TheAbrahamic religions are a set ofmonotheistic religions (religions that believe in one god) that respect or admire the religious figureAbraham, namelyJudaism,Christianity, andIslam. The religions of this set share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them withIndian religions,Iranian religions, andEast Asian religions.[1][2] The term has been introduced in the 20th century and superseded the termJudeo-Christian tradition for the inclusion of Islam. However, the categorization has been criticized for oversimplification of different cultural and doctrinal nuances.
The termAbrahamic religions (and its variations) is a collective religious descriptor for elements shared byJudaism,Christianity, andIslam.[3] It features prominently ininterfaith dialogue and political discourse but also has enteredacademic discourse.[4][5] However, the term is being uncritically adopted.[4] The term appears for the first time in the second half of the 20th century.[6]
Although historically the termAbrahamic religions was limited to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,[7] restricting the category to these three religions has come under criticism.[8][9] The late-19th-centuryBaháʼí Faith has been characterized as Abrahamic, as it is a monotheistic religion that recognizes its own descent from Abraham.[10]
The figure ofAbraham is suggested as a common ground for Judaism, Christianity, Islam and a hypothesized eschatological reconciliation of the three.[11][12] Commonalities may includecreation,revelation, andredemption, but such shared concepts vary significantly between and within the Abrahamic religions themselves.[12] Proponents of the term argue that all three religions are united through thedeity worshipped by Abraham.[11]
TheCatholic scholar of Islam,Louis Massignon, stated that the phrase "Abrahamic religion" means that all these religions come from one spiritual source.[13] The modern term comes from the plural form of a Quranic reference todīn Ibrāhīm ("religion of Ibrahim"), the Arabic form of Abraham's name.[14]
In Christianity,Paul the Apostle, inRomans 4:11–12, refers to Abraham as "father of all", including those "who have faith,circumcised or uncircumcised." From its founding, Islam likewise conceived of itself as the religion of Abraham.[15] TheBahá’í scriptures state that the religion's founder,Baháʼu'lláh, descended from Abraham through his wifeKeturah's sons.[16][17][18]
The appropriateness of grouping Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as "Abrahamic religions" and related terms has been challenged.[19] Adam Dodds argues that the term "Abrahamic faiths", while helpful, can be misleading, as it conveys an unspecified historical andtheological commonality that is problematic on closer examination. While there is a commonality among the religions, their shared ancestry is mainly peripheral to their respective foundational beliefs and thus conceals crucial differences.[20]Alan L. Berger, professor ofJudaic Studies atFlorida Atlantic University, wrote that "while Judaism birthed both Christianity and Islam, the three monotheistic faiths went their separate ways" and "each tradition views the figure differently as seen in the theological claims they make about him."[21]Aaron W. Hughes, meanwhile, describes the term as "imprecise" and "largely a theologicalneologism."[22]
The Torah forms the basis and foundation of Judaism and corresponds to the first five books of the Bible.
Jewish tradition claims that theTwelve Tribes of Israel are descended from Abraham through his sonIsaac and grandsonJacob, whose sons formed the nation of theIsraelites inCanaan; Islamic tradition claims that twelve Arab tribes known as theIshmaelites are descended from Abraham through his sonIshmael in the Arabian Peninsula.[24]
In its early stages, the Israelite religion shares traits with theCanaanite religions of theBronze Age; by theIron Age, it had become distinct from other Canaanite religions as it shed polytheism formonolatry. They understood their relationship with their god,Yahweh, as a covenant and that the deity promised Abraham a permanent homeland.[25]
While theBook of Genesis speaks ofʾĔlōhīm, comparable to theEnūma Eliš speaking of various gods of the Canaanite pantheon to create the earth, at the time of theBabylonian captivity, Jewish theologians attributed the six-day narrative all toYahweh, reflecting an early conception of Yahweh as a universal deity.[26] The monolatrist nature ofYahwism was further developed in the period following theBabylonian captivity, eventually emerging as a firm religious movement of monotheism.[27][28][29] With theFall of Babylon, Judaism incorporated concepts such as messianism, belief in free will and judgement after death, conception of heaven and hell, angels and demons, among others, into their belief-system.[30][31][32]
A Bible handwritten inLatin, on display inMalmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for reading aloud in a monastery.
