what are the beliefs of christians, catholics, jews, muslims, buddhist, hindus, mormons, & scientologists???

Question

....what are their beliefs, practices, similarities, & differences. i am not a religious person; however, i want to inform myself of other religions. i think it's important to be aware of and to acknowledge other people's beliefs...thx

what are their general beliefs

no specifics, just a general overview. a BRIEF description of what you personally know (not everything!!)

Answer 1

Christianity - Jesus is the son of God, the messiah of the Old Testament and the savior of mankind. Bible is sacred text.

Catholicism - Essentially the same thing as Christianity, with a few, small differences.

Judaism - One God, who alone is to be worshipped. The Messiah has not yet come. Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is sacred text.

Islam - One God (Allah, Arabic for "the God"), who is to be worshipped alone. Muhammed is the final, and greatest prophet of Islam. Other prophets include Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), and Ibrahim (Abraham). Sacred texts is the Qur'an (Arabic for "recitation"), and hadiths, which are the sayings and doings of Muhammed.

Buddhism - Basic doctrine is that suffering is unavoidable. The way to end suffering is to lead a good life, in hopes that the next life (re-incarnation) will be in a higher class. Bad deeds in life lead to a lower class (such as being sent to a temporary Hell)

Hindusim - There is one God, who manifests itself in many different forms. Everything in the universe is part of God. Sacred texts are the vedas, which are a collection of hymns.

Mormonism - Offshoot of Christianity. Accepts the Christian Bible, along with other writings of the final prophet, Joseph Smith.

Scientology - One God (the infinity). Millions of years ago, Xenu (an alien) murdered billions of human beings by detonating a nuclear warhead, and then implanted the idea of Christianity, which is seen as a false religion. Scientologists avoid medacines that affect the mind.

Similarites - All believe in one God
Differences - Salvation is the big difference maker. Christianity believes that salvation comes through accepting Jesus as one's savior. Judaism believes salvation comes through following the Laws of the Torah. Islam believes salvation comes through worshipping Allah, and believing that Muhammed is his last, and greatest prophet. Hinduism has no concept of heaven, only being reincarnated in the next life, so good deeds equal a better next life, and bad deeds equal a lesser next life. Buddhism is very near to Hinduism on the subject. Mormonism believes in salvation by faith in Jesus as savior, along with good deeds. Scientology has no concept of salvation that I'm aware of.

Practices - Most denominations of Christianity worship on Sunday, with a few denominations opting for the Jewish day of worship, Saturday. Muslims worship on Friday. I'm not exactly sure on the days of worship for the other religions (if any particular day of worship).

Answer 2

Here is an outline of Scientology, from a Scientologist, others will have to help you with the other religions.

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. This is different from a religious practice. All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, but they also have certain dogma, rituals and observances, and a certain faith or belief is required. There is nothing wrong with this, but Scientology is not that kind of religion. It does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs particularly in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual, which is why you can be a practicing Jew,for example and still use and apply the priniciples of Scientology in your life. It does not conflict. If anything it will enhance your understanding of your chosen religious practice.
You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from using it.
And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.
It is a non denominational religion . The dictionary definition that applies:
Religion: The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognises the existence of superhuman power or powers.

The most basic principle of Scientology is that YOU are your own immortal soul, that this is not a "thing" you HAVE but what YOU actually are.
The whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. And thereby his native abilities .
When you do this the sphere and zone of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life, his family ,his friends, his groups and mankind which he is part of.

How this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. The developement of the technology is new.
He completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights
to the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable personal estate., when he died.

He published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought"
There are currently over 8 million Scientologists in more that 150 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 53 years old.
The true story of Scientology as a religion goes like this:
1. A philosopher developes a philosophy about life and death.
2. People find it interesting.
3. People find it works.
4. People pass it along to others.
5. It grows.

Answer 3

Although WHAT each of them believes is different, believing is always the same. Belief is when you are too uncomfortable with not knowing an answer to follow your curiosity to what's real.

Because belief is not understanding, whatever security you've gotten by your belief is threatened by anyone who disagrees. So Christians tend to associate with other Christians who will support their beliefs. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Scientologists, Agnostics, Atheists, Liberals, Conservatives,Republicans, Democrats, all do the same.

To be counted on in your group of believers, you have to have closed your mind to its internal contradictions. You not only are unwilling to make a quest for the truth for your own sake, now it would be a betrayal of all the brethren who maintain that belief. To raise the belief above the obviously shaky status of belief, you can believe that it is divinely given. Whew! Then you are REALLY stuck.

Seeking Truth is totally different than seeking Belief. To seek truth, you have to be open minded and curious. Then you can learn from everyone. You can learn what the mentality is of those chained by their own beliefs. You can learn what the spiritual aesthetic is of those who don't believe in believing.

