Critical Analysis of the Viability of Religions for the 21st century

Ambrosina Pancorbo

A Critical Analysis of the Viability of Religions for the 21st Century


Christianity and Islam hold some beliefs in common. Both agree that there is one God who created the universe and is the supreme ruler. God is the source of morality and justice. God dispenses final justice via life after death in heaven or hell. Christians and Muslims both consider pornography and other immoral acts as cancerous to society. A primary criticism of western civilization, in fact, that many Muslims point to is the influence of such practices they attribute as spreading from the west.

Islam, at its core, is a peaceful religion. However, should one wish to commit violence, he can find ample support for doing so throughout the Kuran. Acknowledging that violence in the Kuran is sometimes for self-defense; at other times it is unclear. Several passages in the Kuran urge Muslims to “kill infidels wherever they find them.”

In a video tape from late 2001, Usama bin Laden stated that he was “ordered to fight the people until they say Allah is the only god, and Mohammed is his prophet,” echoing the language of the Kuran.

Note, however, that the Kuran is not the sole basis for violence in Islam. Found in the pages of the accounts of Muhammad’s life, the hadiths, Muhammad himself, later in life, laid the foundation for violence through his own actions. Following the first thirteen years of his ministry in the city of Mecca, marked by peaceful teachings, Muhammad became a political leader in the city of Medina. Accompanying this new political power, Muhammad’s behavior became more aggressive, using violence to spread his religion and to attack pagan travelers. Holy War, or jihad, is mentioned throughtout the Hadiths and is a traditional part of Islam.

Of course, to be fair, the Bible contains its share of violence as well, particularly in the Old Testament. These calls to violence, however, are arguably distinguishable from the violence condoned or, moreover, encouraged in the Islamic religion. The Kuran contains general commands to destroy enemies of Islam – a stark contrast.

Moving beyond the Old Testament, the message of the New Testament regarding Jesus was unmistakably one of non-violence. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be anything akin to the Christian concept of “love your enemies” in Islam. Where Christians are called to “love your neighbor as yourself,” the Koran instructs not to have Jews or Christians as friends.

Christianity and Islam differ significantly with respect to the concept of charity. Muslims, to ensure that a benefactor’s wealth remains pure, are discouraged from giving to non Muslims. Jesus, in contrast, told followers to help those outside the faith.

Islam is a religion focused on power and glory. Muslims may find it difficult to comprehend that Christians could worship Jesus, a man having had no interest in political power and above all, does nothing to resist his defeat by authorities. By contrast, Islam is more than religion; it is an ideology that from news clips over the last several years, especially, seems to include a sociopolitical agenda. There is no such thing as separation of church and state in Islam. Freedom of religion does not exist in Muslim countries, evidence perhaps that Islam wishes to gain power through political control.

For Muslims, there are three reasons given for justifiable homicide: murder, adultery, or leaving Islam. Moreover, Pakistan, for example, has a blasphemy law such that insults directed at Muhammad are punishable by death.

Islam claims to be the final “graduated” religion. If so, it seems odd to call upon violence no less than that of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

Of course, for the sake of a more interesting and pointed comparison, throughout I have been referring in both the case of the Christians and of the Muslims to those members who would identify themselves as fundamentalist. Note that a religious fundamentalist, generally, is one faithful to the tenets of the religion. Based on the preceding paragraphs about violence, within each religion, then, the upshot is that Muslims committing violent acts are likely to be acting consistently with fundamentalist Islam while a Christian who commits a violent act would quite likely be acting contrary to fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

There are also significant differences between Islam and Christianity with respect to how each religion views the nature of God. Christianity teaches that God is a Trinity (i.e., one God revealed in three persons as the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit). Islam, by contrast, denies the Trinity (because Jesus was merely a man) and views the idea of the Trinity as blasphemous. Islam does hold Jesus in high regard. It does not, however, lend any credence to Jesus as the son of God.

To Muslims, versus Christians, God is comparatively distant and unknowable, having a master/slave type of relationship with man. Christians have a personal relationship with God. The God of the Bible is described as being love itself, one that would go out of his way to search for a lost sheep. The God of the Bible welcomes man with open arms to offer comfort and assurance, as a father would with his children.

Another difference between these religions concerns the views of the nature of man. Christianity insists that man is fallen from grace and is not worthy of standing up to a holy and righteous God. On the other hand, Islam says that man is not fallen but, rather, that man is weak but not fallen. Islam teaches that man is capable of righteousness. Seems, on its face, a simple enough statement, however, its implications are meaningful. Namely, the Islamic view does not recognize the sinfulness of man as does Christianity. For Islam, then, if man is corrupted by society, then those in power can work to create a perfect society merely by strictly enforcing Islamic law.