In the 1st century AD, under theApostles ofJesus of Nazareth;[16]Christianity spread widely.Paul the Apostle interpreted the role of Abraham differently from the Jews of his time.[34] While for the Jews, Abraham was considered a loyal monotheist in a polytheistic environment, Paul celebrates Abraham as a man who found faith in God before adhering toreligious law. In contrast to Judaism, adherence to religious law becomes associated with idolatry.[35]
While Christians fashioned their religion aroundJesus of Nazareth, thesiege of Jerusalem (70 CE), forced Jews to reconcile their belief-system with the destruction of theSecond Temple and associated rituals.[36] At this time, both Judaism and Christianity had to systematize their scriptures and beliefs, resulting in competing theologies both claiming Abrahamic heritage.[37] Christians could hardly dismiss the Hebrew scriptures as Jesus himself refers to them according to Christian reports, and parallels between Jesus and the Biblical stories ofcreation andredemption starting with Abraham in theBook of Genesis.[38] The distant God asserted by Jesus according to the Christians, created a form of dualism between Creator and creation and the doctrine ofCreatio ex nihilo, which later heavily influenced Jewish and Islamic theology.[39] By that, Christians established their own identity, distinct from both Greeks and Jews, as those who venerate and worship the deity of Jesus.[40]
The relationship between Islamic and Hebrew scriptures and New Testament differs significantly from the relationship between the New Testament and theHebrew Bible.[43] Whereas the New Testament draws heavily on the Hebrew Bible and interprets its text in light of the foundations of the new religion, the Quran only alludes to various stories of Biblical writings, but remains independent of both, focusing on establishing a monotheistic message by utilizing the stories of the prophets in a religious decentralized environment.[43]
In the 7th century AD, Islam was founded byMuhammad in the Arabian Peninsula; it spread widely through theearly Muslim conquests, shortly after his death.[16] Islam understands its form of "Abrahamic monotheism" as preceding both Judaism and Christianity, and in contrast with ArabianHenotheism.[44]
The teachings of the Quran are believed by Muslims to be the direct and final revelation and words ofGod. Islam, like Christianity, is auniversal religion (i.e. membership is open to anyone). Like Judaism, it has a strictly unitary conception of God, calledtawhid or "strict monotheism".[45] The story of the creation of the world in the Quran is elaborated less extensively than in the Hebrew scripture, emphasizing the transcendence and universality of God, instead. According to the Quran, God sayskun fa-yakūnu.[46] The Quran describes God as the creator of "heavens and earth", to emphasize that it is a universal God and not a local Arabian deity.[46]
Abrahamic religions agree upon the createdness of the universe by God, who is conceived of aseternal,omnipotent,omniscient.[47][48] All three identify the creator of the universe with the God revealed to Abraham.[47] However, they differ on how to conceptualize God. Christianity proposes God's utter transcendence and that an intermediary — such as an incarnation of God — is required to bridge the gap between God and humans.[47] According to Islam, God is knowable through his creation, metaphorical stories of the prophets stored in the Quran, and signs in nature.[47] Christianity proposes God's personhood in the form of aSon of God as an aspect of the Divinity as formulated in the doctrine of theTrinity.[47] In contrast, God in Islam is less personal than described in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and more of a mysterious power behind all aspects of the universe.[47]
Theirreligious texts feature many of the same figures, histories, and places, although they often present them with different roles, perspectives, and meanings.[49] Believers who agree on these similarities and the common Abrahamic origin tend to also be more positive towards other Abrahamic groups.[50]
Judaism andSamaritanism commands thatmales be circumcised when they are eight days old,[51] as does theSunnah inIslam. Despite its common practice in Muslim-majority nations, circumcision is considered to besunnah (tradition) and not required for a life directed by Allah.[52] Although there is some debate within Islam over whether it is a religious requirement or mere recommendation, circumcision (calledkhitan) is practiced nearly universally by Muslim males.
