. When it began, however, it was seen as a threat to the world order.
To set the scene, the Romans began ruling Israel in 63 BC. Jesus Christ, the son of God was born in 4 AD. In the year 30, Jesus is crucified. In 1054, the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity. 1478 marks the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition, setting the seen for Europe to purge non-Christians. In 1517, Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses, which called out the abusive nature of priests in high positions to take money from the poor. In 1521, Martin Luther began spreading the word of Lutheranism and translating the Bible to make it accessible to the masses; he was then excommunicated for heresy. In 1534, the Jesuits were founded by Ignatius of Loyola; at the same time, King Henry VII became the head of the English church. Since then, sects of Christianity has split into multiple factions.
Christianity’s foundation is based on orthodoxy, or “the right beliefs”, rather than the right actions, as seen with Judaism (meaning to be a good Christian it is more important to believe Jesus is the Messiah than it is to practice charity or pray). The general practices of most Christians include a baptism and the partaking of communion. The main sacred text of Christianity is the Bible, which is made of the Torah of Judaism (The Old Testament) and subsequent tellings of the life of Jesus (The New Testament).
Many important people in the Bible are the same as the Torah, such as Isaac and King David. Other important people include, Jesus, Mary, Peter, and Paul. Not much is known of Jesus’ early life, but his later life is chronicled as a semi-biography with allegorical meaning throughout the four gospels of the Bible. Jesus was born of immaculate conception and represents God on Earth. He was crucified for treason against the Roman empire. A little fun fact, on most crosses “INRI” is inscribed; it is an acronym for the Latin phrase meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. Mary is the mother of Jesus who experienced the immaculate conception and is called “Virgin Mary”. Peter is one of the twelve apostles and is one of the closest to Jesus. Paul was also an apostle. He began his life as Saul and followed the Pharisees; in doing so he was charged with prosecuting the followers on Jesus. His story of redemption is well know: he was on his way to stone a follower but received spiritual enlightenment. In having experienced this, he saw Jesus as his savior and changed his name to Paul.
Some of the most important Christian holidays are: Lent, Easter, and Christmas. Lent lasts forty days, representing the time Jesus spent in wilderness avoiding the call of Satan. It is often a time of repentance. Easter celebrates Jesus’ resurrection. Easter is really a season, as it starts with Lent and features other smaller holidays between (Palm Sunday, Maudy Thursday, etc.). Christmas honors the birth of Jesus and incorporates pagan symbols; it has evolved to a more secular religion where everyone can be involved.
The first major split in Christianity was the Great Schism, which created Western and Eastern Orthodoxy. The next major sect is Protestantism (founded by Martin Luther), which contains a vast majority of the Christian churches (ex: Church of the Latter-Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventist, Methodist, Baptist). Reformed Christianity was popular when it started and led to the Anabaptists (Amish, Quakers, Mennonites, Baptists). This is a very simplified list of Christian sects. Please refer here, here, and here for more information and a deeper dive into the splits.
Islam is the most recent of the Abrahamic religions, originating in what is now Saudi Arabia. It is the world’s fastest growing religion. The religion started as revelations to one man and has grown into something more powerful.
The Prophet Muhammad was born around 570 AD in Mecca. In the year 610, Muhammad is visited by the angel Gabriel who ordered him to recite. Though it didn’t exist at the time, Muhammad was forced to recite the beginning of the Qur’an. The word qur’an (one of the holy books of Islam) means “recitation”. Muhammad builds up a following with these revelations about a monotheistic god. Eventually, however, in 622, he is run out of Mecca and flees to Medina. In 630, the Muslims take back Mecca and dedicated to the one God. In 632, Muhammad dies from a fever. In 680, the Shia (or Shi’ite) party is formed, creating the two major sects of Islam. In the 1900’s Islam turns more political as Muslims attempt to get power (see Muslim Brotherhood and Iranian Revolution).
In Islam, Muhammad is considered the last of the prophets (including, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus). Islam is a religion of orthopraxy- committing the right actions supersedes having the right beliefs (like Judaism; so to be a good Muslim, you don’t eat pork, you pray five times a day). The main tenets of Islam are called the Five Pillars of Islam. The most important one is the declaration of faith, the shahada (reciting “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet” is the testimony needed to join the Islamic community. Prayer is the next most important pillar, and Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day. The next three pillars are important but are not daily, though they are expected of a practicing Muslim. Charity is an tax coming out of ones annual savings. The next is fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. The last pillar is the Hajj, which is a pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina (to signify when Muhammad fled) and is expected that a Muslim experience it once in their lifetime.
The two most important texts in Islam are the Qur’an and the Hadith. The Qur’an is the most important text and was revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. It has chapters called “surahs” and is much shorter than the New Testament of the Bible. The Hadith is a record of sayings and traditions Muhammad participated in and thus Muslims follow. It is not written as the word of God, but is just the tradition of the Prophet.
Some of the most important people in the history of Islam include: Muhammad, Khadija, Abu Bakr, and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Khadija was the first wife of Muhammad and his strongest supporter. Abu Bakr was Muhammad’s closest friend and adviser and succeeded Muhammad as the leader (caliph) of Islam after Muhammad’s death. Ali was the nephew and son-in-law of Muhammad and was seen as the rightful successor to Muhammad. This line of thought is what led to the Shia-Sunni split among Islam.
There are only a few important holidays in Islam: Al-Hijrah, Ashura, Eid Al-Adha, Eid Al-Fitr, and Ramadan. Al-Hijrah is the Islamic New Year and represents when Muhammad left Mecca to Medina. Ashura marks the day Noah left the ark, as well as when Moses was saved from the Egyptians by God. For Shia specifically, it commemorate the martyrdom of the grandson of Muhammad. Eid Al-Adha commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to follow God’s commands to kill his son Ishmael. Eid Al-Fitr meas “the festival of breaking fast” and marks the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of introspection, where Muslims fast and try especially hard not to have sinful thoughts or behavior.
There are a handful of sects of Islam, though the two largest are Sunni and Shia. A third, Sufism, is a tiny percentage of the population but important to the narrative of Islam. Sunnis are the largest sect, having somewhere between 85% and 90% of the world’s Islamic population. They are the orthodox branch of Islam and practice Islam in the way Muhammad did. The split came from a disagreement of who should lead the Muslims after Muhammad died. Those believing in what would become the Shia sect thought that the successor should be of blood relation, and should be Muhammad’s nephew, Ali. Shia have ayatollahs to lead them and see them as representations of Allah (God) on earth. Sufism is the mystical belief of Islam and those practicing seek a direct relationship with God. Sufis played a major role in education, as they seek to educate the masses and deepen spiritual concerns. If you’ve ever heard of dervish (whirling or dancing to reach a transitional state to directly contact God) but never really knew what it mean or where it came from, it is the action Sufis take to reach God, including poverty and austerity.
“Abrahamic Religions” refers to the main overarching “Western Religions”: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are considered sister religions because of their similar background in hailing from Abraham, who brought monotheism to light. They all have founders, are guided by sacred texts, believe in the one true God, and, for the most part, adhere to the norms set by their religion, with some opposition from societal norms.
