Religious Teachings and Their Sources

1Why this topic matters

On Friday, Muslims in Nyamirambo listen to the imam's sermon at the mosque. On Sunday, Christians in Huye listen to a priest or pastor explain the Bible. Both are receiving religious teachings. Where do these teachings come from, and why do believers trust them? This lesson answers those questions and introduces the values you will study in this unit.

2Key terms

• Religious teaching: a belief or instruction that a religion hands on about God, human life and right conduct.
• Value: a quality or principle that a person or community considers important and that guides behaviour, for example honesty.
• Moral values concern right and wrong behaviour; people of any faith, or none, can share them. Religious values are rooted in faith in God. The two overlap a great deal.

Examples of core religious teachings

Christianity and Islam share many core teachings: belief in one God; prayer and worship; love of God and of other people; care for the poor, orphans and widows; honesty; forgiveness; respect for life; and belief that every person will one day answer to God for how he or she has lived.

3Where religious teachings come from

1. Holy scriptures

Christians read the Bible, made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Paul wrote: "Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). God-breathed means inspired by God; reproof means pointing out what is wrong.

Muslims read the Qur'an, which they believe was revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad. It describes itself like this: "This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)." (Qur'an 2:2). Ward off (evil) means to guard oneself against wrongdoing.

2. The example of Jesus and of the Prophet

Christians learn from the words and deeds of Jesus recorded in the four Gospels. After the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus told his listener: "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:37)

Muslims follow the Sunnah, the example of the Prophet Muhammad, recorded in collections called Hadith. The Qur'an says: "Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example" (Qur'an 33:21), and "whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it)." (Qur'an 59:7)

3. Religious leaders

Priests, pastors and bishops, and imams and sheikhs, explain scripture, preach, guide believers and set an example. The Bible says: "Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith." (Hebrews 13:7). The Qur'an says: "And there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency." (Qur'an 3:104). Enjoin means "command". In Rwanda, the Rwanda Muslims Community (RMC) is led by the Mufti of Rwanda, and leaders of different faiths meet in the Rwanda Inter-Religious Council.

4. Tradition

Churches hand on teaching through creeds (short statements of belief such as the Apostles' Creed), councils and catechisms. Paul told Christians to "hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). In Islam, scholars use the agreement of the community of scholars (ijma') and careful reasoning from similar cases (qiyas) to apply the Qur'an and Sunnah to new questions.

Worked example

Question: Explain two sources of religious teaching in Islam. (4 marks)

Model answer: The first source is the Qur'an, which Muslims believe was revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad and which calls itself "a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)" (Qur'an 2:2) (2 marks). The second is the Sunnah, the example of the Prophet, recorded in the Hadith; Muslims follow it because the Qur'an says the messenger is "a good example" (Qur'an 33:21) (2 marks).

Practice