Many people believe that the religions of Christianity and Buddhism are completely different. They are practiced in different areas of the world and began at different time periods in history. Although there are many differences between Christianity and Buddhism, they are also similar in many aspects.
             To start with the differences of the two religions, people must look at the founders of them. The one who started Christianity was Jesus Christ. He was born into a poor family, but not dire poverty. His family had a profession of carpentry, meaning they were poor but had enough to survive on. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Guatama. He was born prince, son of King Suddhodana, and lived a very rich and sheltered life. Guatama was not satisfied with his life and did not know why. He decided to live the ascetic life, being in complete poverty. This did not satisfy him, so after much contemplation, he decided on the middle way. Where Jesus was never in dire poverty or even close to having riches, Guatama touched both these ways of life. Another difference between these two are that Jesus is considered the son of God, the savior, where Guatama, or Buddha as he was later called, is considered a prophet. His name of Buddha, meaning enlightened one, was given to him because his followers believed him to be enlightened by God. Jesus was called savior, or Christ, by his followers because he was believed to be son of God who would save them.
             These differences in upbringing and different settings, including time and place, for the religions may affect the way these religions view god. Christianity refers to God as being a trinity, father, son, and holy spirit. Buddhism on the other hand, views God in only one way, as an impersonal god. References to him are not as commonly made. In prayer, Christians pray directly to God calling him father or something of that sort, whereas Buddhists meditate without spoken words. Chri...