TheAbrahamic religions are a grouping of several religions that revereAbraham in their scripture, with the three largest and most influential beingJudaism,Christianity, andIslam.
The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them withIndian religions,Iranian religions, andEast Asian religions.[1][2] However, the categorization has been criticized by some for oversimplification of different cultural and doctrinal nuances.[3]
The termAbrahamic religions (and its variations) is a collective religious descriptor for elements shared byJudaism,Christianity, andIslam.[4] It features prominently ininterfaith dialogue and political discourse but also has enteredacademic discourse.[5][6] However, the term has also been criticized for being uncritically adopted.[5]
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 listed asAbrahamic by scholarly sources in various fields[10][11] since it is a monotheistic religion that recognizes Abraham.[12][13]
The figure ofAbraham is suggested as a common ground for Judaism, Christianity, Islam and a hypothesized eschatological reconciliation of the three.[14][15] Commonalities may includecreation,revelation, andredemption, but such shared concepts vary significantly between and within the Abrahamic religions themselves.[15] Proponents of the term argue that all three religions are united through thedeity worshipped by Abraham.[14]
TheCatholic scholar of Islam,Louis Massignon, stated that the phrase "Abrahamic religion" means that all these religions come from one spiritual source.[16] The modern term comes from the plural form of a Quranic reference todīn Ibrāhīm ("religion of Ibrahim"), the Arabic form of Abraham's name.[17]
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.[18] TheBahá’í scriptures state that the religion's founder,Baháʼu'lláh, descended from Abraham through his wifeKeturah's sons.[19][20][21]
The appropriateness of grouping Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as "Abrahamic religions" and related terms has been challenged.[22] 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.[23]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 patriarchal figure differently as seen in the theological claims they make about him."[24]Aaron W. Hughes, meanwhile, describes the term as "imprecise" and "largely a theologicalneologism."[25]
The common Christian doctrines of Jesus'Incarnation, theTrinity, and theresurrection of Jesus, for example, are accepted in neither Judaism nor Islam. There are fundamental beliefs in both Islam and Judaism that are likewise denied by most of Christianity (e.g., therestrictions on pork consumption found inJewish andIslamic dietary law), and key beliefs of Islam, Christianity, and the Baháʼí Faith not shared by Judaism (e.g., theprophetic andMessianic position ofJesus).[26]
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.[27]
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.[28]
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.[29] The monolatrist nature ofYahwism was further developed in the period following theBabylonian captivity, eventually emerging as a firm religious movement of monotheism.[30][31][32] 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.[33][34][35]
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;[19]Christianity spread widely after it was adopted by theRoman Empire as a state religion in the 4th century AD.Paul the Apostle interpreted the role of Abraham differently than the Jews of his time.[37] 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.[38]
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.[39] At this time, both Judaism and Christianity had to systematize their scriptures and beliefs, resulting in competing theologies both claiming Abrahamic heritage.[40] 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.[41] 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.[42] By that, Christians established their own identity, distinct from both Greeks and Jews, as those who venerate the deity of Jesus.[43]
The relationship between Islamic and Hebrew scriptures and New Testament differs significantly from the relationship between the New Testament and theHebrew Bible.[46] 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.[46]
In the 7th century AD, Islam was founded byMuhammad in the Arabian Peninsula; it spread widely through theearly Muslim conquests, shortly after his death.[19] Islam understands its form of "Abrahamic monotheism" as preceding both Judaism and Christianity, and in contrast with ArabianHenotheism.[47]
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".[48] 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.[49] 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 here.[49]
While many sources limit the list of Abrahamic religions to only include Judaism, Christianity and Islam, some sources include other religions as well.
Samaritanism diverged from Judaism in the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE; although sometimes considered a branch of Judaism, most consider it to be an independent Abrahamic religion.
Some sources considerMandaeism to be an Abrahamic religion – however, that classification is controversial, given Mandaeism does not accept Abraham as a prophet, despite revering as prophets several other figures from the Jewish scriptures – on the contrary, they believe that Abraham was originally a priest of their religion, but became an apostate from it.
Druze is another religion which emerged from Islam in the 11th century, and hence is sometimes also considered an Abrahamic religion.Yarsanism is a Kurdish religion which combines elements of Shi'a Islam with pre-Islamic Kurdish beliefs; it has been classified as Abrahamic due to its monotheism, incorporation of Islamic doctrines, and reverence for Islamic figures, especiallyAli ibn Abi Talib, the fourthcaliph and firstimam ofShia Islam.
