Judaism,

Christianity, &
Islam
A Quick Review to Make you
Smarter about the Medieval World

1
What is Religion?
 Difficult concept to define – in general an
expression of human belief in a power
greater than humanity.
 Responsibilities of humans towards the
divine
 Most religions have rules
 Most religions were founded by unique
individuals who wanted to shed light on
our purpose on earth as well as our
ultimate destination after death.

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Judaism
 Number of followers: no number
 Main Location: Israel, worldwide
 Name for God: G-d
 Place of worship: Synagogue
 Holy Books: Torah Jerusalem
 Symbol: Star of David
 1st oldest of these religions

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Judaism…cont.
 Jews were first people to practice
monotheism – worship of one God
as opposed to many
 Abraham is considered the founder
of Judaism
 Jews have often been the object of
persecution

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 CHRISTIANITY
 # of Followers:1 Billion +
 Name for God: God , Jesus (God’s
Son)
 Place of Worship: Church
 Holy Book: Bible (Old & New
Testaments
 Important Cities:
Jerusalem/Bethlehem
 Symbol: Cross
 *largest of the religions

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 Christianity…cont…
 Began as a movement of Jews in
ancient Israel
 over 300 denominations
 Catholic – oldest Christian religion – based in Rome
 Protestant – includes almost all non-Catholic
Christians – example – Presbyterian, Lutheran,
Methodist, Baptist, etc. The first of these churches
were founded by Martin Luther and King Henry VIII –
word Protestant comes from the facts they protested
against the church of Rome.

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ISLAM
 Number of followers: 1 billion
 Main Location : The Middle east
 Name for God: Allah
 Founder: Mohammed
 Place of Worship: Mosque
 Holy Book: Koran
 Important Cities: Mecca/Jerusalem
 Practices: Pray 5X a day, No Pork, Wash
before prayer
 Youngest of the three religions

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Islam…cont.
 “Islam” literally means
“submission”.
 Related to Judaism and
Christianity, claiming to be
their fulfillment.
 Muslims (Islamic followers)
reject materialism in favor of
uplifting the poor and
oppressed.

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Religions….cont.
 Jerusalem is a holy city to 3 of these
religions

 Some primary parts to culture: religion,

language, fine arts (music, art), clothing,
housing (location), government, and
economy

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Religion
 Discussion questions:
 What do these have in common?
 How does religion fit into a country or region’s
culture?
 Why is religion so important in the areas
throughout the Middle East?

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