Today, manyChristian denominations are neutral about ritual male circumcision, not requiring it for religious observance, but neither forbidding it for cultural or other reasons.[53]Western Christianity replaced the custom of male circumcision with the ritual ofbaptism,[54] a ceremony which varies according to the doctrine of the denomination, but it generally includesimmersion,aspersion, oranointment with water. TheEarly Church (Acts 15, theCouncil of Jerusalem) decided thatGentile Christians are not required to undergo circumcision. TheCouncil of Florence in the 15th century[55] prohibited it. Paragraph #2297 of theCatholic Catechism calls non-medical amputation or mutilation immoral.[56][57] By the 21st century, the Catholic Church had adopted a neutral position on the practice, as long as it is not practised as an initiation ritual. Catholic scholars make various arguments in support of the idea that this policy is not in contradiction with the previous edicts.[58][59][60] TheNew Testament chapterActs 15 records that Christianity did not require circumcision.Coptic Christians practice circumcision as a rite of passage.[61] TheEritrean Orthodox Church and theEthiopian Orthodox Church calls for circumcision, with near-universal prevalence among Orthodox men in Ethiopia.[62]
Male circumcision is among the rites of Islam and is part of thefitrah, or the innate disposition and natural character and instinct of the human creation.[72]
Although circumcision is widely practiced by theDruze, the procedure is practiced as a cultural tradition,[73] and has no religious significance in theDruze faith.[74][75] Some Druze do not circumcise their male children, and refuse to observe this "common Muslim practice".[76]
Circumcision is not a religious practice of the Bahá'í Faith, and leaves that decision up to the parents.[77]
Judaism accepts converts, but has had no explicitmissionaries since the end of theSecond Temple era. Judaism states that non-Jews can achieve righteousness by followingNoahide Laws, a set of moral imperatives that, according to theTalmud, were given by God[a] as a binding set of laws for the "children ofNoah"—that is, all of humanity.[78][b] It is believed that as much as ten percent of the Roman Empire followed Judaism either as fully ritually obligated Jews or the simpler rituals required of non-Jewish members of that faith.[79][19]
Moses Maimonides, one of the major Jewish teachers, commented: "Quoting from our sages, the righteous people from other nations have a place in the world to come if they have acquired what they should learn about the Creator." Because the commandments applicable to the Jews are much more detailed and onerous thanNoahide laws, Jewish scholars have traditionally maintained that it is better to be a good non-Jew than a bad Jew, thus discouraging conversion. In the U.S., as of 2003 28% of married Jews were married to non-Jews.[80][page needed]See alsoConversion to Judaism.
Christianity encouragesevangelism. Many Christian organizations, especially Protestant churches, sendmissionaries to non-Christian communities throughout the world.See alsoGreat Commission.Forced conversions to Catholicism have been alleged at various points throughout history. The most prominently cited allegations are theconversions of the pagans after Constantine; of Muslims, Jews and Eastern Orthodox during theCrusades; of Jews and Muslims during the time of theSpanish Inquisition, where they were offered the choice of exile, conversion or death; and of the Aztecs byHernán Cortés. Forced conversions to Protestantism may have occurred as well, notably during theReformation, especially inEngland andIreland (seerecusancy andPopish plot).[81]
Forced conversions are now condemned as sinful by major denominations such as the Roman Catholic Church, which officially states that forced conversions pollute the Christian religion and offend human dignity, so that past or present offences are regarded as a scandal (a cause of unbelief). According toPope Paul VI, "It is one of the major tenets of Catholic doctrine that man's response to God in faith must be free: no one, therefore, is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will."[82] The Roman Catholic Church has declared that Catholics should fightanti-Semitism.[83]
Islam encourages proselytism in various forms.Dawah is an important Islamic concept which denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation". A Muslim who practices da‘wah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a dā‘ī, plural du‘āt. A dā‘ī is thus a person who invites people to understand Islam through a dialogical process and may be categorized in some cases as the Islamic equivalent of a missionary, as one who invites people to the faith, to the prayer, or to Islamic life.
Da'wah activities can take many forms. Some pursue Islamic studies specifically to perform Da'wah.Mosques and other Islamic centers sometimes spread Da'wah actively, similar to evangelical churches. Others consider being open to the public and answering questions to be Da'wah. Recalling Muslims to the faith and expanding their knowledge can also be considered Da'wah.
InIslamic theology, the purpose of Da'wah is to invite people, both Muslims and non-Muslims, to understand the commandments of God as expressed in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, as well as to inform them about Muhammad. Da'wah produces converts to Islam, which in turn grows the size of the MuslimUmmah, or community of Muslims.
