Growing up around Christians and Muslims my whole life I noticed that a big difference was the emphasis on language. My mom and her whole family is Christian, but I grew up muslim, so naturally I realized the similarities and differences in our beliefs.  Whenever I heard a christian reading their scripture, I noticed they read it in their natiuve language. On the other hand, when I heard Muslims reading their scripture, they read it in its original language. The more I learned and researched on the topic, the more I realized how much of an effect this fact had on these religions. Different languages have different grammar, ways of talking, and sometimes even different words. If you translate something several times, it is possible that you can be left with something that is very different from the original text. What I know is that a lot of people call Islam a “Arab” religion. However, Christianity actually originates in the same region. Another fact that may shock some people is that Arabs actually make up less than 15 percent of all Muslims. This means that over 85 percent of all Muslims are non-arab. So why is Islam often called an Arab religion?This stems from the fact that Islamic scripture has been kept in its original form and language, the same language it has been believed to be revealed in. Some translations do exist, but the Arabic text is always seen as the original and purest form. Many Muslims even learn Arabic so they can fully understand the scripture in its original language. Why is Christianity not seen as a middle eastern religion? For starters, although the main figure in Christianity, Jesus Christ, and his disciples lived in the middle east and smoke Arahmaic, (a semetic language linguistically similar to Arabic), earliest manuscripts currently found of the New Testament, the Christian Holy scripture, are in Greek. A small number of Christians actually learn this language to further dive into these texts. However, a majority tend to follow a translation of it in their language. How can religion be connected to language? How strong is this connection in different religions? How do translations affect how religions are viewed or followed over time? With this research paper I hope to find the answer to these questions, and more.

The first thing I did to start my research was doing a quick google search on the relationship between language and religion. The first thing I found was an academic research journal online that talked about the relationship between language and religion. It explained how the relationship was different in different religions. The journal was very informative and gave me a lot of information on the topic. The second piece I found was a newspaper article that talked about 3 peoples experiences learning their religions’ original language, and the connection it gave them to their religion. It gave me more of an idea about how religion can connect people to a language. I also searched youtube for videos on the topic. One video I found was a discussion which talked about the difference between Islamic and Christian scripture, and the video mentions possible effects translation had on the scriptures.

What effect does language have on religion? The journal “The Relationship Between Language and Religion” says that in some cases, as language changes, religion can change as well. How is this? As I said earlier, translations can possibly change entire meanings. Changes can be small at first, but if a text is translated over and over again, It can cause some texts to change entirely. The journal also explains that Islam puts a bigger emphasis on keeping the message in its original form, while religions like Hindusim and Christinity were more susceptible to going through changes in language. While a lot of Muslims have focused on study and analysis of their scriptures’ original language, with the spread of Christianity, the Lingua franca changed over time from its original language to English. Similarly, language in Hinduism was changing, but the languages were similar to its original language. Another interesting thing is that the religious division seen around the world can sometimes be attributed to language. For example, there are muslim majority states in India who recognize urdu as their mother tongue rather than Hindi because of the  cultural connection of urdu to their religion. The Urdu speaking people share a common bond of religion, and thus by speaking Urdu, they feel more connected. This connection language has to religion can be seen among their respective followers. An article from The Guardian talks about this connection, stating “The language, she claims, is intimately involved in an understanding of the religion, with word stems allowing a whole philosophy to be found in a single term. Take the word barmitzvah, for example. The word literally means “son of the commandment” and is used to refer to a Jewish boy’s coming of age ceremony. However, the stem “mitzvah” on its own has deeper layers of meaning, referring to the 613 commandments given in the Torah at biblical Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later.”(Jenkin 2014) This goes to show that translations in religion can take away from its deeper meanings or even change it. The article also states, “ Arabic scholars have developed sciences around grammar, syntax, and rhetoric which ensure followers don’t extrapolate meanings from the book which weren’t intended. The word “jihad”, for example, is often translated as “holy war” but actually means “struggling” or “surviving”.(Jenkin 2014). In the case of the Muslims, it is encouraged to learn the language of the original text, and scholars analyze the text because translations can bring interpretations different from the original. The most efficient way to understand a religion’s principles or text is to study it in its original form or language. Going back to the separation caused by religion and language,  The British used religion to separate the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan. Religion can be seen separating lands in the middle east too. The land of Palestine was divided into Israeli (Jewish) and Palistinian(Muslim) territories, and it has caused problems among the people. Language can show the righteousness and sacred devotion of a religion, but at the same time language can be manipulated for personal or political gain. An article in The Washington post talks about how the latter occurred throughout history. When slaves were broght to America , they were taught English and the religion of Christianity. As they forgot their language from generation to generation, their culture and religions naturally faded as well. The people also used cherry-picked verses from the Bible to justify slavery, and these were the main verses they chose to preach to the Slaves. “Some preachers encouraged slave owners to allow their slaves to attend worship services — though only in separate gatherings led by white proslavery preachers.”(Weil 2019) The people used the text to keep the slaves opressed. Slaves were also very rarly tought to read and write, and therefore they rarely were able to read the texts for themselves. There was even a slave bible which removed certain passages that were thought to possibly cause the slaves to rebel. “As soon as enslaved people learned to read English, they immediately began to read the Bible, and they immediately began to protest this idea of a biblical justification for slavery,”(Weil 2019) This qoute from the aritcle illustrates how language along with religion was twisted for the gain of a certain group of people. Limited Language was also what tied down the slaves mentally.

Before my research, I had a fair amount of knowledge on the topic, but I learned a lot more. I learned that Language was a bigger part of a religion than I initially thought. The fact is that it’s a colossal part of religion. Original languages of religions are the purest forms of the religion available, because the original languages display the original theologies and meanings of ideas that are harder to display in other languages with translations. It can also cause division. People may live in the same region, but a different religion can be a reason for them speaking different languages. Language can also be used to twist or change things, and that’s why it’s such a big part of religion.

Bibliography

“Global Connections . Stereotypes.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/questions/types/index.html#:~:text=Many%20Arabs%20are%20not%20Muslims,of%20Muslims%20worldwide%20are%20Arabs. 

Dating the Oldest New Testament Manuscripts, https://library.duke.edu/papyrus/texts/manuscripts.html. 

Balraj, B. M., Singh, S., & Abd Manan, M. H. (2020). The Relationship Between Language and Religion. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 10(11), 1217-1224.

Jenkin, Matthew. “Divine Words: What Role Does Language Learning Play in Religious Practice?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Nov. 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/10/language-learning-for-religious-reasons.

Weil, Julie Zauzmer Zauzmer. “The Bible Was Used to Justify Slavery. Then Africans Made It Their Path to Freedom.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 May 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-bible-was-used-to-justify-slavery-then-africans-made-it-their-path-to-freedom/2019/04/29/34699e8e-6512-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html. 

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