World Religions (PDF)

Pew Research Center (2015) What's wrong with the 'world religions' paradigm?  Listing of Dry Knowledge: Where is the sense of lived experience? The problem of implying sameness in Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, etc.  The need to not lose sight of the variations within religions Judaism monot...

Pew Research Center (2015) What's wrong with the 'world religions' paradigm?  Listing of Dry Knowledge: Where is the sense of lived experience? The problem of implying sameness in Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, etc.  The need to not lose sight of the variations within religions Judaism monotheistic religion developed among the ancient Hebrews. Judaism is characterized by a belief in one transcendent God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions. Judaism is the complex phenomenon of a total way of life for the Jewish people, comprising theology, law, and innumerable cultural traditions Common Features among the Various Judaisms First, faith in the one true God, Yahweh Second, acceptance of the Torah, or the first five books of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, also known as the Five Books of Moses, as the most authoritative scriptures containing the covenants and teachings that Yahweh gave to the nation of Israel. Third, members of Judaism identify as "Israelites" whose belief in Yahweh and the teachings of the Torah shape their worldview and determine their lifestyle. Islam, Muslim Islam is a religion that uncritically inherited and developed the monotheistic traditions of Judaism and Christianity in the 7th and 8th centuries, based on revelations received from Allah by Muhammad, a native of the city of Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia. Islam is an Arabic word meaning submission, obedience. Muslim is a person who practices Islam