Cross- Cultural Essay

Submitted By hulingt
Words: 1408
Pages: 6

Abstract
There are many people that make up the body of the world. This includes different cultures, which is the way a country or nation functions. Skin colors are different, yet; the language may be the same. The nationalities, clothing, religions and ways of living or existing in general, these differences all make up individuals too. Learning to respect individuals regardless of what they look like or what type of beliefs they have gives them the opportunity to be respected. Differences are going to be around and as nations of people; we have to learn to live together. Our society shows that even with all the differences, we all need each other in some way for survival because when we look at the big picture those differences have similarities.

When we as a society look around and enjoy the differences, do we really think about who contributed what to the world? When it comes to the political arena, we all do. But when it comes to enjoying life, we take what is at hand and enjoy. However; when politics take over the thinking, the race begins, seeing who can do what better or how much money can be generated from the differences. This is not only in the United States, but all over the world. We may not want to accept the power politics has, but a lot of the confusion comes from power struggles. The point that seems to be over looked is that, though, there may be cross-cultural differences and there are some similarities in all areas of life. For instance, in the United States, the Islamic and Christianity religions; they are quite different yet the similarities are there because the people have made their choices. When people make choices regardless of what it may be, there should be a certain level of respect. “Culture is the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time” (Merriam-Webster dictionary).
“Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world and they have many points of contact. Both inherited from Judaism a belief in one God who created the world and cares about the behavior and beliefs of human beings. In the approximately 1,300 years of history since the life of the Prophet, the relationship between Christianity and Islam has rarely been harmonious. In recent centuries, mutual distrust between Christians and Muslims has continued to grow. On the other hand, some have pointed out that the conflict has more to do with political tensions and divergent cultural worldviews than with religion, and efforts have been made by both Christians and Muslims to find common ground and engage in respectful dialogue”. (Comparison Chart: Christianity and Islam)
According to history and statistics, “Christianity was founded c.30 AD and Islam 622 CE and the original language for Christianity is Aramaic and Greek but the Islam language is Arabic. The Christians major locations today are Europe, North and South America and the Islamic serve the Middle East, Southeast Asia. Though they seem to be worlds apart, their religious practices are not so different. The Christianity ranks largest in the world with the Islamic ranking in second place. They both serve billions of people throughout the world, nationalities ranging from Catholic to Shiite.
Christianity uses the Bible (based on the Old Testament (Jewish Bible) and New Testament) and The Qur’an (Koran) serves as the sacred text used by Islamic. They get their inspiration from the text recorded in each, the Christians believe the literal Word of God, inspired human accounts, or of human origin only however; Islam believes only the literal Word of God. They both believe that the statuses of biblical prophets are true prophets and according to their beliefs and doctrine, they ultimately believe one creator God.
Understanding the