Abrahamic Faiths Benefits, Research Paper Example

Judaism was the first monotheistic religion and founded the Abrahamic tradition which was later extended by Christianity and Islam. But unlike Christians and Muslims, Jews never sought empires or conquests which explain their turbulent history. But this sense of vulnerability also motivated Jews to compensate for their small numbers through achievements in arts, sciences, and commerce in order to ensure their survival.

Before Christianity, Europe was divided into small countries with distinct religions and philosophies and each country conducted its affairs in isolation. But unlike Judaism, Christians ambitiously followed the spread of their religion as well as imperialism which probably increased interaction and trade among different regions as well. But this expansion was often hostile and many conversions occurred forcefully. Muslims pursued similar courses of actions and even though the followers of two religions often clashed violently, the religious Crusades between Christians and Muslims re-introduced knowledge and literature lost to Europe in the Dark Ages (Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria). Both Christians and Muslims made huge contributions to Sciences, Medicine, and Architecture etc. Christianity especially played a huge role in arts during the renaissance period and some of the most prolific paintings were commissioned by the church.

But the struggle between Christianity and Islam continues to plague the modern world and significantly influence geo-political affairs. Most of the current conflicts around the world like India-Pakistan, Palestine-Israel, Al-Qaeda-West, and Russia-Chechnya have been influenced to some extent by one or more of the three Abrahamic faiths.

References

Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria. European Religions. 17 March 2012 <http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/europe/geness.html>.