Religion of law
The concept of the religion of the law is based on the Pauline - Augustinian and later also Lutheran juxtaposition of the "dead letter of the law" with the redeeming faith and has been used since the 19th century. Accordingly, all religions are designated as religions of the law, which want to bring about salvation through their own human effort and which seek to influence people mainly through binding rules and prohibitions. A definition of which religions this applies to can vary depending on the theological point of view. A clear allocation is not possible from a religious studies perspective. Christian theologians often refer to Judaism and Islam as the religions of the law in order to separate them from their ideal of Christianity. In many Christian denominations, however, the characteristics of a religion of the law are also pronounced. The idea of God's redeeming grace is not alien to Judaism and Islam either. Faith, disposition and charity also play a role here. Depending on the current, different theological focuses are set. In Orthodox Judaism , attempts were also made to have a positive connotation of the religion of the law. Islam is also referred to by outsiders as the religion of law because of the lack of separation between religion and state and Islamic law ( Sharia ).