Comparative Analysis of World Major Religions

Abstract

This research seeks to conduct a comparative examination of world major religions with particular emphasis on people’s beliefs, creed, and culture as well as the major practices, ideologies, and similarities between religions in the world. The goal is to help scholars and the wider world to gain a better understanding of the complexity of religions in human societies worldwide. By using works of Huston Smith and Wilfred Cantwell Smith together with other recognized authors, this work use an intensive approach in study of such religions as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and others. Cantwell Smith; s (1958) comparative paradigm is thus the theoretical basis upon which dynamic and developmental aspects of religion are underscored.  Huston Smith (1991)’s reference book “The World’s Religions” contains much material that can help to understand the fundamentals of various belief systems. Widening the debate about these approaches this analysis wants to illustrate how highlighting similarities and arguing about differences creates the opportunity for a better understanding of the world’s major religions. Unlike most comparative analyses, this work aims to avoid cursory comparisons and First, this comparative analysis will endeavour to provide a deeper understanding of each of the major world religions. Through a comprehensive analysis of the discursive history and cultural aspects of religions, their doctrinal bases, as well as the cultural and, therefore, political consequences, the study will seek answers to the questions of what such beliefs have become weak points for, and for millions of people, how and why such beliefs are still elaborated. The connections of societies in the present world era must call for a respect and a recognition of the various religions existing in the current world. Based on the theoretical principles identified by Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1958), the proposed approach to religious processes highlights flexibility as a key attribute of religious phenomena, which is used to describe inter- and intrareligious interactions and their further development. The fact that the comparative analysis is made possible by Smith’s concept electrifies the manner in which religious evolution influences sociopolitical evolution. On this theoretical backdrop, the study uses the knowledge acquired from Huston Smith’s broad research across the world’s faiths (1991). The book he has written, “The World’s Religions” is a great resource or orientation as it gives people a look into the religious and non-religious orientation of mankind. The purpose of this study is to establish not only the differences in Theology, but also the similarities present in these plural forms of faiths as Smiths work elucidates. Since we take a scholarly approach to the subject, the purpose of the work is to advance the discussion on religious diversity and promote awareness of people’s interdependence. In this review of the major world religions, it is hoped that the study goes beyond mere acknowledgement of differences and avoids thus setting the stage for a more holistic acceptance that will foster recognition of common humanity as our world gets inter-connected through globalisation. From this perspective, the research aims at submitting the knowledge of how religion has affected societies, ethics, and consequently culture of the world as a whole.

Keywords: World Major Religions, Beliefs, Creed, Culture