religions quiz

Today we had a quiz on five major religions. The five major religions were Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. I think I did pretty well if I were to give myself a grade I would probably give myself an 87%. The quiz covered
Christianity

number of adherents: around 2.2 billion (largest in the world)

call them: Christians

geographic location: Europe, the Americas, southern Africa

denominations: Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, many more)

founder: Jesus Christ (Christianity is Abrahamic in origin)

holy book: The Bible, especially the New Testament (gospels)

beliefs: Jesus is both human and divine - the Son of God; 

he led a virtuous life; he was crucified, died, buried, and resurrected;

he ascended into heaven where he reigns w/God the Father 

clergy: the Pope is head of the Catholic Church, priests are local authorities

Islam

number of adherents: 1.5 billion (second largest)

call them: Muslims

geographic location: Indonesia, Middle East, north Africa

denominations: Sunnis (75 - 90%), Shiites (10 - 20%)

founder: Muhammad  (570 - 632)

holy book: Qur’an (Koran)

beliefs: monotheistic, Abrahamic

Five Pillars (testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, pilgrimage)

Muslims see their purpose in life as serving and submitting to Allah (God), and observing Islamic law
Hinduism 

number of adherents: 1.1 billion (third largest)

call them: Hindus

geographic location: India, Nepal

holy book: the Vedas - eternal truths revealed to ancient sages; composed in verse form (meant to be sung and easily memorized)

founder: no distinct founder - it is a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, strict set of beliefs - probably the oldest extant religion, although Hinduism is less a religion than a way of life, or a faith

Buddhism

number of adherents: 500 mill. to 1.5 billion (estimates vary quite a bit, don’t they?)

call them: Buddhists

geographic location: southeast Asia, China, Nepal, Japan

(there are 1.2 million Buddhists in the United States)

founder: Siddhartha Gautama

denominations:

Tibetan

Zen

Theravada

Amidist

Four Noble Truths

1. There is suffering
2. Attachment to desire is the origin of suffering
3. There is a cessation of suffering

The Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering

The Eightfold Path

Right view

Right intention

Right speech

Right action

Right livelihood

Right effort

Right mindfulness

Right dedication

Judaism

number of adherents: 14 - 18 million (ninth)

call them: Jews

geographic location: 

• Israel (6.4 million, 75.4%)
• US (5.3 - 7 million, 1.7% - 2.6%)

founder: Abraham

holy book: 

The Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament:    Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

beliefs: ethical monotheism - God is one, and concerned with the actions of humankind

Ten Commandments

13 Principles of Faith