What do all Religions have in Common?

[rojse]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

 

[Willamena]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

Welcome.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

Mysticism.

 

[Zephyr]

I am a new member to this forum, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

Asatru only really fits with number 2, and in a sense 1 and 3, but not quite.
Number 1 is inaccurate because we don't worship anyone. We honor our gods like we would a grandparent, but there's no real worship. Number 3 is also flawed in that many of us actually believe in various other pagan gods, but choose not to worship them because we aren't connected to them. They would be false in the sense that you wouldn't find an Asatruar worshiping Mars or Horus, simply because they are the gods of foreign cultures. 4 and 5 are also inconsistent with Asatru. Faith is no component in where one will end up. Most will arrive in Helheim, with the greatest going to Asgard. People of other faiths, likely wherever their belief says they will wind up.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Storm]

I am a new member to this forum, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

1) Simply false. Not all religions even believe in deities. Buddhism, and Taoism are prime examples.

2) False, again, as even fewer religions fall under this category.

3) And again, false. This is largely untrue outside of the Abrahamic traditions. Hinduism, among many others, believes that the Gods of all traditions are simply deffering interpretations of the true divine bieng.

4) This isn't even true of Abrahamism as a whole. Judaism is deliberately vague about the afterlife, focusing on encouraging its followers to make this world a paradise.

5) And this is true only of the most obnoxious minor sects of major religions.

Where did you get the idea that these things are universal to religion? (1) is at least understandable, but the others? I'm sorry, but the fact that you're apparantly unaware that the major Eastern religions favor reincarnation over Heaven and eternal damnation makes me think that you're judging all religion by Christianity, and possibly what you've heard of Islam on the news, which is misleading.

Now what all religions do have in common is a quest to understand God, and teach people to be good to each other, and make the world a better place. They tend to disagree about the best way to do these things, but with a little research, you'll find that fire & brimstone is the exception, not the rule.

 

[Green Gaia]

I am a new member to this forum, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

None of those fit my religion, we are the exception to each one.

I believe that what all religions (or at least the major ones) have in common is not beliefs or theology, but a desire to improve people's lives and make them better people. Each offers a way to inner peace and better understanding. They just all have very different ways of getting there.

 

[eudaimonia]

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

I'd say that the Eastern religions contradict nearly all those points. Your list is very Western.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[may]

I am a new member to this forum, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

i am not looking foreward to life in heaven ,i am looking foreward to inheriting the earth matthew 5;5 and if i die before the GREAT TRIBULATION it will not make any difference because there will be an earthly resurrection for those who die , and they can still inherit the earth . so most religions focus on the Afterlife which is in heaven, but Jehovahs witnesses for the most part have a hope to live FOREVER in the new paradise earth.

(Psalm 37:9) For evildoers themselves will be cut off, But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth.​

(Proverbs 2:21) For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.​

(Matthew 5:5) "Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth. also Jehovahs witnesses do not believe that people will be punished forever , but the bible says that the wicked will be cut-off from the blessings of the paradise

 

[rojse]

Thank you for your replies about this topic, and expanding my ideas about what is common to all religions. It seems that none of my original ideas are applicable to all religions.

Firstly, I do apologise for the double posting of this topic. I clicked the post thread button twice, thinking the first one did not work. Any advice on how to fix up the second would be appreciated.

I have only been previously exposed to the "traditional western" religions, because only variants of Christianity exist where I live, and it is quite interesting to see that many other major religions contradict predominantly Christian ideas, particularly "eastern" religions. I do look forward to examining the religions mentioned, as I am interested in learning about the different religions and their belief systems and so forth.

Still, I would like to ask, what do all religions have in common, then?

 

[Mike182]

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
my deities are of a higher power, but Buddhism is not reliant upon a notion of God and that's a religion.
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
not really in my religion, or atleast my take on my religion. i'm Pagan by the way. i think there are a lot of things besides the Gods that explain everyday events.
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
being of a polytheistic religion, this is a non issue for me.
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
not just the believers of my religion. i believe that everyone will go through a form of rebirth.
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.
i don't have any notion of hell or suffering.

i guess that means that not every religion falls into these criteria then

 

[Mike182]

Firstly, I do apologise for the double posting of this topic. I clicked the post thread button twice, thinking the first one did not work. Any advice on how to fix up the second would be appreciated.

that's ok, problem solved

 

[BFD_Zayl]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

1. while, yes, a good deal of religions, mine included, venerate a deity or deities, this is not always true.
2.not true in all cases, again identifies with a majority, but not all.
3.where did you get this idea? while I do not believe what other religions (or lack thereof) do, I will never assert my opinion on someone, worship your god/s, and let me worship mine, everyone is happy.
4. someone can still believe, yet not have a fulfilling afterlife.
5. as before, you do not have to believe and you can have a very rewarding afterlife, or reincarnation.

