Religion and Theology

Religion plays a very critical role in making the society equal in that it is a way of life that every individual, people group, and culture subscribes to. Every religious faith has its own unique way of worship, creating a rare diversity among different people. The city of Calgary in Canada is home to people of diverse religious faiths, but it is the three religions  Christianity, Islam, and Judaism  that are very popular. This paper compares the three on various issues, with a view to establishing their uniqueness and view towards different aspects of and issues in the society.

Authoritative Writings
The website depicts Christian faith in light of the Bible as its authoritative book which they believe is the word of God that was passed to mankind through the prophets of old, and later through the revelation of the Holy Ghost The site depicts that Islam uses the Quran as their reference book which they believe was handed to Prophet Mohammed by Allah. The Torah  the Hebrew word for instruction  is the sacred scripture of Judaism. There are two main parts of the Judaism Torah. The first one is the Tanakh, which is the Hebrew Bible equivalent for the Old Testament and the Oral Torah, an account written by Rabbis or teachers of religion, all these are demonstrated in the website. The Tanakh has the five main books which are very authoritative and which are also part of the Bible these are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The five are sometimes referred to as the Pentateuch or simply as the Books of Moses because they contain the law which God passed to the people through the prophet Moses. In essence, all religions have sacred scriptures as shown in the website.

Apart from the main books, there other subordinate books use. Islam has other writings of the Prophet called Hadith, while Judaism uses the Halakah and the Siddur. There are various groupings under every religion owing to differences in approaches to worship or other minor issues even though they profess the same faith. Judaism is divided into three  Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative. Islam is divided into Sunni and Shia, while Christianity has two main denominations  Catholic and Protestant.

Significance of Various Issues
In the virtual places of worship place worshippers are depicted with their holy books Quran, Torah, and Bible are placed at the front to signify their important place in worship. Where the worshipers face as they worship is significant. Muslims are depicted looking Mecca as it is the birth place of the Prophet and is therefore their Holy City. In synagogues, worshipers face the direction of Jerusalem as their Holy City, and in the church they pray facing heavenward as this is the place their God lives. Walking into any there of these worship places, one thing stands out. This is the fact that every worshipper is very reverent and humble, signifying that they are before the beings they worship or their God. One also notices that leaders sit in special places, usually at the front, to show they are authoritative.

Way of Worship
In the church Christians in worship, where worshippers are depicted engaging in praises and worship of God. They are seen in reverence of Jesus who is the Son of God who came into the world in the form of a human being, and was born by the Virgin Mary. Here servicesmass include singing, praying, dancing, and playing instruments and pictures depicting the same are all over. There are graphics depicting religious traditions such as the breaking of the sacrament  a symbol of the body of Christ, and sometimes worshippers kneel when they are in prayer. Another common practice during worship is the reading and exposition of the Holy Scriptures, where the priest reads and the rest listens or repeats after him and every website is indicating the same. The Muslims worship in Mosques and their approach to worship of Allah depends on what is being done. When praying, for instance, the website shows worshippers bowing with their faces to the ground several times.  Judaism has worshippers depicted in religious ceremonies and annual sacrifices like the Passover, Feast of Weeks, and the Weekly Sabbaths.

Basic Teachings
Islam focuses on five main areas which are called the Five Pillars and are explained in the website. These are prayer (Salat), pilgrimage (Hajj), charity (Zakat), fasting (Sawm), and reciting the Shahadah. There are posters calling on the faithful to pray is done five times a day facing Mecca charity involves giving a certain proportion of ones possessions to the poor andor needy in society pilgrimage is made to Mecca at least once in ones lifetime, although those who are able can go about it as frequently as they wish fasting is done annually and lasts a month, known as the Holy Month of Ramaddhan and, finally, Shahadah is recited as often as possible  it is a reaffirmation of their unswerving faith in Allah as the only true God, and Mohamed as his prophet. Christian practices range from prayer services, celebration of mass, observation of key festivals like Christmas and Easter, and repentance for sins committed. While the Sunni Mosque in Calgary is a place for prayer and teaching for Muslims, the Bethany Chapel is an evangelical worship place for Protestant Christians and the Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary is a worship place for Catholics in the city.

The place of Women
The website does not show any women inside the mosque, this is probably because Islamic women are not required to mix with men in the mosque. If they have to come in the mosque at the same time as men, then they sit at the back. Otherwise they are assigned specific places to worship separate from men. On the contrary the church website has pictures of women inside the church perhaps the reason is that in Christianity, mixing of genders is very common, and women play a more pivotal role and are even appointed church leaders. In the synagogues, I see women playing the role of wives and mothers, and sometimes participate in rituals associated with the Sabbath, but are not players of central roles in synagogue worship. However, these roles vary from Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform Judaism, with the last type being more accommodative of women.

Symbols
There are several symbols in every religious worship place in the website each has its symbols although some symbols are cross-cutting across all the three. The crucifix symbolizes the death on the Cross of Jesus Christ, and is a basic Christian symbol it is seen on the rooftop in side the building and in the windows and doors encrypted. There is a lot of lighting which symbolizes the inspiration of God or wisdom. Christian churches are shaped mostly in the shape of the crucifix, or have the symbol of the crucifix atop it. The Virgin Mary is usually another common symbol in churches and there she is depicted in the church website. Synagogue shapes and designs differ depending on the particular type of Judaism practices there as evidenced in the website. For instance, there is the House of Jacob and Beth Tzedec being used for Orthodox and Conservative followers of Judaism respectively. Mosques are shaped such that the worshippers are able to sit while facing the direction of Mecca.