A number of sources include theBaháʼí Faith established in the 19th century,[10][11] since it historically emerged in an Islamic milieu, and shares several beliefs with the Abrahamic faiths, including monotheism and recognising Jewish, Christian and Islamic figures as prophets.[12][13] Some also includeBábism, another 19th century movement which was a precursor to the Baháʼí Faith.
Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion which emerged from Christianity in 1930s Jamaica, is also sometimes classified as Abrahamic, in particular due to its monotheism and use of the Bible as scripture.[50][51]
Chrislam, a group of related Nigerian religious movements which seek to syncretise Christianity and Islam, is sometimes also considered a minor Abrahamic religion.
All Abrahamic religions accept the tradition thatGod revealed himself to the patriarch Abraham.[52][page needed] All of them aremonotheistic, and all of them conceive God to be atranscendentcreator and the source ofmoral law.[53] Theirreligious texts feature many of the same figures, histories, and places, although they often present them with different roles, perspectives, and meanings.[54] Believers who agree on these similarities and the common Abrahamic origin tend to also be more positive towards other Abrahamic groups.[55]
In the three main Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), the individual, God, and the universe are highly separate from each other. The Abrahamic religions believe in a judging, paternal, fully external god to which the individual and nature are both subordinate. One seekssalvation or transcendence not by contemplating the natural world or via philosophical speculation, but by seeking to please God (such as obedience with God's wishes or his law) and seedivine revelation as outside of self, nature, and custom.
All Abrahamic religions claim to be monotheistic, worshiping an exclusive God, although believed by many comparative theologians to be one and the same known by different names.[52][page needed] Each of these religions preaches that God creates, is one, rules, reveals, loves, judges, punishes, and forgives.[23] However, although Christianity does not profess to believe in three gods—but rather in threepersons, or hypostases, united in oneessence—theTrinitarian doctrine, a fundamental of faith for the vast majority of Christian denominations,[56][57] conflicts with Jewish and Muslim concepts of monotheism. Since the conception of a divine Trinity is not amenable totawhid, the Islamic doctrine of monotheism, Islam regards Christianity as variouslypolytheistic.[58]
Christianity and Islam both revere Jesus (Arabic:Isa orYasu among Muslims andArab Christians respectively) but with vastly differing conceptions:
Muslims see Isa as aProphet of Islam[59][page needed] and Messiah. Isa (Jesus) is also believed by Muslims to return to Earth before the doomsday to defeat theDajjal (the Anti-Christ) and restore peace for a period of time.[citation needed]
However, the worship of Jesus, or the ascribing of partners to God (known asshirk in Islam and asshituf in Judaism), is typically viewed as theheresy ofidolatry by Islam and Judaism.[citation needed]
Jerusalem is considered Judaism's holiest city. Its origins can be dated to 1004 BCE,[60] when according to Biblical traditionDavid established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his sonSolomon built theFirst Temple onMount Moriah.[61] Since theHebrew Bible relates thatIsaac's sacrifice took place there, Mount Moriah's importance for Jews predates even these prominent events. Jews thrice daily pray in its direction, including in their prayers pleas for the restoration and the rebuilding of theHoly Temple (theThird Temple) on mount Moriah, close the Passover service with the wistful statement "Next year in built Jerusalem," and recall the city in the blessing at the end of each meal. Jerusalem has served as the only capital for the five Jewish states that have existed in Israel since 1400 BCE (theUnited Kingdom of Israel, theKingdom of Judah,Yehud Medinata, theHasmonean Kingdom, and modern Israel). It has been majority Jewish since about 1852 and continues through today.[62][63]
Jerusalem was an early center of Christianity. There has been a continuous Christian presence there since.[64] William R. Kenan, Jr., professor of the history of Christianity at theUniversity of Virginia, Charlottesville, writes that from the middle of the 4th century to theIslamic conquest in the middle of the 7th century, theRoman province of Syria Palaestina was a Christian nation with Jerusalem its principal city.[64] According to theNew Testament, Jerusalem was the city Jesus was brought to as a child to be presented at the temple[65] and for the feast of thePassover.[66] He preached and healed in Jerusalem, unceremoniously drove themoney changers in disarray from the temple there, held theLast Supper in an "upper room" (traditionally theCenacle) there the night before he was crucified on the cross and was arrested inGethsemane. The six parts to Jesus' trial—three stages in a religious court and three stages before a Roman court—were all held in Jerusalem. Hiscrucifixion atGolgotha, his burial nearby (traditionally theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre), and his resurrection and ascension andprophecy to return all are said to have occurred or will occur there.