 

[Tigress]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

Unitarian Universalism actually fits with none of your criteria. Quakerism could fit with 1, 2, and 4, but even then it really depends. Contemporary Quakerism has many flavours, and distinguishes itself as being an experiential faith, much like Unitarian Universalism in that respect.

 

[sojourner]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

The one thing all religions have in common is people. All religions have people.

 

[GoldenDragon]

1. As said not all religions focus on a deity. Taoism believes in a force called the "Tao" it's not necessarily God but it's what runs the universe. Buddhism doesn't focus on a deity either I'm sure it believes in a god or the sort doesn't it?or is in more of force like Taoism, and I know Buddha is not a deity, he is more or less the equivelent of a prophet.

2.Same as above.

3. The Abrahamic religions may abide by this the first of the commandments is "Thou Shall not have any gods besides me." but yet as time is more modernized some followers of these religions and other religions have accepted the possiblity that they are worshipping the same God only in different forms and time periods and such.

4. I'm sure religions believe in an after life in one form or another though they may not emphazise a great deal on it as Christianity or Islam does. Judaism doesn't really focus on an afterlife it worries more on life now ,it has somewhat of a concept of an afterlife its believed the rightous wil be raised to live in Heaven and while Hell(Sheol) is a place where the wicked just sleep for all eternity never to be raised.Again the Jewish afterlife concept is not Judaism biggest concern, this life is the bigger concern and awards and punishments happen here and now.
Hinduism/Buddhism(i think) believe in reincarnation being reborn into life if one learns(good karma) from their past and present lives they are reborn into a higher being, they also wont have a hard time letting go of their present life, if they don't learn (bad karma) they will be more attachted to their physical life and will have a hard being reborn,they move to a lower or equal being from their last life time, and yet if that person continues to do good he/she will eventually escape the rebirth cycle and enter Nirvana(eterenal peace).
Taoism's afterlife is just non-being. Since we exist now when we die we will go back to be being "non-being". (Please correct me if I got any of this information wrong I try to get my facts straight but mistakes may slip in)

5. Mostly arrogant followers believe this but it wasn't always that way in ancient Judaism Sheol(Punishment) was for not only unrighteous Jews but for Gentiles as well. But the Christian church had more than its fair share of believers who believed all non Christians go to Hell whether they lived a good life or not.

------
Commonground between faith. Its what I've been looking for too. I had taken a World Religions class and we learned about the Western religions, Eastern religions, and Native American spirituality. Most of the commongrounds were the things you listed mostly 1 2 4. Other than that I found that all these religions believe in a final Judgement by who ever created the universe. Both warn about desire and greed , both have a place on Earth which they believe is highly sacred. Mountains play a big part in all of them. Mt.Sina, Sermon on the Mount, vision quests were usually done near or around mountains. All religions hope for an eternal peace , they all have proverbs, prayers, prophets, spiritual rules, and I could probably find more if it wasn't so late.

So there's a few common things there.

 

[lilithu]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

I would say that most, if not all, religion fits into several criteria -
1. There is the worship of a diety, or dieties, that are of a higher power than the worshipper,
2. The deity, or dieties, are used to explain everyday events,
3. The religion asserts that all other gods outside of that religion are false, and do not exist,
4. Believers of a religion are rewarded in the afterlife, with Heaven or the equivalent within that religion,
5. Non-believers are punished with Hell, or the equivalent within that religion.

Are there exceptions? Other criteria that most, or all, religions satisfy? Other ideas? I would like to hear from everyone else, and hear your ideas on this.

Yes, there are a lot of exceptions.

1. Not true of Buddhism nor Taoism.
2. What kind of everyday events, like the sun rising? I think that the vast majority of religions do not use deities as an explanation for such things.
3. This is generally ONLY true of the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
4. Not all Jews believe in an afterlife. And "heaven" or its equivalent is not the goal of Buddhism or Taoism or Hinduism or Jainism... I also don't think it's the goal of many Pagan and Indigenous faiths.
5. You're kidding us, right? This belief is generally only true in Christianity and Islam.

These are hardly the characteristics shared by most religions.

What do most (not all) religions have in common?
A belief that there is something not quite right with existence as we generally know it, and a proposed cure for this ailment.

