Philosophers have forever struggled with the ambiguous answer to the meaning of birth, life and death. Buddhism teaches that life is an ongoing cycle of birth, life, death and then rebirth, so that you are on a continuing spiritual journey with the final purpose being to attain enlightenment and lead all other beings to enlightenment. They define enlightenment as a state of being that goes beyond suffering. Once they have reached this, the journey has ended and they achieve freedom from this ongoing cycle of reincarnation by reaching Nirvana.

Christianity however has different views and believes that people only get one life. They believe that the purpose of this life is to discover and be with God, as he has died for their sins. Christianity also teaches to love and serve others as much as one does to themselves. They have a belief in charity and service to God and others with the knowledge that post death, they will be reunited with their God in heaven.

Contrarily, Humanists rely more on proof and therefore think that the meaning of our birth is due to the fact that we are the biological descendants at this point in evolution. Despite this disturbingly realist viewpoint, they state that instead of believing in a god as other religions do, their fundamentalist belief is in society and humanity. So therefore, as they do not trust in the existence of an afterlife, they regard life on earth as particularly precious and hence feel that the meaning of life is to further their society and endeavour to help people.

The universe’s origins also remain a constant mystery. Buddhism does not really provide a clear belief as to where they think the universe originates. They simply state that it has always been here and is never-ending. They say that it ‘came from within itself’.

Christianity is similar to Buddhism in the sense that Christians consider the world to have been here forever; however it displays differences in its symbolic story of ‘Creation’, which is found in Genesis. It states that God created the world in six days, finishing with a man and a woman, whom he named Adam and Eve.

Humanism differs from Christianity and Buddhism greatly, in that it does not opt for belief in the intangible, but again, relies on proven fact. This quest for proof originates from the beliefs of Voltaire, an eighteenth century rationalist whom felt that reason was a way to solve mans problems. Hence, they deem scientific theories such as the ‘Big Bang’ theory or the idea that we have originated from blue-green algae’s development.

Adversaries’ such as death, suffering and evil will exist in our world forever and this is something that perplexes philosophers greatly as they struggle to answer the question: if there is a god, then why do bad things happen to good people?

Buddhists attempt to answer the question with their Four Noble Truths. These state that suffering exists due to an attachment to cravings. These cravings for societal success, known as Trsna, are the nature of existence, but they delude and distract the mind from the correct ‘path’. They say that the cure from these delusions is to observe the regulations of the Eight Fold Path.

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Similarly to Buddhists, Christians believe that the negatives of our world are consequences of the neglect of the right way, or God in favour of satisfying cravings and desire. Christianity teaches the belief in the existence of good and evil, God and the devil. They too believe that God gave humans free choice to choose him or not. When they do not choose him, they are indirectly choosing the devil, which creates evil in our world. Suffering and death occur as a consequence of this evil and the evasion of God.

On the contrary, Humanism does not believe in any outside forces such as a God. However, like Christianity, they feel that suffering exists in the world as a consequence of evil. For example, greed and the striving for materialistic pleasure is an evil which leads to the poor becoming poorer, which results in suffering. Death they justify as a part of nature, that science is yet to correct.

Perhaps the controversial, highly debated, so often pondered and most important issue that a religion attempts to answer is whether or not there is someone ‘out there’ that is higher, greater, more powerful and more supreme than us. Buddhists reject this idea, and while there are myths of particular gods and goddesses, Buddhists are not particularly fussed, and believe that we as humans choose our own destiny. Humanists too reject the idea of a personal god as they believe man to be the most important existing element in life. In addition, they wish to exclude all ideals of ‘super naturals’ as they believe that religion was invented when the world was undiscovered and man needed reassurance. In contrast, Christians feel very differently and definitely believe in the great power of God.

Buddhism, Christianity and Humanism all attempt to answer ‘the great questions of human experience’ through different means, based on their own belief systems. Many people have turned to Christianity and Buddhism as it provides a religious link, which they feel give their lives purpose. Religions’ provide people with a set of beliefs that people can adopt, which offer them with a way of thinking and a way of life. Religious systems have existed for thousands of years, as they provide people with faith, which many feel to be a need. This need stems from the undying, universal curiosity that many posses as to what is the ultimate meaning and purpose to life.