Jerusalem became holy to Muslims, third afterMecca andMedina. TheAl-Aqsa, which translates to "farthest mosque" insuraAl-Isra in the Quran and its surroundings are addressed in the Quran as "the holy land". Muslim tradition as recorded in theahadith identifies al-Aqsa with a mosque in Jerusalem. The first Muslims did not pray towardKaaba, but toward Jerusalem. The qibla was switched to Kaaba later on to fulfill the order of Allah of praying in the direction of Kaaba (Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:144–150). Another reason for its significance is its connection with theMiʿrāj,[67] where, according to traditional Muslim belief, Muhammad ascended through theSeven heavens on a horse like winged beast namedBuraq, guided by theArchangel Gabriel, beginning from theFoundation Stone on theTemple Mount, in modern times under theDome of the Rock.[68][69]
Even though members of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not all claim Abraham as an ancestor, some members of these religions have tried to claim him as exclusively theirs.[10]
ForJews, Abraham is the foundingpatriarch of the children of Israel. God promised Abraham: "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you."[70] With Abraham, God entered into "an everlasting covenant throughout the ages to be God to you and to your offspring to come".[71] It is this covenant that makes Abraham and his descendants children of the covenant. Similarly, converts, who join the covenant, are all identified as sons and daughters of Abraham.[72]
Abraham is primarily a revered ancestor orpatriarch (referred to asAvraham Avinu (אברהם אבינו inHebrew) "Abraham our father") to whom God made several promises: chiefly, that he would have numberless descendants, who would receive the land of Canaan (the "Promised Land"). According to Jewish tradition, Abraham was the first post-Flood prophet to rejectidolatry through rational analysis, althoughShem andEber carried on the tradition fromNoah.[73][74]
Christian commentators have a tendency to interpret God's promises to Abraham as applying to Christianity subsequent to, and sometimes rather than (as in supersessionism), being applied to Judaism, whose adherentsrejected Jesus.[neutrality isdisputed] They argue this on the basis that just as Abraham as aGentile (before he wascircumcised) "believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness"[80] (cf. Rom. 4:3, James 2:23), "those who have faith are children of Abraham"[81] (see also John 8:39). This is most fully developed inPaul's theology where all who believe in God are spiritual descendants of Abraham.[82][a] However, with regards to Rom. 4:20[83] and Gal. 4:9,[84] in both cases he refers to these spiritual descendants as the "sons of God"[85] rather than "children of Abraham".[86]
For Muslims, Abraham is aprophet, the "messenger of God" who stands in the line from Adam to Muhammad, to whom God gave revelations,[Quran%3Averse%3D163 4 :163], who "raised the foundations of the House" (i.e., theKaaba)[Quran%3Averse%3D127 2 :127] with his first son,Isma'il, a symbol of which is every mosque.[87] Ibrahim (Abraham) is the first in agenealogy for Muhammad. Islam considers Abraham to be "one of the first Muslims" (Surah 3)—the first monotheist in a world where monotheism was lost, and the community of those faithful to God,[88] thus being referred to as ابونا ابراهيم or "Our Father Abraham", as well asIbrahimal-Hanif or "Abraham the Monotheist". Also, the same as Judaism, Islam believes that Abraham rejected idolatry through logical reasoning. Abraham is also recalled in certain details of the annualHajj pilgrimage.[89]
TheStar of David (orMagen David) is a generally recognized symbol of modern Jewish identity and Judaism.
Jewish theology is unitarian. God is an absolute one, indivisible and incomparablebeing who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable and that it is only God's revealed aspect that brought the universe into existence, and interacts with mankind and the world. In Judaism, the one God of Israel is the God of Abraham,Isaac, andJacob, who is the guide of the world, deliveredIsrael fromslavery in Egypt, and gave them the613 Mitzvot atMount Sinai as described in theTorah.