Answer 4

Although you have not asked about the Baha'i Faith, I think I should give you a short introduction, because Baha'u'llah, the Founder of this religion, gives a clear explanation about the origin and the relation of all religions. From here, you will get a clear view of the whole picture of God, religion and man:

The Bahá'í Faith is an independent world religion. With more than five million adherents residing in over 124,000 localities, the Bahá'í Faith is established in 204 countries across the planet. The spiritual principles of the Bahá'í Faith affirm its overall purpose--to bring about the oneness of humanity. In cooperation with these same principles, Bahá'ís also believe that there is only one Creator and that the spiritual truth of all religions is the same. From a Bahá'í perspective, The Bahá'í Faith is the most recent of the world's great religions. It forms the next link in a chain of important, divine teachings, a progressive revelation that places Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, as the Messenger of God for this age.

Answer 5

First of all, Catholics & Mormons **ARE**Christians. Catholics make up the largest part of Christianity & is the oldest denomination of Christianity.

(I should know, as I am Catholic Christian.)

Christians believe that the Lord Jesus Christ Is the Only Son Of God the Father, & the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish people(will get to their beliefs shortly). We believe that the reason why Jesus Came into the world is to Save humanity from our sinful nature, so that we do not go to Hell after we die. We believe that His Suffering & Death On the Cross Paid for our sins, & that by Rising From the Dead, Christ Conquered Death. We believe that although there Is Only One God, He Is 3 Divine Persons: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. This Is called th Trinity, & Our Lord Jesus Christ Is the Second Person Of the Trinity.

Jews trace their lineage back to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. The descendants of these afore-mentioned 3 were enslaved in Egypt until God Sent Moses to lead them out of bondage. God Gave the Jewish people the Covenant, through Moses, & Gave them the land of Israel as their inherentance. They believe that Israel is their God-Given Homeland, right to this day. The Jewish people are the Chosen people Of God.

Muslims believe that after God Sent Christ, He Sent another Prophet named Muhammed, who was an even greater Prophet than Jesus. Although the Muslims greatly venerate Muhammed, they do not worship him. Nor do they worship Jesus. They do not believe that God Was Ever Incarnated at any time.

Buddhists are polythestic, believing in numerous deities. Buddhists try to end all desire, believing that desire leads only to suffering. The goal of Buddhists is to attain Nirvana(the end of all desiring & suffering). Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism, just as Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism.

Hindus are pantheistic, believing that God is in everything & everything is God. They believe that the Ultimate Reality is the Brahman. The Hindus believe that the 3 main gods of the Brahman are Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva. This tri-unity is called the Trimurti. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world & has no founder.

Scientology is only about 50 years old, & was founded by the science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard created a discipline called Dianetics, which ultimately led to him creating Scientology. Scientologists believe in God, but, do not have a particular view of Him.

Answer 6

That is not only the epitome of intellectually laziness, but intellectually dishonest as well. The fact that you don't think they're different, or don't think they should be seen as different, does not change the fact that atheists ARE different from theists in many ways. They are different from Buddhists. Christians are different from Muslims. If they weren't, they wouldn't be killing each other every day. People who think rationally don't see things the way they want to see them, they see things the way they really are. A lot of creatures have two eyes, a nose and a mouth, but there are still relevant dissimilarities between them.

Answer 7

Ok....


Jews: Believe in the Old Testament, They are waiting for a Messiah (savior)

Christians: believe in the New testament which claims Jesus is the Messiah, that the jews are waiting for

Mormons, and Catholics are also Christians (or so they say) but have different doctrine's

(see www.allaboutjoshua.com for info on Mormons)

Sorry I really don't know enough about the other religions to comment.

i would suggest http://www.religioustolerance.org/ for more info

Hope that helps

Josh

Answer 8

Christan's believe that Gods one and only son Jesus Christ died on a cross to save the world from there sins. He rose again on the 3rd day after he died. Then he went back to heaven. All you have to do to be saved is believe in the lord Jesus Christ and love him and his father the one true God. Aslo I want to point out one thing. Christianity is the only religion in the world wear God seeks you. All other religions you have to go seeking and that's because all the other religions are wrong. I am not trying to offend anyone but Jesus is the only way.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and love of God, and fellowship of The Holy Spirit be you all. 2 Corinthains 13:14

Answer 9

well...mormons and catholics are denominations of Christianity. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God who was sent to earth to die/ressurect for our sins. Jews live only by the old testament of the bible and are still awaiting their messiah. Buddhists don't find god important, but rather focus on attaining enlightment through meditation. Hindus worship millions of manefistations of their god> Muslims worship one God and believe that Mohammad was his last prophet, similar to the Bible except they believe Jesus was only a prophet, but not the son of God>

Answer 10

You should send me a letter (not email, because there is no internet and computers yet) and pray that the postman gets that to me (no vehicles invented yet) and be sure to use a new feather-pen (no pens invented) so that i could read the letter. Don't send that by a pigeon, it might not get to me, I live far away.

Allow me a year to describe the answer.

Best of luck, see you after a decade.