Running head: CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 1

Catholics vs. Muslims

Clay Scinta

University of Kentucky

CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 2

Abstract

This paper compares the Muslim culture with the Catholic culture. It talks about the history of

each culture and their origins. It then talks about each cultures beliefs and the values they follow.

It concludes with a comparison between the two, showing differences and similarities. You will

learn about each cultures basic beliefs and get a better understanding of the differences of each

two. But you will also learn that most of their core beliefs stem from the same thing.

CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 3

In my first paper where I had to identify a culture, I learned about the Catholic culture

and their ways. In this paper I will now compare the Catholic culture with the Muslim culture.

While both cultures center their faith around on God, they have many different beliefs and

customs. Throughout this paper I will go over the differences and similarities between these two

cultures.

Background and History

Since I am comparing these two cultures, I will first talk about each’s history and origin

of where their culture comes from. The Catholic culture is a denomination of the largest religion

in the world, which is Christianity. Christianity has seven different denominations which are:

Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, and Baptist (Religion). “The

exact date of the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church is indeterminable. While the belief

system recognized as Christianity is in place by the first century, institutional structures

developed over time (Library).” Its history goes back to Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet

and what Catholics believe as the son of God. It was spread from Jesus to his disciples, who after

Jesus’ death preached the word of God (Religion).

The Muslim religion, also known as Islam, originates back to 1400 years ago in Mecca

with a prophet named Muhammad. When he turned 40 he started having visions and hearing

voices from God, which Muslims refer to as Allah. Muhammad was said to be from a long line

of prophets including Moses and Jesus. When he started preaching the word of Allah and there

being only one God, he was forced out of Mecca and immigrated with some of his followers to

Medina. The move from Mecca to Medina marks the first year of the Islamic calendar, called the

hijri. The move is called the hijra and is the start of the Muslim religion (Prophet).

CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 4

Beliefs

While both cultures believe in one God, they have many different beliefs and customs

that they follow. The main belief system for Catholics is the Trinity, which is the belief that God

is one in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Francow). Catholics follow the

word of the Bible; which is split up into two sections, the Old Testament, and the New

Testament (Library). The Old Testament talk about the prophets and acts of God before Jesus

was born, while the New Testament talks about the acts of Jesus and his disciples (Hayden).

“Catholics understand the two major parts of the Bible to be ‘testaments’ because they testify to

the centrality of Christ in God's plan for the world and the humans within it (Library).” Catholics

feel that what is most important about the bible is that it explains humanity’s ongoing

relationship with God, and not always the exact meaning of the text (Library).

Catholics belief in life everlasting is one of their core values. They believe that God sent

his only son, Jesus, to be human flesh and blood so that he could sacrifice himself to allow

humans salvation (Library). It was originally believed that only Catholics could have eternal

salvation, and anyone who wasn’t would not get God’s gift of life after death (Downs). Catholics

now believed that God welcomes all people now, inside and outside of the church, as long as

they live a life of God (Downs). That doesn’t mean that you cannot commit sin, because

Catholics believe that God loves all and always offers forgiveness to whoever asks for it

(Hayden).

Muslims have six main beliefs that they follow: belief in Allah as the one and only God,

belief in angels, belief in the holy books, belief in the prophets, belief in the day of judgement,

and belief in predestination (Basic). They follow the Qur’an for all of their teachings from the

prophet Muhammad. “There are 114 chapters in the Qur'an, which is written in the old Arabic

CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 5

dialect (Basic).” Each chapter starts out with words in Arabic that say “In the name of Allah, the

most merciful and the most kind (Basic).” They look at the Qur’an as the most sacred since it is

the word of God.

Along with their six beliefs, their core beliefs stems from the five pillars of Islam which

are: profession of faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage (Prophet). One of their most

profound practices is that Muslims must pray five times a day and facing Mecca each time

(Prophet). The five times they pray are at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark

(Prophet). I feel that this is one of the most devote forms of worship and you hear and see about

all the time on the news. That was why I wanted to learn more about this culture because I find it

very interesting and very devote. Muslims believe very much in the afterlife and take it very

seriously. “Islam teaches that there will be a day of judgment when all humans will be divided

between the eternal destinations of Paradise and Hell (Islamic).” They believe that after you die,

you wait in your grave until the day of judgement; and the ones bound for hell will suffer in their

graves, while the ones going to heaven will rest peacefully until the day of judgement (Islamic).

Comparison

While both of these cultures are very unique and have different backgrounds, they also

have some similarities. One of the main things that I feel that connect these two is their belief in

one God. There are many different religions that believe in more than one God, which is called

polytheistic; however these are two that are monotheistic, which means belief in one God. Even

though they have different views on how their God works, it makes a good connection that both

believe in one and not multiple gods. Another big similarity of these two is life after death. A lot

of religions and different cultures either believe that once you die there is nothing after that or

CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 6

that you will be reincarnated as some other life form. Both Muslims and Catholics believe that

there is a hell and a heaven.

While these have similarities, there are also many differences. Just to touch on a few of

the big ones, the first major one is their view of Jesus. Catholics view Jesus as their savior and

the Messiah (Religion). While Muslims view Jesus just as a prophet, and that their Messiah is

still to come (Prophet). Another difference they have is the Muslims follow the Qur’an very

closely and have very strict rules that they follow. Whereas Catholics use the Bible more as a

more as a way of explaining their relationship with God and how to live life in the life of God.

Conclusion

After comparing Muslim culture and Catholic culture, I have found many different values

and beliefs; however I feel that both of these cultures have the same core values and beliefs.

Throughout the world there are so many different cultures that believe so many different things,

so when two of the largest cultures have similar views on big topics, it makes it seem like those

have to be right. But who knows, maybe another culture is right about their beliefs or maybe

none are. The culture we follow is what we believe in so it doesn’t really matter. Comparing

these two cultures just shows that cultures as a whole will always be different on some level, but

following what you believe in is just part of life.

CATHOLICS VS. MUSLIMS 7

Works Cited

Basic Articles of Faith. (2011, July 19). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/beliefs.shtml

Downs, Stephen.(2014). Catholics and Other Faiths Since Vatican II. Australasian Catholic

Record, 91(1), 49-57.

Francow, Becca. Personal Communication, February 15, 2015.

Hayden, Dane. Personal Communication, February 15, 2015

Islamic Beliefs about the Afterlife. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from

http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/afterlife.htm

Library. (2008, January 1). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from

http://www.patheos.com/Library/Roman-Catholicism.html

Religion Facts, (February 2015). Comparison of Christian Denominations’ Beliefs.

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/denominations_beliefs.htm

The Prophet Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from

<http://www.metmuseum.org/learn/for-educators/publications-for-educators/art-of-the

islamic-world/unit-one/the-prophet-muhammad-and-the-origins-of-islam>

.

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Tables

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