Thenational god of theIsraelites has aproper name, writtenY-H-W-H (Hebrew:יהוה) in theHebrew Bible. The etymology of the name is unknown.[91] An explanation of the name is given to Moses when YHWH calls himself "I Am that I Am", (Hebrew:אהיה אשר אהיה’ehye ’ăšer ’ehye), seemingly connecting it to the verbhayah (הָיָה), meaning 'to be', but this is likely not a genuine etymology. Jewish tradition accords many names to God, includingElohim,Shaddai, andSabaoth.
TheChristian cross (or crux) is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity; this version is known as a Latin Cross.
Around the year 200,Tertullian formulated a version of the doctrine of theTrinity which clearly affirmed the divinity of Jesus and came close to the later definitive form produced by theEcumenical Council of 381.[94][95] Trinitarians, who form the large majority ofChristians, hold it as a core tenet of their faith.[96][97]Nontrinitarian denominations define the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in a number of different ways.[98]
The theology of theattributes and nature of God has been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity, withIrenaeus writing in the 2nd century: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things."[99] In the 8th century,John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes which remain widely accepted.[100] As time passed, theologians developed systematic lists of these attributes, some based on statements in the Bible (e.g., theLord's Prayer, stating that theFather is inHeaven), others based on theological reasoning.[101][102]
InIslamic theology, God (Arabic:اللهAllāh) is theall-powerful andall-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer and judge of everything in existence.[103] In contrast to the Jewish and Christian traditions, which depict God usually as anthropomorph, the Islamic conception of God is less personal, but rather of a conscious force behind all aspects of the universe only known through signs of nature, metaphorical stories, and revelation by the prophets and angels.[104] Islam emphasizes that God is singular (tawḥīd)[105] unique (wāḥid) and inherently One (aḥad), all-merciful and omnipotent.[106] According to Islamic teachings, God exists without place[107] and according to the Quran, "No vision can grasp him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things."[108] God, as referenced in the Quran, is the only God.[109][110] Islamic tradition also describes the99 names of God. These 99 names describe attributes of God, including Most Merciful, The Just, The Peace and Blessing, and the Guardian.
A distinct feature between the concept of God in Islam compared to Christianity is that God has no progeny. This belief is summed up inchapter 112 of the Quran titledAl-Ikhlas, which states "Say, he is Allah (who is) one, Allah is the Eternal, the Absolute. He does not beget nor was he begotten. Nor is there to Him any equivalent."[Quran%3Averse%3D1 112 :1]
Since humans obeyed the Devil by committing sin, according to Christian teachings of salvation, theDevil has authority over humans.[113] Only the crucifixion of Jesus could save humans from the grasps of the Devil. Accordingly, Christianity rejects that actions and repentance alone could achieve salvation. The notion that only through the sacrifice of Jesus, salvation could be achieved is emphasized in the Bible:
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).[114]
Salvation is thus, a grace bestowed by God, not an individual's work, and passages from the Bible are used in Christian theology to underline that message:
"surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid"[114](Isaiah 12:2)
Christianity understands acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice as a transformation of the individual, by that the person sheds off its former sinful nature and dissolves in the will of Jesus, an idea attributed to Paul in the Bible:
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new cre-ation: the old has gone; the new has come."[114]
In Christianity, repentance is an external process; attained through faith.
