A Critical Analysis of Religions

Paul Gustafson
World Religions
August 6, 2008


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


While there have been hundreds of religions or worldviews that have risen and fallen over the years, several of them have managed to continue and gain large followings. These main players on the worldwide stage of religion are Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Humanism, while not generally thought of as a religion, has also played a major role in influencing the way people think and act around the world.
Buddhism is different from the other religions in that it does not have any specific deities to be worshipped. Instead, all of life is caught up in a cycle of death and rebirth, and to escape this and achieve nirvana (the ultimate, best end), one must become enlightened by following the Eightfold Path. This Path outlines steps for overcoming desire, which is the cause of all suffering and is what prevents people from achieving nirvana.
Some of the popularity of Buddhism is that it accounts for every person’s state of existence by attributing it to a previous life. If someone was very well off and successful, they would credit it to having lived a good life in the previous incarnation. If they were poor or had physical problems, they would blame it on a bad previous incarnation and vow to do better this time so that the next life would be more favorable.
Buddhist doctrine has been “adjusted” several times to accommodate the working class, to allow them to be able to practice Buddhism while being able to carry on with their working lives. The ideal is to withdraw from the world and meditate to reach the blissful nothingness of nirvana, but this obviously was not practical for most of the people that were reached by the Buddha’s teaching, so provisions were made for the laity so that the Buddha would act as the ferryboat driver, and all one needed to do was “get on his ferry” by accepting him as savior, and salvation would be assured. (Carmody and Brink, 234)
Christianity is a monotheistic religion, with one God who requires acceptance of His Son for salvation. Unlike Buddhism, there is no way for humans to gain salvation on their own - Christian doctrine holds that people are inherently sinful, and cannot work their way to heaven (the corollary to Buddhism’s nirvana), so they must rely on the redeeming work of God. This was accomplished by sending Jesus to sacrifice himself on a cross and so redeem all of fallen humanity.
Since it branched off of Judaism, Christianity accepts the history laid out in the first books of the Bible as the origin of humanity and the basis for the religion. Instead of the goal being to attain a state of nothingness, Christianity puts forth a goal of being with the Creator God for all of eternity after death. This is achieved merely by believing in Jesus and accepting His redeeming sacrifice on the cross personally. It is expected that one would also then follow the instructions that were recorded in the Bible by His close followers, but it is not strictly required, a fact that many people take advantage of.
Islam is also a monotheistic religion, similar to Christianity, but the way to salvation is through works similar to Buddhism instead of through a savior. There is a set of rules laid out in the “Five Pillars” that are a guide for how to conduct oneself in life in order to attain a positive experience in the afterlife. (Carmody and Brink, 303) By witnessing, fasting, and praying according to these guidelines, salvation can be assured. The afterlife according to Islam is different from that of both Buddhism and Christianity, in that it is seen as a place of great pleasure and comfort for those who have lived a good life in accordance to the Five Pillars, and punishment for non-believers.
There is currently a widespread dislike of Islam because some extreme fanatics have focused on some specific parts of their holy book, the Koran, which says that “infidels”, or those who are not Muslims, should be killed, and that there is honor and glory in their destruction. Because of the terrorism that has resulted from this, many people have gotten the impression that all Muslims feel obligated to kill non-Muslims in the same way. In fact, the majority of Muslims do not follow this section of the Koran literally, or they at least believe that there is still a chance of converting people so they don’t need to be killed.
Secular humanism is not really what most people would consider to be a religion, although it is still a belief system, if a diverse one. Humanism is the belief that people are sufficient in themselves and don’t need salvation. It concentrates on personal potential and accomplishment in this world without a notion of anything to follow. Secular humanists believe that humans are basically good in themselves, and do not need religion, even that religion corrupts them and is the cause for much of society’s problems. A big basis for secular humanism is science, since science deals closely with the physical world (which humanists believe is all that exists) and is a major area for personal achievement.
All of these worldviews have obviously been checked over many times, since they have been around for so long, so they don’t have any major logical fallacies or anything. However, some of them are more convincing to me than others.
Buddhism appears to have an inherent non-provability in it. Since people cannot remember between incarnations, there is no way of telling if they happen or not, so it is difficult to try to show that Buddhism is false in this way. Also, I wonder about the increasing population of the earth - if all living things are simply reincarnations of things that have had a previous life, then where are all these new people coming from? I suppose it could be argued that there are many animals that are going extinct, but I still do not think it balances. As I mentioned before though, one of Buddhism’s strong points is that it gives a very satisfying explanation for the question of suffering in the world. Since every person’s status in life is based on conduct in a previous life, anyone who has problems now is simply receiving their just rewards from what they had done in their last incarnation.