While there were instances of forced conversions to Islam, these were neither the norm nor part of a systematic strategy of expansion. Many Muslim rulers practiced religious pluralism,[84] and theQuran explicitly prohibits compulsion in matters of faith.[85] Most conversions to Islam occurred gradually, driven by social, cultural, and economic influences rather than coercion.[86][81]
Non-Abrahamic religions and religiously unaffiliated people (45.4%)
Christianity is the largest Abrahamic religion with about 2.5 billion adherents, called Christians, constituting about 31.1% of the world's population.[88] Islam is the second largest Abrahamic religion, as well as the fastest-growing Abrahamic religion in recent decades.[88][89] It has about 1.9 billion adherents, called Muslims, constituting about 24.1% of the world's population. The third largest Abrahamic religion is Judaism with about 14.1 million adherents, called Jews.[88] The Baháʼí Faith has over 8 million adherents, making it the fourth largest Abrahamic religion,[90][91] and the fastest growing religion across the 20th century, usually at least twice the rate of population growth.[92] The Druze Faith has between one million and nearly two million adherents.[93][94]
^According to Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew edition, Israel, 5741/1981, EntryBen Noah, page 349), mostmedieval authorities consider that all seven commandments were given toAdam, althoughMaimonides (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot M'lakhim 9:1) considers the dietary law to have been given to Noah.
^Brague, Rémi, 'The Concept of the Abrahamic Religions, Problems and Pitfalls', in Adam J. Silverstein, and Guy G. Stroumsa (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions (2015; online edn, Oxford Academic, 12 Nov. 2015),https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199697762.013.5, accessed 12 Feb. 2024
^Goshen-Gottstein, Alon. "Abraham and ‘Abrahamic Religions’ in Contemporary Interreligious Discourse." Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 12.2 (2002): 165–183.
^Gaston, K. Healan. "The Judeo-Christian and Abrahamic Traditions in America." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. 2018.
^abBakhos, Carol. The Family of Abraham: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Interpretations. Harvard University Press, 2014.
^Dodds, Adam. "The Abrahamic faiths? Continuity and discontinuity in Christian and Islamic doctrine." Evangelical Quarterly: An International Review of Bible and Theology 81.3 (2009): 230–253.
^Stroumsa, Guy G. "From Abraham's Religion to the Abrahamic Religions." Historia religionum: an international Journal: 3, 2011 (2011): 11–22. p. 21
^Cappucci, John (2017). "Baha'i Faith". In Çakmak, Cenap (ed.).Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia [4 volumes].Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury.ISBN979-8-216-10532-9.
^abKrista N. Dalton (2014) Abrahamic Religions: On Uses and Abuses of History by Aaron W. Hughes, Oxford University Press: New York, 2012, 191 pp.ISBN978-0-19-993465-2, US$55.00 (hardback), Religion, 44:4, 684–686, DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2013.862421
^abHughes, Aaron W. Abrahamic religions: On the uses and abuses of history. Oxford University Press, 2012. p. 17
^Cohen, Charles L. The Abrahamic religions: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, USA, 2020. p. 9
^Burrell, David B., et al., eds. Creation and the God of Abraham. Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. 14–15
^Edelman (1995), p. 19;Gnuse (2016), p. 5;Carraway (2013), p. 66: "Second, it was probably not until the exile that monotheism proper was clearly formulated.";Finkelstein & Silberman (2002), p. 234: "The idolatry of the people of Judah was not a departure from their earlier monotheism. It was, instead, the way the people of Judah had worshiped for hundreds of years."
^ab"BBC Two – Bible's Buried Secrets, Did God Have a Wife?".BBC. 21 December 2011.Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved4 July 2012. Quote from the BBC documentary (prof. Herbert Niehr): "Between the 10th century and the beginning of their exile in 586 there was polytheism as normal religion all throughout Israel; only afterwards things begin to change and very slowly they begin to change. I would say it [the sentence "Jews were monotheists" – n.n.] is only correct for the last centuries, maybe only from the period of the Maccabees, that means the second century BC, so in the time of Jesus of Nazareth it is true, but for the time before it, it is not true."
