This book depicts many different ways of being religious. Do you agree? Can there be more than one right way to worship the same god?

This book depicts many different ways of being religious. For example, there is Abu Laith, who is religious but "hates the trappings of organized religion with a deep passion." He clearly believes in God and is greatly angered by religious hypocrites, but refuses to go to the mosque to pray. Many people in the book, such as Abu Hareth, think this akin to blasphemy. Do you agree? Can there be more than one right way to worship the same god?

Absolutely. Just look at the different Christian religions. I, as a Methodist, worship the same God as a Catholic person but do it much differently. Maybe it's more the way the different faiths have taught us to worship. Some see a loving, forgiving God, some see a God who punishes, some see a God who judges if we don't do the things He wants. We all worship the same God, but he has many different traits in the various religious sects.

Of course, whatever way a person relates to his/her God is solely between that person and God. Rules of religion are man-made. The Ten Commandments or some version of them are the only rules purported to have come from God. I'm disgusted by all the rules and punishments in all religions.

Absolutely. Most religions want their life to end in an everlasting life in a better place. Everyone has a different way of going about attaining that end result. If the people of this world could just learn to respect each others right to believe as they wish it would be a happier place. As a little girl I remember listening to a radio show on Saturday morning that always ended with "you go to your church and I'll go to mine but we'll all walk along together". I have long forgotten the name of that program but that phrase has always stuck with me for decades.

I couldn't find the program but did find the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4KGPQC9B7U

I agree with all the above. One God, just views as to the path to heaven, a Higher Power, etc.

And in a thing called serendipity, the song you found, Davina, was sung by Lulu Belle and Scotty, friends of my late ex-husband. The world really is small.

"The Father of Lions" was a lovely book, even in the midst of war.

Yes, I surely agree, and if one has the interest or inclination to study and compare religions, he or she will surely find many of the same tenets or philosophies common to all of them. When I taught world literature to high school students even they were able to find similar theories and beliefs - expressed in different ways, of course - in many of the different religions of the world.

Yes there is definitely more then one way to worship. I agree with everything PinkLady mentioned. I am a Presbyterian and a few years my congregation split off and became Evangelical Presbyterians. We serve the same God but have different beliefs.

I think differences in religious practice arise from differences in the ways we (humans) characterize God and God's expectations of us. For me, a wide range of religious practices is just fine. For others, that is not so, because their vision/definition of God and God's expectations says the rules are more specific. It is easy to see how religious wars arise when one considers the potential for clash among conflicting views of who God is and what God expects.

Religion is personal. There is no right or wrong way to worship.

People should be free to worship in the way they see fit. Just because their worshiping methods may differ, I don't think that means they are any less sincere. Everyone deserves to cultivate their own spirituality in a way that feels meaningful for them.

Yes! I so appreciate all of the above comments. I was raised Catholic, and now attend a nondenominational Christian Church, and work in a school with mainly children who are Muslim. There are so many similarities across many religions- it is informative that the differences or the man made “religious rules” are what often divide us.

Yes. We are part of a spiritual book club of 4. Each of us is of a different religion, but we all believe in the same God.

Of course there are many different ways to be religious. I am a Roman Catholic but believe as long as you trust in a higher being, you are practicing spirituality/religion.

This book depicts Muslims. I am a Christian and strongly believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. I can't agree that all religions are okay. I also feel that many sects of the Christian religion. For example, Catholics are not following God's word by having statues of various Biblical entities and praying to others other than God.

I believe there are different ways to be religious. In the United States alone we have different denominations and even off shoots of religions that share some of the same beliefs and traditions but also have their own versions of beliefs/traditions. I think a person can be spiritual and not have to belong to any organized religion. Everyone has to do what they believe is right in their heart. This is not to say that all religions are good. Often times it is when people take a fanatical view and have little to no tolerance for other beliefs that problems arise. Many wars are started in the name of religion.

Absolutely! I grew up in a time (50s and 60s) when the disdain and distrust between Catholics and Protestants in our locale was awful. It is so much improved although a few of my parents’ generation are still around to carry the hate torch. What I see now though attacks on Christians for their beliefs, anti-Semitism rising up again, the lumping of all Muslims as extremists, etc. Yet, we are all yearning for the same thing, just via different paths.

Growing up Roman Catholic, I never liked the expression “Good Christian” as it seemed to exclude so many good people.
My favorite homily over the past few years came from our priest in Sarasota. He told the story of our parishioner Joe who had car trouble and was helped by a young man who actually followed Joe home after he got the car started to ensure that Joe made it home. When they reached the house, Joe got out of his car, shook the young man’s hand with thanks and declared, “You are a good Christian!” The young man replied, “Actually, I’m a good Muslim.”
While I am secure in my faith, I recognize and respect the paths that others follow in their spirituality.

I am an agnostic, I have friends of many different faiths. The majority of them are very respectful of others religion. I do have one friend however that truly believes his faith communicates with the ONLY God.

I have to come to believe that all religions have basically the same beliefs, we just all have small differences in what we believe that have, over time, become big chasms. In each religion there is basically a special "prophet" or Son of God, we are told to be kind to one another and to live a life similar to that of whatever God we pray to. There are extremists in every walk of life that want to divide us to make themselves more the center of attention. If we all just listened to our God and walked His path, we would all be one world under God. And wouldn't that be restful?

I have traveled extensively and studied world religions. It seems as if the histories of the worlds major religions are similar and began in the same geographical area. As the beliefs spread in different directions, what are essentially the same beliefs morphed into different ways of honoring a higher power. At the heart of most religions there is a story about how the earth came to be; there are different names for God or the gods; there are profits. There is a mother figure. There is a heaven and a hell. Throughout history there have been those who corrupted religion for power or fought wars to supplant one belief with another.....

If only we would all respect each other's right to choose their religion and to choose how they practice it, the number of wars would be greatly reduced.