What Do You Know About Major World Faiths? Quiz

Answer: False

In fact, the Eastern Orthodox Church does not believe that. It was one of the reasons the so-called "schism" (division) occurred between the Eastern and the Western branches of Christianity. The Nicene Creed (a confession of faith, 325 CE) originally stated that "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father". Later the Catholic church expanded it to include "...and the Son", which the Eastern Church refused (and still refuses) to accept.

This is probably why Eastern Orthodox Christians revere God more than Jesus, in contrast to Catholics and Protestants.

Answer: grace

This concept states that since Jesus sacrificed himself to atone for our sins, we do not have to do anything to deserve favors from God. Forgiveness of sin is freely given, it does not have to be earned.

Answer: Because, according to the traditional belief, only the Messiah shall lead the Jews back to their homeland.

Zionism, the 19th-century Jewish movement to win back the homeland, was started by one Theodore Herzl and initially rejected by both Orthodox and Reform Jews. The former thought it denied the Messiah, as explained above; the latter saw it as being contrary to universalism, the idea of all people's equality before God.

In fact, it took the horrible Nazi crimes to turn the tide. However, some Fundamentalist Jews still cling to the original Orthodox view.

Answer: "I Am What I Am."

"Moses said to God, 'Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?" Then what shall I tell them?'
"God said to Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM.'" (Exodus 3:13-14 NIV)
"YHWH" can be translated from Hebrew as "I Am", "He Who Is", "The Eternal One" and so on. This is the closest to a name Jews have for God. In fact, many Jews don't even write the word "God" in English, preferring "G-d," since the title is considered too holy.

Answer: a place of pilgrimage

Sikhs have no pilgrimage; Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, taught that God was to be found everywhere. The Golden Temple, also known as "Darbar Sahib" ("the Court of the Lord"), is both a functioning place of worship and a museum of Sikh culture, and it is indeed situated in the middle of a man-made lake known as "the Pool".

Answer: It's a new script invented by one of the Gurus.

The second guru, Guru Angad, invented this script to give Sikhs their own identity. Sikh priests have to learn Gurmukhi so they can read the Guru Granth Sahib. The language, however, is Punjabi.

Answer: False

In fact, only priests and members of certain groups, such as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, are obligated to abstain from meat, though vegetarianism is encouraged. Eating beef, however, is prohibited in Hinduism, since cows are seen as sacred animals.

Answer: Losing one's first baby tooth.

There are fourteen samskaras altogether in a Hindu's life.

Answer: Non-attachment.

The Buddha taught that all life consisted of suffering borne of craving, so one should practice cessation of craving in order to eliminate suffering. The fourth noble truth is the Middle Way - that is, avoidance of both luxury and asceticism. "Non-attachment" to all things material is not one of the Noble Truths, but it is a Buddhist's goal. "As cool water allays feverish heat, so also nirvana removes the craving for sensuous enjoyments, the craving for further becoming, the cessation of becoming" (The Pali Canon).

Answer: No

The Buddha spoke of the Noble Eightfold Path, whereby a person should, among other things, practice "right mindfulness" - live in reality and be aware of the people around him/her.

Answer: Adam, Abraham and Jesus.

Muslims believe that all of them were prophets of Islam and that Jesus was not Son of God, as is believed by Christians. Muhammad, however, was the last prophet.

Answer: Yes

"It is a duty to God incumbent on those who can, to make the pilgrimage to the House" (Sura 3:97). The Ka'aba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is a holy place for Muslims as it is believed to be the first house of God built by Adam himself.

Answer: they do not want to muddy it for someone downstream.

Purity is a key concept in Zoroastrianism, and its adherents take water by the jug and wash elsewhere. Fire is indeed revered, but there are no taboos against water per se. There is no such thing as "water spirits" in Zoroastrianism, and neither are there any sins associated with nakedness.

Answer: True

The prophet Zarathustra (or Zoroaster in Greek) spoke of "the victorious Saoshyant", a savior figure who is to come at the end of times. "The dead shall rise again and the living shall be visited by immortality" (Yasht 19:90). Some scholars believe Zoroastrianism influenced early Judaism, since these ideas emerged relatively late among Jews and are not in the Torah.

Answer: Confucius

The usual list includes Adam, Abraham, the Buddha, Krishna, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'u'llah (the latter two being the founders of Baha'i). Some Baha'is exclude Krishna and the Buddha, naming Noah and Zarathustra or two Arabian prophets instead. Confucius is never mentioned - rather understandably, since he did not preach any religion.

Answer: A common cuisine.

Baha'is attend UN summits and participate actively in education and development programs worldwide. They are indeed urging all the abovementioned things, including a world government to foster the necessary changes. They believe it will lead to world peace.

Answer: True

Confucianism, while not strictly a religion, does not reject any beliefs in the supernatural and has been very influential in China, once serving as official state ideology. Social harmony was paramount to Confucius, and he believed it to have an almost magical influence on the environment. (Interestingly, Taoism states the exact opposite.)

Answer: People should respect animals.

He didn't say anything about animals. Being a loyal citizen, he nevertheless stated that only a person who practiced "jen" (the righteousness within) and "li" (social etiquette) could be called a true nobleman, thus challenging corrupt rulers. His follower Mencius developed the idea further, arguing that it was the duty of the people to overthrow a corrupt emperor - something Confucius would not have dared openly suggest.

Answer: Do not gossip.

The other two are "Do not steal" and "Do not kill". There are also Seven Virtues in Taoism, one of which is kindness to all creatures, which could be interpreted as prohibiting gossip since it harms people. "When people don't hurt each other, natural goodness spreads throughout the land" (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching).

Answer: False

On the contrary, it teaches "Wu-Wei", the principle of "non-action" and passivity. It means one must be content with what he/she has and only change what is easily changed.

Answer: There are no sacred scriptures in Shinto.

There are no sacred scriptures in Shinto. Nihongi and Konjiki are collections of legends and stories. The Analects are, of course, the collected sayings of Confucius.

Answer: No

The present rulers of Japan have renounced this claim, although some new religious movements based on Shinto still teach this.

Answer: avoid hurting airborne life

Jains believe that everything is alive, and since hurting any living thing is prohibited, monks wear cloths so as not to hurt airborne life, and also sweep the ground before them to avoid hurting insects. In addition, they do not wash, since it hurts microbes. Laypeople do not follow such stringent rules, though they are strictly vegetarian.

Answer: Commerce.

According to Jainism, agriculture hurts the earth and animals that live in it; crafts cause horrible suffering of metals, stone, and earth. Therefore, most lay Jains tend to work in commerce. They have done very well for themselves over the centuries and are quite influential in present-day India, despite their relative fewness.

Answer: Hinduism

"Monolatry" means worshipping one God while believing in many; Hindus have a concept of "ishta devata" ("the chosen deity"), whereby a person may choose only one of the many gods as the object of worship. Shinto and Taoism, while polytheistic, make no provisions for monolatry. Christianity is monotheistic (there is only one God), so monolatry does not apply.