Western religion: history, practices, and beliefs

Religion

The Protestant Reformation forced the Catholic Church to redefine itself, its "inner life," and the role it would play in the greater social, political, and theological rubric of Christianity. The Council of Trent was the first official and ecumenical reaction to the Protestant Reformation and therefore began what was to be known as the Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation. The standardization of Mass was one of the most notable developments of the Council of Trent, resulting in a long-lasting transformation Catholic ritual. Moreover, Catholic ritual would be forever distinguishable from Protestant ritual in its ascription to the standardized Eucharist ceremony. Second, the Protestant Reformation challenged the Church to unearth endemic corruption. The counter-reformation did not totally eliminate the Church's collusion with politics but did force the Church to rethink its position in an increasingly Enlightenment-driven society. As a result of the Protestant threat, the Catholic Church was forced to do away with practices like selling indulgences.

7. The Five Pillars of Islam parallel earlier Jewish and Christian practices and doctrine. First, Judaism also proposes belief in one and only one true God. Christianity does, too, but unlike Judaism, Islam and Christianity value only one true prophet of God. On the other hand, Muslims do not view the prophet Muhammad in the same way that Christians view Jesus, so the concept of prophet for Muslims more closely resembles the Jewish notion. In fact, Muslims value Moses and Abraham as prophets of God. The second Pillar of Islam states that daily prayer is required of all practitioners. Although not as solidly ingrained in Jewish or Christian doctrine, daily prayer is highly recommended by teachers of both religions. Third, all three "peoples of the book" propose alms-giving as a means to gain spiritual merit. The fourth Pillar of Islam refers to the value of self-purification, such as through fasting at Ramadan. Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur also mandate fasting and Lent is one example of holiday fasting in the Catholic tradition. Finally, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca is quite unique but still has parallels in both Judaism and Christianity. For example, many Catholics flock to the Vatican for Easter or for local churches and cathedrals throughout Europe for their historical meaning or for their connection with certain saints. Similarly, many Jews feel that they must visit Israel at least once in their lifetime, just as the Muslims believe it is their duty to visit Mecca.

8. Medieval Islam and Christianity demonstrate remarkable parallels. Although Muslim scholars developed a more advanced system of mathematics than the Catholics did, and their academic sophistication can be easily said to trump that of the Catholic Church, the two religions both exuded political and military might. Their tolerance of other religions was weak, although the Moors in Spain did permit admirable leeway for the Jews when the Jews would have been more severely persecuted under Catholic rule. Their standards for wartime decorum were similar, as both religions engaged in significant and historical crusades to force conversions.