World Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

World Religions - Essay Example There are also several differences on the level of dogma as well. For example, people who have adopted the approach of Reformation Christianity do not share the idea of a saint in a traditional meaning of this word. Thus, the pious figures who acted in the Bible are respected, but they are not prayed to, as it is in Roman Catholicism. Reformation Christianity suggests that a true believer should only pray to God and not intermediary is needed so that the prayer is heard by the All Mighty. Finally, the idea of purgatory – the place when souls of the sinner might stay temporarily in order to purify themselves – is characteristic to Roman Catholicism only. Reformation Christianity argues that the after life is divided into two separate worlds – Heaven and Hell – and there is no need for a third one as the above-mentioned concepts are perfect and a true Christian should work hard on getting into Heaven and ending up in a purgatory is not an option. Just like any other religion, Islam has several fundamental principles that define its spiritual tradition. They received the name of Five Pillars of Islam. The first of them is called Shahadah and is largely focused on the key ideas of the Muslim faith: there is no God, but God (Allah is simply the Arabic word for God) and Mohammed should be regarded as the only Messenger from him. These two simple statements from a set of coordinates that Islam operates within. That is why there is no wonder that the above-mentioned statement is repeated several times during a day by true believers.