Q: Do Christians worship the same God as Muslims?
A: Yes. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all profess only one God. They are the three major monotheistic religions. All three also trace their origins back to Abraham and are, therefore, called the “Abrahamic religions.” All three also place great importance on sacred texts and are referred to sometimes as the three “religions of the book.” Christianity accepts the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the “Old Testament”) as well as the Gospels and other books of the New Testament, comprising the Christian Bible. Islam regards the Bible as God’s revelations to earlier prophets, but does not believe it to be sacred per se or inerrant.
Obviously, neither Judaism nor Islam accepts that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and, therefore, equal to God. Both religions would have serious problems with our concept of the Trinity, one God in three divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because of this, some in Judaism and Islam might even say that Christianity cannot rightly claim to be a monotheistic religion. Our own language about this was hammered out in the earlier centuries of the Church, as definitively stated in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which we recite every Sunday. The successors of the Apostles were insistent that our belief in Christ and in the Holy Spirit in no way “divided” God.
Some Christians, and among them probably some Catholics, will object to the idea that Muslims worship the same God, effectively saying “not my God.” They may base this on the characterization of God by some within Islam or the terrible things done by some in the name of Allah (the Arabic name used by Muslims for God). Lest we start casting stones, we should not forget that Christianity has its own dark history of doing some terrible things in the name of God.
The tradition of the Catholic Church makes clear that Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews — including in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and the statements of many popes. Referencing Pope St. Gregory VII, Vatican II’s “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” (Nostra Aetate) states: “The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own” (para. 3).
Some years ago, when I was serving as chaplain at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over the fact that Campus Ministry and the Student Government Association had cooperated on finding a place on campus where our Muslim students would feel comfortable praying. We identified a small, unused room in Ambrose Hall and after some modest renovations opened it to the students.
Then it began — emails and phone calls from a few upset alumni and others, as well as ill informed (if not intentionally misleading) stories in some Catholic news outlets. You would have thought we had bulldozed Christ the King Chapel and built a mosque in its place. For our part, we thought this was a pretty modest accommodation for our students of other faiths, not despite the fact that we are Catholic, but in part because we are Catholic. I think all of the modern popes and not a few saints would have defended us.
The fact that we may have different ideas on the one God does not mean that we don’t worship the same God.
(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)
