Biblical vs. Islamic Values: What is the Difference— And Why It Matters

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Biblical vs. Islamic Values: What is the Difference—And Why It Matters for the Future of the West

By Mark Durie
Delivered at the Aspire Conference, Sydney, 25 February 2026
(Presented here for ODMDaily.COM)

“Christianity is the seedbed of everything that makes the West what it is. Without it, I worry where we may end up.” — Tom Holland

When Caesar conquered Gaul, the Roman legions reportedly killed one million Celts in battle and captured another million for slavery. At the time, the Romans saw nothing ethically wrong with this. Caesar was celebrated as a hero, not condemned as a war criminal. His victory was a great triumph.

So what changed?

In his landmark book Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, historian Tom Holland asked this question. His answer: Western values were shaped by the Bible, through the influence of Christianity.

That insight is the starting point for this discussion. Because if Christianity shaped the West, then the values we now hold—often without thinking about their origin—are not universal or self-evident. They are a legacy. And legacies can be lost.

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Part 1: Culture Is Downstream from Religion

Some say politics is downstream from culture. I want to go further: culture is downstream from religion.

It matters which religion we follow. Consider marriage. Nations with a Muslim heritage permit polygamy. Nations with a Biblical heritage reject it. Some nations—like India or Lebanon—allow polygamy for Muslims but prohibit it for Christians. This is not a trivial distinction. The choice between monogamy and polygamy shapes family culture, the rights of women, and the welfare of children. And the difference comes directly from religion.

The World Values Survey confirms this. It maps cultural values along two dimensions: traditional versus secular-rational, and survival versus self-expression. The results show that nations cluster along religious lines: Protestant, Confucian, Catholic, Christian Orthodox, Islamic. Religion does not determine everything, but it accounts for a great deal.

The cultural difference between, say, Norway and Saudi Arabia is largely because Norway has a Protestant Lutheran heritage and Saudi Arabia has an Islamic heritage.

Part 2: The Biblical Values That Shaped the West

In a presentation at the 2025 Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) Conference in London, Ayaan Hirsi Ali spoke about the West’s “transcendental story”—the narrative that gave rise to its institutions and values. That story comes from the Bible.

Let me outline ten key Biblical teachings that have shaped Western civilization:

1. Human Sinfulness

The Bible teaches that “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being” (Solzhenitsyn). This doctrine informed the limitation of state power. It led to checks and balances to prevent tyranny. It was a Christian leader—Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton—who drafted the Magna Carta.

2. Created in God’s Image

Genesis 1:27 declares: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This teaching underpins human dignity. It has influenced Western cultures to believe that all people are of equal worth and should be treated equally before the law.

3. Accountability to a Higher Moral Law

The Bible teaches that rulers and citizens are accountable to God (Psalm 22:28; Romans 13:1-7). This implies that governments should act justly and should not overreach into areas of conscience.

4. Loyalty to the State Without Compromising Faith

Jeremiah urged the Jewish exiles to seek the welfare of the cities where they lived. Paul taught obedience to rulers. Jesus said, “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21), establishing that a believer can be loyal to both within limits.

5. Love for Neighbor—Including Outsiders

Leviticus 19:18 commanded love for neighbor. Significantly, it specifically included foreigners: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself” (Leviticus 19:33–34).

6. Love for Enemies—and the Distinction Between Person and Idea

Jesus took love further: “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). This teaching implies a distinction between ideas and the people who hold them—a key part of the Western tradition. Salman Rushdie recalled learning at Cambridge: “You never personalise, but you have absolutely no respect for people’s opinions.”

7. The Crucifixion: Moral Victory Over Force

The cross taught the West that it is more honourable to be a victim of abuse than to be an abuser. As Jesus said to Peter, “Put away your sword” (Matthew 26:52). This was radically different from ancient Roman values.

8. Reason and Faith in Harmony

The Bible holds reason and faith together. The individual conscience bears witness to truth (Romans 2:15). Truth about God can be deduced from creation (Romans 1:19-20). Jesus commanded love of God with the mind (Matthew 22:37). Believers are urged to “test all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

9. Individual Responsibility

The later prophets firmly rejected collective guilt and punishment. Jeremiah declared: “Everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge” (Jeremiah 31:29-30). Ezekiel reinforced this (Ezekiel 18).

10. Truth-Telling

Jesus declared, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Paul urged believers to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Truth-telling, even when costly, is a Biblical value.

Part 3: When Values Are Lost

If culture is downstream from religion, then when we lose a religious doctrine, we will likely lose the values it taught. We are already seeing this.

Consider the separation of powers. This arose from the Biblical doctrine of human sinfulness. Today, that separation is being eroded in Australia. We see public prosecutors and police pursuing political agendas. Why? One reason is that when people no longer believe in human sinfulness, the separation of powers makes less sense to them. They accrue power without qualms and lose sleep over the erosion of checks and balances.

Consider the distinction between a person and their ideas. Social media is flooded with personal attacks targeting individuals for what they have said. “Love your enemies” is, for many, a distant memory.

Part 4: The Competing Tradition—Islamic Values

Australia has embraced high immigration, multiculturalism, and religious pluralism. This begs the question: Which religion will shape our national culture going forward?