Christianity seems to be the most convincing to me. This religion came from the persecuted Jews, and then was even more persecuted by the Romans who were persecuting the Jews, and also the Jews themselves. Almost all of the original followers of Jesus were killed for their beliefs, sometimes very painfully, and yet none of them renounced their faith. Jesus Himself willingly went to the cross to die. He said he was the Son of God, sent to save people from their sins. If this was true, then I should definitely believe in Him as a Christian. If He was lying, then why did He go so far as to die for the lie? If He was just crazy or deluded, then why did everything He said and did seem so rational and non-crazy, and why did He have so many followers? From these things it seems very likely that everything was true, and deserves to be followed.
Islam also has a large number of devout followers, similar to Christianity, many of whom have given their lives for their faith. The Koran is similar to the Bible in many aspects, and Islam and Christianity share a lot of the same values. Muslims even consider Jesus to be a good holy man, even a prophet, but not the Son of God or even quite at the level of Mohammed, their prophet.
However, the Koran has some fairly significant inconsistencies, and I think it is odd that the Koran has a few parts that some Muslims just ignore (like the commandment to kill all “infidels”, or non-Muslims) because they do not think that it is right. While I could understand not following some rules because they don’t apply because of culture changes or similar reasons, I think that believing that part of the holy book of your religion is not right really weakens any argument for accepting the religion as valid and worthy of being followed.
Secular humanism is different from these other three I have discussed. It does appeal to people like me who come from a scientific background, since it is based on human accomplishment, facts, and provability. However, they believe that “the material world is all that exists. There is no God, no spiritual dimension, no afterlife.” (Christian Answers Network) I can’t speak for anyone else, but I find a certain security in knowing that there is Someone else looking out for me Who is bigger and more powerful and above all of my mistakes and problems.
I think that the humanist viewpoint is mostly an ego booster by saying that people are the most important, and that everything revolves around us. This implies that we can find out anything, make anything, merely by putting in enough effort and resources. It also means that we can make up our own rules for whatever we want, which creates serious problems since people are not perfect.
While the first three worldviews have some similarities, secular humanism is nearly completely different. It denies the existence of anything beyond this world, anything supernatural. Religious worldviews on the other hand, explicitly define a supernatural realm with which one can and must interact. While secular humanism does have a few tenets that match those of some religions, such as the belief that humans are inherently good, the similarities end there. Since humanism uses science as a tool for knowledge, it cannot have any interaction with anything supernatural, because science by definition does not deal with the supernatural.
Religious worldviews also have some notion of a meaning for existence beyond life here on earth. Christianity and Islam have a concept of heaven, and Buddhism has nirvana as the ultimate end which all humanity is trying to reach, but with secular humanism, once a person dies, that is the end. There is nothing after. This can lead to continually striving to do more and more and keep getting better, but there is no point to it, no reason to continue. This becomes more apparent as people near the end of life and start thinking more about what happens when they die. Often people will seek some sort of religious affiliation, something that will make them feel like there is more to existence than just doing and getting, and that they will not just pass from existence when they die.
As a scientifically-minded person, I can see how secular humanism is popular among those with a similar mindset. I also respect and find interesting the Buddhist and Islamic religions. However, I have been convinced through logical arguments and a comparison of benefits that Christianity holds the truth about life and is the only religion that is worth following. I mentioned earlier that secular humanism does not offer a good explanation of the supernatural and its effects on this world, which I believe exists and does interact with the physical sometimes. I do respect science and believe almost all that it postulates, but that is not enough for me. Buddhism and Islam have a supernatural component, but neither of them have the solid theological and rational base that I have found in Christianity.
I like the fact that Christianity can be examined logically and not break down under scrutiny, and that it has physical evidence for much of its history. The Bible has been preserved with great accuracy according to many experts who have studied the manuscripts. None of the alternatives that we have studied match up in my mind. Besides these “proofs” though, I have had personal experiences that have further convinced me that God is real and that my relationship with Him is solid. Based on all of this I firmly believe that my faith in Jesus as my personal savior will not be disappointed.
Works Cited


American Islamic Forum for Democracy. 5 Aug 2008. .

"Buddhism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 7 Aug 2008, 21:03 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 5 Aug 2008 .

Carmody, Denise L, and T. L. Brink. Ways to the Center. Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.

"Christianity." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 7 Aug 2008, 20:51 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 5 Aug 2008 .

Gustafson, James. Weblog entries. JimGusWorld. 2 July 2008 through 1 August 2008.

---. Course Discussion board. July 2008 through August 2008.

"Islam." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Aug 2008, 17:36 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 5 Aug 2008 .

Probe Ministries. Probe Ministries. 5 Aug 2008. .

“Secular Humanism - What Is It?” Christian Answers Network. 5 Aug 2008. .

"Secular humanism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Aug 2008, 14:38 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 5 Aug 2008 .