Instructor's Home

Syllabus & Assignments

Resources

Lectures

Religions of the World II: Western Traditions

Western religions are those that developed in the Near East

They are all monotheistic and share other beliefs in common.

Although it is common knowledge that Christianity grew out of Judaism, few people realize that Islam shares a common spiritual heritage with these two better known religions - all three trace their roots back to Abraham.

How are these three religions related and where do they differ?
 
(Jews do not think their messiah will be a "son" of God - that's a Christian perspective)

The Abrahamic Faiths: A Comparison (from Beliefnet.com)

The least well known, Zoroastrian and Baha'i, are the smallest and the oldest and youngest, respectively. Both originated, thousands of years apart, in Persia. These two faiths also have historical and ideological ties to the other three "Big" Western religions.