Islam does neither acknowledge nor aspire salvation from evil in the world.[115] Instead, Islam teaches individual salvation from earthly and otherworldly sufferings through repentance (tawbah).[114]
There is no concept of original sin in Islam. The Fall ofAdam is interpreted as anallegory for mankind's behavior; they sin, become aware of their sin, then repent.[116] Accordingly, Islam neither acknowledges nor aspires salvation from evil in the world.[115] Salvation is achieved by purifying one's soul, to go to paradise after death.[114] The importance of repentance is highlighted throughout Islamic scripture:
"Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves" (Surah 2:22)
Sometimes compared to the concept of original sin, the devils (shayāṭīn) are said to "touch" humans at the moment of birth and a devil is said to move through humans like blood in the veins, causing an urge to sin.[117] Thus, humans are expected to have a sinful nature, but it could be overcome through repentance:[114]
"Every son of Adam commits sin and the best for those who commit sin are those who repent." (Sunan Ibn Ma-jah)[114]
The devils as conceptualized in the New Testament are in odds with the Islamic idea of monotheism, thus closer to the Jewish understanding of Satan; not as an enemy, but a tempter.[118] According to Islamic monotheism, the devils are dependent on God.[118] According to Islamic teachings, evil is not traced back to devils, but to God, precisely to God's will:
"For indeed, Allāh sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills." (Surah 35:8).[119][118]
The origin of good and evil do not depend on a person's will, the devils, or universal laws, but solely on God's judgement.[118]
Judaism andSamaritanism commands thatmales be circumcised when they are eight days old,[120] 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.[121] 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.[122]Western Christianity replaced the custom of male circumcision with the ritual ofbaptism,[123] 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[124] prohibited it. Paragraph #2297 of the Catholic Catechism calls non-medical amputation or mutilation immoral.[125][126] 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.[127][128][129] TheNew Testament chapterActs 15 records that Christianity did not require circumcision. TheCatholic Church currently maintains a neutral position on the practice of non-religious circumcision,[130] and in 1442 it banned the practice of religious circumcision in the 11thCouncil of Florence.[131]Coptic Christians practice circumcision as a rite of passage.[132] TheEritrean Orthodox Church and theEthiopian Orthodox Church calls for circumcision, with near-universal prevalence among Orthodox men in Ethiopia.[133]
Coptic Children wearing traditional circumcision costumes
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.[143]
Circumcision is widely practiced by theDruze, the procedure is practiced as a cultural tradition,[144] and has no religious significance in theDruze faith.[145][146] Some Druses do not circumcise their male children, and refuse to observe this "common Muslim practice".[147]
Circumcision is not a religious practice of the Bahá'í Faith, and leaves that decision up to the parents.[148]
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[c] as a binding set of laws for the "children ofNoah"—that is, all of humanity.[149][d] 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.[150]
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.[151][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 in England and Ireland (seerecusancy andPopish plot).
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."[152] The Roman Catholic Church has declared that Catholics should fightanti-Semitism.[153]
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,[154] and theQuran explicitly prohibits compulsion in matters of faith.[155] Most conversions to Islam occurred gradually, driven by social, cultural, and economic influences rather than coercion.[156]
Christianity is the largest Abrahamic religion with about 2.5 billion adherents, called Christians, constituting about 31.1% of the world's population.[158] Islam is the second largest Abrahamic religion, as well as the fastest-growing Abrahamic religion in recent decades.[158][159] 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.[158] The Baháʼí Faith has over 8 million adherents, making it the fourth largest Abrahamic religion,[160][161] and the fastest growing religion across the 20th century, usually at least twice the rate of population growth.[162] The Druze Faith has between one million and nearly two million adherents.[163][164]
^"So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."[citation needed] "In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring."Romans 9:8
^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.
^Schubel, Vernon James. "Teaching Islam as an Asian Religion." EDUCATION ABOUT ASIA 10.1 (2005).
^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.
^abKrista N. Dalton (2014) Abrahamic Religions: On Uses and Abuses of History by Aaron W. Hughes, Oxford University Press: New York, 2012, 191 pp.ISBN978-0-19-993463-5 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: checksum, 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
^abBurrell, David B., et al., eds. Creation and the God of Abraham. Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. 41.
^Petray, Theresa (2020). "Rastafarianism". In Possamai, Adam; Blasi, Anthony J. (eds.).The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. pp. 659–661.ISBN978-1473942202.
^Perowne, Stewart Henry; Gordon, Buzzy; Prawer, Joshua; Dumper, Michael; Wasserstein, Bernard (13 August 2022)."Jerusalem".Encyclopedia Britannica.Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved14 September 2022.
^Vawter, Bruce (1983). "Original Sin". In Richardson, Alan; Bowden, John (eds.). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. Westminster John Knox. ISBN 9780664227487.
^Murray, Michael J.; Rea, Michael (2012), "Philosophy and Christian Theology", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
^Russell, Jeffrey Burton (1986). Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-9429-1.
^abcdefgАбдрасилов, Турганбай, Жахангир Нурматов, and Кайнар Калдыбай. "AN ANALYSIS OF SALVATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM." Аль-Фараби 76.4 (2021).
^abEichler, Paul Arno. "Die Dschinn, Teufel und Engel im Koran." (1928). p. 8-9
^Stieglecker, H. (1962). Die Glaubenslehren des Islam. Deutschland: F. Schöningh. p. 194 (German)
^Jabbour, Nabeel (2014), The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross: Insights from an Arab Christian, London: Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-1-61521-512-6
^abcdEichler, Paul Arno. "Die Dschinn, Teufel und Engel im Koran." (1928). p. 41
^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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