World Religions: The Emergence of Judaism - Research Paper Example

Like all other religions like Christianity and Islam, Jews have their own religious document which serves as a guideline to their faith, called the Torah. The Torah is supplemented by the Halakhah, which is the Oral Law of the Jewish tradition. Jews worship in worship places called synagogues and whose sessions are led by religious leaders called rabbis. A basic summary of the worldview is estimated that there are at least 13 million Jews in the world,2 either strictly adhering to the laws of the religion or simply identifying themselves with Judaism without necessarily abiding in all the religion’s laws. Jews have a lot of beliefs and customs that set them apart from other world religions.

Some of their beliefs are similar to those of Christianity; for instance, Jews believe in the existence of one, omnipotent and omnipresent God. Their beliefs are unique in that Judaism is a community rather than an individual religion and that it is imperative that the religious aspect of Judaism be seen in each believer’s daily life. It is easy to identify Jews because most wear a headgear known as a yarmulke, while others wear a religious adornment known as the Tefillin. Circumcision of 8-day old babies is also an important Jewish tradition.

Jews celebrate festivals such as Passover, Hanukkah, and Yom Kippur, which symbolize different aspects of their history. In the world, throughout history, Jews have always been viewed in a negative light. The worst atrocities the world ever witnessed were during the holocaust, where about 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in Germany. Currently, the conflicts in the Middle East between Israel, a Jew-dominated country, and its Arabic neighbors have left the world torn on the stance to take.

Above all, this conflict has been fuelled by differences in religious beliefs and practices. Flaws of the belief systemLike all religions, Judaism is not without criticism from other religions or even some believers of the faith. Judaism has been viewed as a very conservative and almost exclusive religion. To become a Jew, one’s mother has to be a Jew, though in some cases children with Jewish fathers are considered Jews.