25 Potential Topics For A Comparative Essay On Buddhism And Christianity

A comparative essay, as you can suppose from the name, is the essay that allows you comparing two or more things. The objects of comparison usually have something in common and a number of differences. For example, if you are comparing Christianity and Buddhism, you can easily guess that the thing they have in common is the fact that these two are religions. Being quite different, these two objects provide us with a number of features to contrast.

Below, you will find a list of topics for a comparative essay dedicated to these two religions.

1. Jesus Christ as the central teacher vs. Gautama Buddha.
2. Nontheistic views of Buddhism vs. monotheistic world outlook of Christianity.
3. Buddhist as an offshoot of Hinduism vs. Christianity as an offshoot of Judaism.
4. Monasteries and temples as a prayer place vs. churches and chapels.
5. Morality and wisdom as personal practices vs. prayers and worship as communal practices.
6. The Indian and Nepalese origin of Buddhism vs. Judaic origin of Christianity.
7. Images of the sacred personalities in Buddhism vs. the ones in Christianity.
8. Following the wisdom of Buddha as a teacher vs. following the commandments and lifestyle of Jesus Christ as a teacher.
9. Nirvana as the highest goal vs. resurrection in the eternal life.
10. No divine Creator vs. the only God, the Creator of everything.
11. Dharma, the teaching of Buddha vs. the canon law as the main law for Christians.
12. Believing in Buddha as the only teacher who gives wisdom vs. believing in the Holy Trinity.
13. No special days of worship vs. Sunday, the Lord’s day.
14. Reaching Nirvana as the main achievement and goal vs. loving the Lord and
following his commandments for the sake of being saved.
15. No prophets save from the only teacher vs. numerous prophets.
16. Seeing humans as beings with a number of usual human qualities vs. considering the humanity prone to evil.
17. No salvation, but the only Nirvana vs. God the Savior from sins and eternal pains in hell.
18. Tripitaka as the only holy book vs. the Holy Bible.
19. Overcoming human weakness to reach the Nirvana vs. committing no sins to be saved by the Lord.
20. Equal treatment of other religions by Buddhism vs. religious confrontation in Christianity.
21. A chain of repeated birth until one reaches Nirvana vs. eternal life in Paradise or Hell (sometimes in Purgatory).
22. A practical way towards Nirvana vs. the philosophy of fighting sins for the sake of salvation.
23. The symbol of a wheel for Buddhists vs. the cross for Christians.
24. Compassion as the main virtue for Buddhists vs. love for Christians.
25. The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as Three Jewels of Buddhism vs. Christ, Grace and Virtue.