 

[eudaimonia]

Still, I would like to ask, what do all religions have in common, then?

There are times I think that one should distinguish between "religions" and "dharmas", since we in the West have tended to lump these categories together in one bundle.

The concept "religion" is itself a Western invention. The East refers to their paths as "dharmas", and the underlying concept seems to be different than that for "religion". I'm not certain I fully understand what "dharma" means -- it seems to be something like "natural law" or "moral law", or both, and so the Eastern "religions" are understandings of the nature of existence and its implications for human life.

Personally, I don't try to include all Eastern "religions" in my concept of religion. I stick with roughly the Western meaning of religion, which I interpret as:

A set of beliefs and personal commitments that establish and maintain a beneficial relationship with a divine power.

Buddhism would not fit this definition, and so would not be a religion. However, it would be a dharma, and I tend to refer to it as a spiritual path.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[joeboonda]

I am a new member, and I have a few questions about religion.

I would like to know what people on this forum believe that all religions have in common.

Many 'religions' have in common the idea that man must earn salvation by his own good works. Jesus Christ offers salvation freely, having paid the penalty for all our sins, and offers His righteousness to us in place of our own, which is as filthy rags to a Holy God.

"Religion" centers on Man, Christianity centers on Christ, it is not a religion, but a relationship with the one who loved us and came to earth to die for us so we may be freely saved.

 

[rojse]

Thanks to everyone who has made an effort to try and answer my questions. It seems that my original ideas were wrong, especially based on eastern religions. Special thanks to those that have come up with new suggestions about ideas common to all religions.

The one thing all religions have in common is people. All religions have people.

- Sojourner

This seems like a good idea, but if a religion has no followers, is it still a religion?

I found that all these religions believe in a final Judgement by who ever created the universe

- GoldenDragon

Some of the religions I have found out about here do not have a divine being, especially Buddhism, which has been often mentioned within this post.

All religions hope for an eternal peace , they all have proverbs, prayers, prophets, spiritual rules,

- GoldenDragon

Apart from eternal peace, which was disagreed to by several members saying that there was no afterlife, I would agree that all religions would have prayers, so that worshippers could talk to their god or gods, and prophets, to spread the word. From reading these posts, I am sure that many religions would not have spiritual roles, judging from what I have read in these posts so far.

Both warn about desire and greed

- GoldenDragon

From what little I know about religion, it seems that religions warn against desire and greed, saying it is better to give, and so forth.

A set of beliefs and personal commitments that establish and maintain a beneficial relationship with a divine power.

- Eudaimonia

Considering that there are religions that do not worship a divine power, I think that the second part is not correct, but the first part, about beliefts and personal commitments, would be correct to all religions. Also, Maltheism believes that God is evil, so I think that beneficial would be the wrong word anyway.

Many 'religions' have in common the idea that man must earn salvation by his own good works

From what I have read about different beliefs within Christianity, I would have thought only people that believe in God earn salvation, and have confessed and are sorry for their sins, no matter what their deeds in life.

In summary, from what I have read so far, I would think that common to all religions would be
1. Prayers,
2. Prophets,
3. Warnings against greed and desire, and
4. A set of beliefs and personal commitments.

I am looking forward to new ideas about what would be common to all religions, and contradictions on what has been proposed so far.

 

[Ðanisty]

In summary, from what I have read so far, I would think that common to all religions would be
1. Prayers,
2. Prophets,
3. Warnings against greed and desire, and
4. A set of beliefs and personal commitments.

No, I don't think we can call all of these commonalities among all religions either. If you include meditation in with prayers, you'd have a lot more, but still not all of them. I don't really know that many religions have prophets. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure there are many that don't. I know there aren't any Luciferian prophets...lol. Number 3 is too specific. Most of the Left Hand Path religions embrace greed and desire to a pretty high extent. There are warnings against things, but not those things specifically. For number 4, I'd just leave it as a philosophy. I'm pretty sure most (if not all) religions have a philosophy.

 

[Mike182]

In summary, from what I have read so far, I would think that common to all religions would be
1. Prayers,
include meditation, and yes.
2. Prophets,
no, my religion has no prophets.
3. Warnings against greed and desire,
nope, not all religions have warnings against greed and desire. my religion has a sort of code that our actions have consequences, but it is up to us to decide if the consequences of our actions are undesirable or not, my religion doesn't warn me not to do anything.
4. A set of beliefs and personal commitments.
yes, religion is a set of beliefs and personal commitments.

I am looking forward to new ideas about what would be common to all religions, and contradictions on what has been proposed so far.

what about works of literature?