This difference between Christianity and Islam on the nature of man is an important one because it paves the way towards the next distinction – salvation. Given man’s sinful nature and the rift it creates between imperfect man and a perfect God, Christianity holds that man is not capable of earning salvation. Christians hold that the only way to bridge that gap is through a savior. Salvation, then, is attainable only through Jesus and his sacrifice for man through his death and resurrection – the essence of Christianity.

Islam, on the other hand, holds that man may reach heaven through his works such that he may earn his way into heaven. A Muslim expects to gain entrance into heaven through his works in addition to his faith. A Christian, conversely, believes that entrance into heaven is not attainable by good works but only through belief in Christ such that rejection of Christ dooms man to eternal punishment. This may seem patently unfair; however Christians view this as the utmost in fairness. A holy God, through Jesus, provided a way for woefully sinful man who, alone, falls helplessly short of righteousness, a “free” all-access path to him/heaven – simply espouse faith in Jesus as your savior and salvation is yours with nothing else required.

Where Christians believe that salvation is assured through faith, Muslims are not assured of salvation (except perhaps through martyrdom in a jihad) until Allah weighs a Muslim’s good works against his bad works. If the good works, on balance, outweigh the bad, you get in. Even then, however, entrance is not assured because Allah may admit anyone he chooses.

The views of heaven differ between the two religions as well. Heaven to a Muslim entails the concept of a paradise that is a carnal, sensual place – the VIP room of Scores. Heaven is opulent and, while alcohol is forbidden on earth, a Muslim may drink from rivers of wine in paradise. Men, as is often noted, also will make love to dozens of virgins.

Christians view heaven as something altogether different. Heaven would not be marred by carnal things. People would not be married but angel-like. And while heaven to Muslims is focused primarily on what Muslim men can expect to enjoy, heaven for Christians is a perfect place of contentment for men, women, and children alike.

How does Hinduism square with either of these monotheistic religions? Hinduism, unlike practically every other religion, is not prophet-centric. Rather, Hinduism is a God-centric religion. The Hindu concept is that each soul is moving ever closer to God over many lives and that when a soul reaches sufficient spiritual maturity, it awakens a conscious desire to know God as its inmost essence, to experience Truth personally.

Continuously striving to attain the soul’s release from the body (and, thereby, breaking the endless cycle of reincarnation) is a central tenet for all Hindus, though few Hindus actively seek this ideal. Central to Hindu teachings is the universal desire to satisfy the human striving for peace of mind (Shanti) and not to reach Heaven, per se.

With respect to how Hinduism stacks up to Christianity or Islam regarding religious conversion, Hindu scriptures are essentially silent on the issue of religious conversion. The many Hindus that view Hinduism primarily as a philosophy or a way of life would likely be accepting of one desirous of conversion. A person presumably can convert simply by incorporating Hindu beliefs and by considering oneself a Hindu. Interestingly, most Hindu sects do not recruit converts. Rather, most Hindus believe that the goals of spiritual life can be attained through any religion, so long as it is practiced in earnest. As a kind of meta-religion, Hinduism is perhaps a nice overlay on most any religion in that it could compliment rather than conflict with the monotheistic religions.

How does a secular view compare to these religions? Interestingly and, perhaps, ironically, a secular view of the world is in a few instances consistent with certain religious views. In the attempt to reach Heaven, Muslims employ the good works versus bad works balancing test administered by Allah himself. This is not far a field from a secular form of government know as communism. Communism is based upon a similar precept that man is at base good, or at least can be perfected by government. In the case of Islam, perfecting Muslims through Islam is essentially equivalent to stating that you are perfecting them through government because, as noted above, religion and government with respect to Islam are inseparably intertwined.

With respect to secular beliefs versus religions, particularly the examples of faith-based religions, Christianity and Islam, that have been the focus of this paper, the upshot is rather simple and any resulting discussion, naturally, reflects this simplicity through its brevity. Namely, faith, particularly in the instance of Christianity, is the core belief of the religion. Secular beliefs look to science to prove/disprove religious tenets. A Christian, for example, holds that proof is not required as part of his belief, rather, what is required is, in fact, the absence of proof (i.e., faith).

Faith, therefore, is why, in spite of all the exposure to various religions, I am steadfast in my comfort with my religion of choice, Christianity. It is my faith that allows me to learn of other ways of thinking/other religions without concern that, in doing so, I may be overcome with self doubt. To accomplish this, I have learned over the years that my faith must be properly placed. That is, my faith must not be limited to blind faith placed upon the church, its leaders, etc. Rather, my faith must rest upon the fact that, as a Christian, Jesus is my savior.