^Hayes, Christine (3 July 2008)."Moses and the Beginning of Yahwism: (Genesis 37- Exodus 4), Christine Hayes, Open Yale Courses (Transcription), 2006".Center for Online Judaic Studies.Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved17 August 2022.Only later would a Yahweh-only party polemicize against and seek to suppress certain… what came to be seen as undesirable elements of Israelite-Judean religion, and these elements would be labeled Canaanite, as a part of a process of Israelite differentiation. But what appears in the Bible as a battle between Israelites, pure Yahwists, and Canaanites, pure polytheists, is indeed better understood as a civil war between Yahweh-only Israelites, and Israelites who are participating in the cult of their ancestors.
^Pavlac, Brian A (2010).A Concise Survey of Western Civilization: Supremacies and Diversities. Chapter 6.
^Howard, James M. "Paul, Monotheism and the People of God: The Significance of Abraham Traditions for Early Judaism and Christianity." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 49.1 (2006): 516.
^Howard, James M. "Paul, Monotheism and the People of God: The Significance of Abraham Traditions for Early Judaism and Christianity." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 49.1 (2006): 517.
^Cohen, Charles L. The Abrahamic religions: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, USA, 2020. p. 41
^Cohen, Charles L. The Abrahamic religions: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, USA, 2020. p. 41–57
^Burrell, David B., et al., eds. Creation and the God of Abraham. Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. 41
^Burrell, David B., et al., eds. Creation and the God of Abraham. Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. 25–39
^Cohen, Charles L. The Abrahamic religions: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, USA, 2020. p. 40
^Kohler, Kaufmann; Krauss, Samuel."Baptism".Jewish Encyclopedia.Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved31 August 2022.According to rabbinical teachings, which dominated even during the existence of the Temple (Pes. viii. 8), Baptism, next to circumcision and sacrifice, was an absolutely necessary condition to be fulfilled by aproselyte to Judaism (Yeb. 46b, 47b; Ker. 9a; 'Ab. Zarah 57a; Shab. 135a; Yer. Kid. iii. 14, 64d). Circumcision, however, was much more important, and, like baptism, was called a "seal" (Schlatter, "Die Kirche Jerusalems", 1898, p. 70). But as circumcision was discarded by Christianity, and the sacrifices had ceased, Baptism remained the sole condition for initiation into religious life. The next ceremony, adopted shortly after the others, was theimposition of hands, which, it is known, was the usage of the Jews at the ordination of a rabbi.Anointing with oil, which at first also accompanied the act of Baptism, and was analogous to the anointment of priests among the Jews, was not a necessary condition.
^Gruenbaum (2015), p. 61: "Christian theology generally interprets male circumcision to be an Old Testament rule that is no longer an obligation ... though in many countries (especially the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, but not so much in Europe) it is widely practiced among Christians.";Peteet (2017), pp. 97–101: "male circumcision is still observed among Ethiopian and Coptic Christians, and circumcision rates are also high today in the Philippines and the US.";Ellwood (2008), p. 95: "It is obligatory among Jews, Muslims, and Coptic Christians. Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians do not require circumcision. Starting in the last half of the 19th century, however, circumcision also became common among Christians in Europe and especially in North America."
^ab"Circumcision protest brought to Florence".Associated Press. 30 March 2008.Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved1 September 2022.However, the practice is still common among Christians in the United States, Oceania, South Korea, the Philippines, the Middle East and Africa. Some Middle Eastern Christians actually view the procedure as a rite of passage.
^Richters, J.; Smith, A. M.; de Visser, R. O.; Grulich, A. E.; Rissel, C. E. (August 2006). "Circumcision in Australia: prevalence and effects on sexual health".Int J STD AIDS.17 (8):547–54.doi:10.1258/095646206778145730.PMID16925903.S2CID24396989.
^"Circumcision amongst the Dogon". The Non-European Components of European Patrimony (NECEP) Database. 2006. Archived from the original on 16 January 2006. Retrieved3 September 2006.
^Pitts-Taylor 2008, p. 394, "For most part, Christianity does not require circumcision of its followers. Yet, some Orthodox and African Christian groups do require circumcision. These circumcisions take place at any point between birth and puberty.".
^Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew edition, Israel, 5741/1981, entryBen Noah, introduction) states that after the giving of theTorah, the Jewish people were no longer in the category of the sons of Noah; however, Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot M'lakhim 9:1) indicates that the seven laws are also part of the Torah, and the Talmud (Bavli,Sanhedrin 59a, see also Tosafot ad. loc.) states that Jews are obligated in all things that Gentiles are obligated in, albeit with some differences in the details.
