ARE RELIGIONS

ULTIMATELY THE SAME?

Parker Schafer
WORLD RELIGIONS 2300
 Religion is “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe,

especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually

involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the

conduct of human affairs.” (dictonary.com) Religions can be traditions that are handed down

through family and cultural ties. Religions can be a bond for people that makes unbreakable

friendships. Religion means something different to each person that claims to religion but also

means something different to non-religious people. It is estimated that there are 4200 different

religions. With the largest and main four religions being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and

Buddhism. Within the more commonly practiced religions we see patterns throughout history

that show these religions are the same just titled differently and practiced differently. We see that

there is a similar structure within each religion, for example who is worshiped and the end result

of that worship. I also argue that the path for members and followers to follow is similar and

repeated by each other. There are so many different religions in the world to pick from and

worship but we see no real proof that one is more correct than the other. An argument that seems

to be best understood by the common trait that they are in fact the same.

One God

God is the father of the Christian faith. We then have his son Christ who was a gift to the

world he performed the atonement so we could be free from sin. In Islam we see Allah as the

main one and only god. Following a similar path of the Christian faith we see a gift from Allah.

Muhammad was the prophet who gained the Qur’an from god. The Qur’an can be seen as a rule

book of things to do to return to Allah after death. Thus, we can see a very similar yet clearly

different person with Christ and Muhammad. Both individuals were gifts from God to direct and

save the people. This pattern stretches even to the Hindu religion. Brahman is the universal god
and under him many other gods help believers with different tasks and ultimately to gain a better

reincarnated life. I gained a sense of similarity between religions when I attended the Sri

Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah. After a new and exciting worship service the Priest Sri. N.S.

Satish Kumar spoke to the visitors, welcoming and explaining more about what we just saw and

experienced. The one thing that he said that really got my mind racing was when he stated that

no matter what you call him or what religion you claim for yourself, we all worship the same

god. Each religion has differences but most that are monotheistic follow a similar pattern that

can not be ignored. That pattern being, all mightily god that can not be seen gives us a demi god

or prophet that organize a religion giving us a path back to the god who sent them to us. My

Hindu experience taught me that some religions accept that there is only one god and we all

worship that one god differently in the religion that we choose to follow.

One Practice

When you look at a religion you often first see the things that appear different to you.

Whether it be the clothing that is worn or the way that they practice their religion. In the Hindu

religion they practice a Caste system. “The Brahmins were the priests and philosophers... The

next group, were the nobility of feudal India: kings, warriors, and vassals. Vaishyas were the

economic specialists: farmers and merchants. The shudras were the manual laborers and artisans.

Lower than these original four varnas were those “outcastes,”” (Fisher, Section 3.5) Christianity

and other religions such as Islam do not have the Caste system, yet, very similar Ideas are still

present. There are common folk, there are leaders, followed by priests or Imams, then there are

Prophets and Heads of the religion. Though the Caste system is not mentioned we still see that

those in higher authority position are given more respect and trusted more than those that are just

church members. Although each religion is different and believe different things, we see a
pattern of similarities when it comes to restrictions and rules that are found in religions. Chastity

in regards to sexual relations outside of marriage is a law that we see in the larger religions that

make up the bigger portion of religious people. Religions share a common ideology of power

“Other scientific materialists believe that religions have been created or at least used to

manipulate people. Historically, religions have often supported and served secular power.”

(Fisher, Section 1.2) Giving us the idea that power or even political status has been shared for

many years and not just recently. It is common practice to see limits and rules to certain foods

that can be eaten by religious members. Matt Stefon writes an article for the Britannica going

over the rules and customs in world religions. Stefon goes into great detail about the foods that

are and aren’t allowed by certain religions. Stefon dives into the reasons why certain religions

have food laws. Jewish law dictates “spelled out in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in

the Torah. Prohibited foods that may not be consumed in any form include all animals—and the

products of animals—that do not chew the cud and do not have cloven hoofs (e.g., pigs and

horses); fish without fins and scales; the blood of any animal; shellfish (e.g., clams, oysters,

shrimp, crabs) and all other living creatures that creep; and those fowl enumerated in the Bible

(e.g., vultures, hawks, owls, herons). All foods outside these categories may be eaten.” (Stefon,

Britannica) One can see how different outside appearance of the Islamic and Jewish faiths are,

yet they share a very similar rule on food and same core structures. They share the “Mosaic Law

forbidding consumption of the blood of any animal, the flesh of swine or of animals that are

found dead, and food that has been offered or sacrificed to idols.” (Stefon, Britannica) How can

these two different religions who have fundamental differences still have the same dietary

restrictions? I argue that they are different in appearance yet fundamentally the same. In this case

they are 2 different paths to the same end result.