The past 60 years of Muslim migration into Western lands have taught us that Islam’s utopian vision of a sharia-compliant society is resilient. Some Muslims adopt Western values (which, at their base, are Biblical). Others see the world through the ethical grid of sharia and hope to establish it—first for their community, then for the nation. Words to this effect have been expressed by Muslim preachers in the West.

Let me compare the ten Biblical values I outlined with their Islamic counterparts:

1. Human Nature

Biblical: Humans are inherently sinful; power must be checked.
Islamic: Humans are born innocent (fitra). Islam concentrates all power in one office, following Muhammad (king, high priest, chief justice, general). Islamic cultures do not separate powers.

2. Human Dignity and Equality

Biblical: All humans are made in God’s image; equal before the law.
Islamic: Humans share no likeness to God. Sharia ranks Muslims above non-Muslims, men above women. A non-Muslim’s testimony is generally invalid against a Muslim’s; a woman’s testimony is worth half a man’s.

3. Authority and Conscience

Biblical: Rulers are accountable to God; freedom of conscience is protected.
Islamic: No distinction between divine and earthly authority. Islamic law does not recognise freedom of conscience. Some Muslims reject democracy because it is “rule of people” not “rule of God.”

4. Loyalty to Non-Muslim State

Biblical: Loyalty to the state is possible within limits (Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus).
Islamic: Whether Muslims can be loyal citizens of non-Muslim nations is contested and unresolved in Islamic jurisprudence.

5. Love for Outsiders

Biblical: Love your neighbor, including foreigners and enemies.
Islamic: Doctrine of al-walā’ wa-l-barā’ (loyalty to Muslims, disavowal of non-Muslims). Many Muslims believe they should prefer Muslims over non-Muslims.

6. Person vs. Idea

Biblical: Distinction between person and idea; “love your enemies.”
Islamic: Tendency not to distinguish. When the Islamic Council of Victoria launched a vilification complaint against Christian pastors, they argued that attacking Islam is attacking Muslims.

7. Violence and Power

Biblical: Crucifixion; “put away your sword.”
Islamic: Muhammad was a military leader. Qur’an teaches that persecution is worse than killing (2:191, 2:217) and commands fighting until persecution ceases (2:193, 8:39).

8. Reason and Revelation

Biblical: Reason and faith in harmony; truth can be tested.
Islamic: Scholar Ibn Naqib: “The mind is unable to know the rule of Allah… The measure of good and bad is the Sacred Law, not reason.” Truth can only be revealed.

9. Collective vs. Individual Guilt

Biblical: Individual responsibility; rejection of collective punishment (Jeremiah, Ezekiel).
Islamic: Collective culpability. We see this in radical Muslim groups blaming Australian Jews for the war in Gaza.

10. Truth-Telling

Biblical: Speak truth; confess sins to one another (James 5:16).
Islamic: Lying is a sin, but with exceptions. It is forbidden to confess hidden sin. Deception is permitted when vulnerable.

Part 5: What Is the Plan for Managing Religious Diversity?

One thing is clear: “We don’t do religion” is not an option. It is a strategy of the religiously illiterate and those in denial about what we face.

I am not saying “Islam bad, Christianity good.” Christianity has had its flaws, and Christians have done evil in the name of their faith. My point is about the role of religion in determining cultural values. It is about where our values come from.

If a nation embraces multiculturalism and religious pluralism, it has, by default, entered a competition of diverse values formed by religious traditions. If we want true unity—one law for all, equal rights for all, based on shared values—then we must ask: Which religion is to supply those values?

Our education ministers call for shared “Australian values” to be taught to our children. But which values? From which religion? Will it be polygamy or monogamy? Will our guide be Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha… or Peter Singer?

The way this contest progresses may be almost imperceptible. But it is happening.

Part 6: A Challenge to Our Leaders

In the face of contrasting Biblical and Islamic values, I say this to our leaders:

You have established a plurality of religions in this land.
If values are downstream from religion, what is your plan for managing the resulting diversity?
When will you wake up to this responsibility?
Which religion will determine our values?
How will you manage this competition?

These are not academic questions. They are about the future of our nation, the protection of the vulnerable, and the preservation of freedoms we have long taken for granted.

Conclusion: The Choice Before Us

Tom Holland titled his book Dominion because he recognised that the West was shaped by a story—a story of a crucified Saviour, of love for enemies, of the dignity of every human being made in God’s image. That story gave us our institutions, our freedoms, and our values.

That story is now contested. And those who do not understand where their values come from may not recognise them until they are gone.

We cannot afford to be religiously illiterate. We cannot pretend that all religions teach the same things or lead to the same outcomes. We must understand the differences—because the future of our civilisation depends on it.

This article is republished with thanks to Mark Durie. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of ODM Daily. We present this as a significant contribution to an ongoing conversation about faith, culture, and the future of the West.

Let’s Discuss:
Do you agree that culture is downstream from religion? How should Christians engage with the reality of religious pluralism while remaining faithful to their convictions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Biblical vs. Islamic Values: What is the Difference— And Why It Matters

Biblical vs. Islamic Values: What is the Difference—And Why It Matters for the Future of the West

Part 1: Culture Is Downstream from Religion