^Bulliet, Richard (1979).Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period: An Essay in Quantitative History (1st ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0674170353.
^ab"Baha'is by Country".World Religion Database. Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. 2020.Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved21 December 2020.(subscription required)
^abHeld 2008, p. 109, "Worldwide, they number 1 million or so, with about 45 to 50 percent in Syria, 35 to 40 percent in Lebanon, and less than 10 percent in Israel. Recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.".
^abSwayd 2015, p. 3, "The Druze world population at present is perhaps nearing two million; ...".
^Saheeh al-Bukharee, Book 55, hadith no. 584; Book 56, hadith no. 710
^The Samaritan UpdateArchived 14 September 2017 at theWayback Machine Retrieved 28 October 2021"Total [sic] in 2021 – 840 soulsTotal in 2018 – 810 soulsTotal number on 1.1.2017 – 796 persons, 381 souls on Mount Gerizim and 415 in the State of Israel, of the 414 males and 382 females."
Dana, Nissim (2003).The Druze in the Middle East: their faith, leadership, identity and status. Brighton [England]:Sussex Academic Press.ISBN9781903900369.
Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2002) [2001]."9. The Transformation of Judah (c. 930-705 BCE)".The Bible Unearthed. Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and The Origin of Its Sacred Texts (First Touchstone Edition 2002 ed.). New York: Touchstone.ISBN978-0-684-86913-1.Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved1 September 2022.
Hendrix, Scott; Okeja, Uchenna, eds. (2018).The World's Greatest Religious Leaders: How Religious Figures Helped Shape World History [2 volumes].ABC-CLIO.ISBN978-1440841385.
Hitti, Philip K. (1928).The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria.ISBN9781465546623.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Huntington, Samuel (2007).Kampf der Kulturen (in German). Translated by Müller, Francis. GRIN Verlag.ISBN978-3-638-66418-9.Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved18 March 2023.
Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J. (26 March 2013)."Global Religious Populations, 1910–2010".The World's Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography.John Wiley & Sons.doi:10.1002/9781118555767.ch1.ISBN9781118555767.Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved11 September 2022.The Baha'i Faith is the only religion to have grown faster in every United Nations region over the past 100 years than the general population; Bahaʼi (sic) was thus the fastest-growing religion between 1910 and 2010, growing at least twice as fast as the population of almost every UN region.
Kaplan, Aryeh (1973). "The Jew".The Aryeh Kaplan Reader the Gift He Left Behind: Collected Essays on Jewish Themes from the Noted Writer and Thinker (1st ed.). Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications.ISBN9780899061733.
Kapur, Kamlesh (2010).History of Ancient India. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.ISBN978-81-207-4910-8.
Massignon, Louis (1949). "Les trois prières d'Abraham, père de tous les croyants" [The three prayers of Abraham, father of all believers].Dieu Vivant (in French).13.
Morrison, Terri (2006).Kiss, bow, or shake hands: the bestselling guide to doing business in more than 60 countries (2nd ed.). Avon, Mass.: Adams Media.ISBN978-1-59337-368-9.
Prestige, G. L. (1963).Fathers and Heretics. Six Studies in Dogmatic Faith, with Prologue and Epilogue. London: SPCK.ISBN978-0281004539.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Scherman, Nosson, ed. (2001).Tanakh=Tanach: Torah, Neviʼim, Ketuvim: the Torah, Prophets, Writings: the twenty-four books of the Bible, newly translated and annotated (1st student size, Stone ed.). Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications.ISBN9781578191123.
Stroumsa, Guy G. (2017).The making of the Abrahamic religions in late antiquity. Oxford.ISBN978-0-191-05913-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1992.ISBN9780852295533.Druze religious beliefs developed out of Isma'ill teachings. Various Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Neoplatonic, and Iranian elements, however, are combined under a doctrine of strict monotheism.
Freedman H. (trans.), and Simon, Maurice (ed.),Genesis Rabbah, Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g.,Midrash Rabbah: Genesis, Volume II, London: The Soncino Press, 1983.ISBN0-900689-38-2.
Guggenheimer, Heinrich W.,Seder Olam: The rabbinic view of Biblical chronology, (trans., & ed.), Jason Aronson, Northvale NJ, 1998
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