Hinduism Vs Buddhism Research Paper

There are various factors that make the beliefs and practices of Hinduism and Buddhism similar. One of these, is their core beliefs in karma, dharma and reincarnation after death. In both of these religions they believe that after one dies, reincarnation allows an individual to be reborn. This new life is so that a person can keep working towards either Moksha in Hinduism or Nirvana in Buddhism over several lifetimes. Similarly, they also believe in karma which is the result of one's actions. It is believed that this is the determining factor for one’s fate in their next life after reincarnation. The last of these core beliefs of both these religions is dharma, which is a person’s “religious and moral duties.”

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One of these differences is the practice of castes. Hindus use castes to keep social order in their communities and it often allows people to have a deeper sense of self identity. They also believe that karma is what determines these various social groups, or caste. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism rejects this system of living and chooses to focus on other aspects of life. These aspects include priests, rituals, and deities. They encourage one to work towards the ultimate goal of self enlightenment rather then a person’s social class. Another difference in these two religions is the belief in a supreme being. Hinduism believes in several gods and goddesses that are in various forms of Brahman. These different deities include Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Contrary to this, Buddhism does not believe in any gods. Buddhists still worship the name of Buddha and pray to Buddha, but Buddha is not considered to be a deity or god like Brahman is to

It began with the covenant made between God and Abraham that would become the foundation for the two main beliefs of Judaism. Abraham being the founder of Judaism, promoted the idea that there was only one true God, resulting in him often being called “the father of the family of Jews.” Unlike other religions in the Middle East, the Israelites were monotheistic, believing in a powerful God that was ever present. Later on, Moses was also an important person in the history of Judaism. He gave the Jews the Ten Commandments, freed the enslaved Israelites in Egypt and led them to the long awaited promise land in Canaan. Unfortunately in the Promise Land, the Israelites were eventually conquered and enslaved by the Babylonians. The destruction and murder inflicted by the Romans affected the spread beginning with the Jewish diaspora, or exile. Because of this many of Jews fled to various places in order to avoid persecution, which is still seen nowadays. Geography influenced the spread of Judaism in that Jews took advantage of waterways such as the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to escape being exiled and spread over various places in the world. Another geographically factor that influenced the spread of the Jewish people was the wandering of the Jews into the deserts as they were fleeing from persecution. They created