Where is the Proof?

The end result of religion is to get you on the path to the next step of life. When walking down a

flight of stairs you can see the next step you are going to take. Winfried Corduan writes about

this saying.

“Have you ever attempted to take an eleventh step down a ten-step stairway? Your

entire body tries to descend another six inches, your knees buckle, and it is all you

can do to remain upright, while your dignity is severely compromised in the sight of

all who might be present. I have, and I have also experienced a similar sinking

feeling in an evangelistic conversation. Here I am, all set to present my best

arguments for the truth of Christianity, and the person I am talking to dismisses it all

cavalierly. “Sure, Christianity is true,” he concedes, “but then again, all religions

ultimately teach the same truth.” (Cordaun, 2009)

When it comes to each religion however the next step is blind and based on your faithfulness and

your ability to follow the path that the religion gave you. Proof of god speaking to his Prophets is

based only on faith that they really happened in the first place. The accounts that we do have,

were stories from many years ago written in different languages and none of which can be

accounted for more than a story. Christ was a person, we have a history of that, however with out

the bible he would look like a normal person in the city Jerusalem. The prophet Muhammad was

a real person yet that moment god gave him the Qur’an only was witnessed by him and there

isn’t any proof otherwise. Members of the main religions of the world have an end goal.

Christianity and Islam are to return to god and receive your glory that he has waiting for you.
Where as other religions such as Hinduism have reincarnation that continues to happen and you

can’t control the outcome of that reincarnation other than Karma and following the path that has

been told to you by your leaders to get you a better future. Other than stories and faith there is no

proof that the is a correct religion and that means that they could all be wrong or they could all

be right. I argue that the lack of that binding proof connects them in a way that makes them all

the same, the answer if they are wrong or right does not matter. Without concrete scientific proof

of a true religion or true path. The proving or correctness is in the hand of the believer or the new

seeker. Frank Kaufmann the founder of the Filial Projects that has to deal with religion and

world peace talks about proof in religion. He says “One of my recent observations is the

persistent power of religion based in its malleable interpretive power. Believers say with equal

peace, “Look! People really like us. This is proof our religion is true,” and “Look! Everybody

hates us. This is proof our religion is true.” You’ve got opposite facts being used to support the

assurance that everything is fine—both giving believers confidence and solace that they are on

the right path. Not bad. You can’t get away with that selling stocks, or selling socks.” (Fisher,

Section 12.8) All religions have their proof and their ideas as to why they are correct. We do not

have scientific proof that one religion is more correct than the others. Without one correct

religion proven, each religious path are great paths to take and ultimately lead to a happy and

typically healthy life. Without one religion being proven more correct than another, who is to say

that there isn’t one god that gave us each religion as a loving gesture to help up find a path back

to him that works better for us?

Are we all part of the same religion are they ultimately the same thing? In my eyes, yes,

Religions are the same. The counter to this can be a strong one. The idea of each god is different,

God and Allah are similar (arguably the same) but worshiped differently. To that I go back to the
lack of proof, if there was proof of Allah rather than just the Qur’an or proof of God rather than

just the Bible and stories of Christ. Then I think you could argue that they are different. We have

other courageous and fantasy stories like Lord of The Rings, yet those are just made up. They are

not proven and there is no proof that they exist which leads me to believe that they are the same

in theory as they are in idea. We see that most main religions share the god structure. There is a

god that we can not see or touch and he has sent us a gift. That gift comes in the form of a person

or another god that grants salvation or a path to said salvation. We also see a similar form of

practice between religion. Doctrine and worship can be different, yet, we see the same patterns

through out them all. There is a path to take for everyone, there is a higher path that leads to a

more noble ending yet is harder to attain. The path always has restrictions, you can’t do this or

eat that. Rules that bind you to a path are often extremely similar. Religions have different names

yet same goal, different scriptures yet same stories. We are told to believe and trust the stories

that are told to us yet we can’t see fact or proof. Without hard evidence that one religion is

ultimately true or that they are all true. It is my belief that all religions are the same. They do not

have an end that can be seen only hoped for.

Works Cited
Corduan, W. (2009, 06 11). Are All Religions the Same at Their Core? Retrieved from Equip:
https://www.equip.org/article/are-all-religions-the-same-at-their-core/

Fisher, M. P. (2017). Living Religions. Pearson.

Religion. (n.d.). Retrieved from Dictionary.com.

Stefon, M. (2018, 05 30). Dietary law. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/dietary-law/Rules-and-customs-in-world-religions