Western religions Western religions Western religions refers to religions that originated within Western culture, and are thus historically, culturally, and theologically distinct from the Eastern religions. The term Abrahamic religions (Islam, Eastern Christianity and Judaism) is often used in lieu of using the East and West terminology. Western culture itself was significantly influenced by the emergence of Christianity and its adoption as the state church of the Roman Empire in the late 4th century and the term "Christendom" largely indicates this intertwined history. Western Christianity was significantly influenced by Hellenistic religion (notably Platonism and Gnosticism) as well as the Roman imperial cult.
Catholic Church and Judaism Catholic Church and Judaism Relations between Catholicism and Judaism deals with the current attitude of the Catholic Church towards Judaism and Jews, the attitude of Jews toward Catholicism and Catholics, and the changes in the relationship since World War II. Christianity started as a Jewish creed in Land of Israel in the mid-1st century. The first Christians were Jewish and the early spread of Christianity was aided by the wide extent of the Jewish diaspora in the Roman Empire. Though Jesus was not accepted as the Messiah among Jewish leaders, worshipers of the diverging religions initially co-existed within the Jewish