True or False: The Major Religions Are Essentially Alike?

Question

It has been fashionable to affirm that all religions are beautiful—and all are true. In fact in the Hindu Vedas it says "Truth is one, the sages call it by many names." According to this multicultural form of wisdom, the world's religions are merely different paths up the same mountain. But are they?

Answer 1

god said you will encounter many false idol god's in your lifetime, it is up to you to know which one is the real god.The path to the top of the mountains can all be the same but there will only be 1 correct view at the top, the "one with GOD"!

Answer 2

It makes a big difference if we think of God as a person or as a force. One way you get Christianity, the other you get Star Wars.
— Jayne Kulikauskas

All of the major religions share the following in common...

So long as man remains free, he strives for nothing so incessantly and so painfully as to find someone to worship. But man seeks to worship what is established beyond dispute, so that all men would agree at once to worship it. For these pitiful creatures are concerned not only to find what one or the other can worship, but to find something that all would believe in and worship; what is essential is that all may be together in it. This craving for community of worship is the chief misery of every man individually and of all humanity from the beginning of time. For the sake of common worship, they've slain each other with the sword. They have set up gods and challenged one another, "Put away your gods and come and worship ours, or we will kill you and your gods!" And so it will be to the end of the world, even when gods disappear from the earth; they will fall down before idols just the same.
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky; (1821-1881)

Religion is but a desperate attempt to find an escape from the truly dreadful situation in which we find ourselves. Here we are in this wholly fantastic universe with scarcely a clue as to whether our existence has any real significance. No wonder then that many people feel the need for some belief that gives them a sense of security, and no wonder that they become very angry with people like me who say that this is illusory.
— Fred Hoyle

The belief that one's own view of reality is the only reality is the most dangerous or all delusions. It becomes still more dangerous if it is coupled with the missionary zeal to enlighten the rest of the world, whether the rest of the world wishes to be enlightened or not. To refuse to embrace wholeheartedly a particular definition of reality (e.g. an ideology), to dare to see the world differently can become a "think crime" in a truly Orwellian sense as we get steadily closer to 1984.
— Paul Watzlawick, Ph.D

Answer 3

The essence of spiritual wisdom can reside in all of the world's religions and is often a very simple teaching. It is human nature to obscure and unnecessarily complicate things.

A good summary can be found in the Uddhava Gita, and I am sure that parallels can be found in other sources as well. The Uddhava Gita is a summation of the essence of the Bhagavad Gita (and the simplest and most direct practice of yoga), and so it is eminently suitable for nonsectarian, universal teaching which is the essence of Hinduism.

Here is a short summation of the Uddhava Gita which is found in the Srimad Bhagavatam (also known as Bhagavata Purana) 11.7:

EPILOGUE - LORD KRISHNA'S LAST SERMON

At the end of another long sermon comprising of more than one thousand verses, disciple Uddhava said: "O Lord Krishna, I think the pursuit of God as You narrated to Arjuna (in the Bhagavad Gita), and now to me, is very difficult indeed, for most people; because it entails control of unruly senses. Please tell me a short, simple, and easy way to God-realization." Lord Krishna upon Uddhava's request gave the essentials of Self-realization as follows:

· Do your duty, to the best of your ability, for Me without worrying about the outcome.

· Remember Me at all times. (Note that this is the point of chanting things like the mahamantra - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Kare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare which is often chanted in kirtan or a variation of it. The whole point of kirtan and mantra is remembrance.)

· Perceive that God is within every living being. Mentally bow down to all beings and treat all beings equally.

· Perceive through the activities of mind, senses, breathing, and emotions that the power of God is within you at all times, and is constantly doing all the work using you as a mere instrument and a trustee.

I recommend the International Gita Society as they are nonsectarian, offer affordable translations of the Bhagavad Gita with commentary, and can help teach you the basics without having to spend a lot of money or submit to some guru you know nothing about:

http://www.gita-society.com/

http://www.gitainternational.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Gita_Society

They also have an online Gita study and discussion forum:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gita-talk/

I hope these are helpful!

Answer 4

Pretty much yeah. If you notice, they all give the same guidelines, no killing, be nice to others, gays are bad, etc. etc.

The biggest difference I see is with Jesus. Christians see him as the son of god. Muslims see him as a creation by god through a virgin (not sex) to show people how capable he was. Jews see him as the anti-messiah. There are also differences concerning what events occurred and which are still supposed to happen. But the principals are essentially the same.

Answer 5

I've been thinking about that. Out of the major religions, only two really seem alike: Christianity (and its sects) and Islam (and its sects). Both of the holy books are basically the same, both gods are nearly alike, and both have a holy name for war. Besides slight name variations and a few text, nearly the same.

Answer 6

False.. they are not essentially alike.

There are obvious and blatant differences in all religions.

The only religions with the most likeness, are the abrahamic religions...

Answer 7

I think religion utilizes the same aspects of human psychology, though the details vary widely by culture, society, government, and (more recently) individual preference.

But all religions are irrational because they ask for believers in the supernatural, when there no evidence for it.

Answer 8

The very popular politically corrrect tagline, but very, very, false. We can not critically analyze religions and their effects on society until we can study them without constraint of popular fairy tales and comfortable lies.

For example, what is the difference in motivation for a Muslim suicide bomber versus a Jewish su... Oh wait. Difference number one found.

Answer 9

I agree that most RELIGIONS are essentially alike in that they tell people what to DO to please their certain deity or god.

True faith in the one and only LIVING GOD, however is very different from all religions. God has revealed Himself in the Bible and in Jesus. Jesus has DONE everything that needs to be done to please God. All we have to do is ACCEPT His gift of salvation and THEN live a life pleasing to Him... which He enables us to do, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that He gives to all who RECEIVE Jesus.

Answer 10

no way Jose.

Even internally, religions are nothing like themselves. Jerry Falwell and my grandma both called themselves "Christian," but were about as far apart as two people could be.