Major World Religions

Question 1

What is Christianity ‘s followers and symbol is?

Answer 1

• Christians
• The most important symbol for the Christian faith is the cross.
• It represents the death and return to life of Jesus Christ.

Question 2

What is Islam ‘s followers and symbol is?

Answer 2

• Muslims
• The symbol is the crescent moon and 5-pointed star.
• It represents the Muslim faith.

Question 3

What is Hinduism ‘s followers and symbol is?

Answer 3

• Hindus
• The symbol is the ‘Aum’, representing the sacred sound Hindus make when meditating.

Question 4

What is Buddhism ‘s followers and symbol is?

Answer 4

• Buddhists
  -The symbol being the ‘Dharma Wheel’ (the ‘Wheel of Transformation’)

Question 5

What is Judaism ‘s followers and symbol is?

Answer 5

• Jews
• The symbol used to represent Judaism is the ‘Star of David’, named after king David.
• The star has 6 points and is formed from 2 triangles, 1 pointing upwards and the other downwards.

Question 6

Who is the founder of Christianity and when did it begin?

Answer 6

-Jesus Christ
-Mid-first century CE

Question 7

Who is the founder of Islam and when did it begin?

Answer 7

-Muhammad
-Early 17th century CE

Question 8

Who is the founder of Hinduism and when did it begin?

Answer 8

-Unknown
-2500-1800 BCE

Question 9

Who is the founder of Buddhism and when did it begin?

Answer 9

-Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha)
-Around 500 BCE

Question 10

Who is the founder of Judaism and when did it begin?

Answer 10

-Abraham and Moses
-1800-1500 BCE

Question 11

What is the Sacred Text for Christianity?

Answer 11

-The Bibble

-Contains many different books, books divided into chapters and chapters into verses.
-It’s divided into 2 parts,
the Old Testament (books written before the life of Jesus)
the New Testament (books written after the life of Jesus)

Question 12

What is the Sacred Text for Jews?

Answer 12

-The Tanakh

-Written in Hebrew.
-Divided into 3 parts:
The Torah (the Law)
The Nevi’im (the prophets)
The Ketuvim (the writings)
-Copy of the Torah is always kept in the synagogue

Question 13

What is the Sacred Text for Hindus?

Answer 13

-The Vedas and the Bhagavad

-The words of the sacred texts were passed on by word of mouth before being written down.
-The Vedas are divided into 4 parts.

Question 14

What is the Sacred Text for Buddhist?

Answer 14

-The Tripitaka

-Tri (means 3) pitaka (means baskets)
-The Vinaya Pitaka: Contains rules that must be followed by Buddhist monks and nuns
-The Sutra Pitaka: Contains stories and teachings from the life of the Buddha, includes ‘Four Noble Truths and the Middle Way’.

Question 15

What is the Sacred Text for Muslims?

Answer 15

-The Qur’an

-It was passed on by word of mouth before written Arabic. Qur’an is the word of Allah that was revealed to Muhammad.
- Allah is the word for God in Arabic.
-Qur’an divided 114 chapters called surah

Question 16

What is the Hindu sacred building called and where can it be found?

Answer 16

-Mandir
-It can be found on on a shikhara (steep/tower that represents a high mountain to be close to the Divine.
-It is normally facing the rising sun

Question 17

What is the Judaism sacred building called?

Answer 17

-Synagogue
-God is not represented as a statue/art form as it is a sin
-The synagogue’s most important feature is the ark=contains the Torah

Question 18

What is the Buddhism sacred building called?

Answer 18

-Vihara or Temple
-It is a monastery as well as temple.
-Stupa is a temple/shrine that contains a relic of the Buddha/holy person

Question 19

What is the sacred Christian building called?

Answer 19

-Church
-Christians pay mainly on Sunday as it is a holy day of rest.
-The symbol found commonly are a cross

Question 20

What is the Islam sacred building called?

Answer 20

-Mosque
-There is a large tower outside the mosque called “minaret” where they pray