Hi Class,
Service and leadership hold significance in Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, albeit with
variations in emphasis and practice. In Judaism, service involves repairing the world through acts of
kindness, while leadership often falls to rabbis and scholars guiding the community. As exampled in
the textbook, Moses is the “quintessential” Jewish leader (van Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). In
Buddhism the emphasis is on selfless service as a means to alleviate suffering, and leadership is
seen as leading by example, like the Dalai Lama. Christianity stresses service, following Jesus'
teachings of love and humility. Leadership is often referred back to Jesus who is the model servant
leader, who told his Disciples if they wanted to be good leaders they must first be servants (van
Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). Islam underscores service through acts of charity and community
welfare. Leadership is more based within the idea of leading through example as well as political
leaders. I think that while all religions vary in certain ways they can all end up being pretty similar at
the core. Personally I am a Christian and believe in one God, although I can understand how some
may find religion confusing or weird as there are so many that all seem to be trying to do the same
thing in somewhat different ways.
References:
van Dierendonck, D., & Patterson, K. (Eds.). (2010).
Servant leadership: Developments in theory
and research.
St. Martin's Press. ISBN-13: 9780230238268
