Arizona and Religion: 1912-2012 Quiz

Answer: It was declared a basilica.

Founded in 1881 as the first Roman Catholic Parish in Phoenix, St. Mary's Church was completed in 1914 and was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1978. In 1987, Pope John Paul II declared the church to be a basilica, making it the first basilica in Arizona. Basilicas are considered to have precedence over other churches and have the right to display certain items, such as the conopaeum, a veil or umbrella-like item that covers the altar or is at the entrance to the tabernacle.

St. Mary's is run by the Franciscans. The Franciscans were recognized by Pope Innocent III in 1209 after an appeal by St. Francis of Assissi. Although most Franciscans are Roman Catholics, there are several non-Catholic Franciscan orders.

Answer: Sikh

Balbir Singh Sodhi was a gas station owner who had been born in Punjab, India and had emigrated to the U.S. in 1989. He was shot by Frank Roque four days after September 11th, 2001 while Sodhi was working at his station; Roque had mistaken Sodhi for a Muslim. Prior to shooting Sodhi, Roque had tried to shoot a Lebanese-American man who was working at another gas station. Roque was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison due to mental illness.

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion dating back to the fifteenth century which developed in the Punjab region of India. The religion has over 20 million followers.

Answer: Padre Kino

The Padre Kino statue was dedicated on February 14, 1965, which was the 53rd anniversary of Arizona's statehood. It shows the Jesuit priest on horseback wearing his traditional Jesuit attire. Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino traveled throughout southern Arizona, mainly riding alone on horseback, as he brought Christianity to the native peoples. He was a renaissance man, with knowledge of math, astronomy and agriculture; he also mapped the areas he visited in Arizona, and the maps were used for over a century.

The Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order. They were recognized by Pope Paul III in 1540 with Saint Ignatius of Loyola elected as the first leader of the society (before his sainthood, of course). They are largely associated with education, operating many schools around the world.

Answer: The oldest synagogue in Arizona

The Stone Avenue Temple was built in 1910 and was the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory. The congregation moved to a new building in 1949, and the original building fell into disrepair. It was later restored and is now home to the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest. The building became part of Barrio Libre Historic District as designated by the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, being over 3,000 years old. Although both Christianity and Islam share their initial history with Judaism, Judaism teaches that the Messiah has not yet arrived.

Answer: Pope John Paul II

Phoenix was one of nine U.S. cities visited by Pope John Paul II, leader of the Roman Catholic faith, during his 1987 tour. He held a mass for 75,000 people at the Arizona State University stadium in the suburb of Phoenix, as well as giving a speech at the Phoenix Civic Center for which thousands of people crowded the streets of downtown Phoenix.

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in the world with over a billion followers. Catholics believe it to be the church founded by Jesus, with Peter being the first Pope.

Answer: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

When Utah pursued statehood in the late 1800s, one of the requirements was that the largely Mormon state outlaw polygamy. Several fundamentalist sects broke off from the main church to maintain their polygamous beliefs, and some of these groups settled in Arizona. Although polygamy is also illegal in Arizona, the government has had a difficult time breaking up the community since the residents aren't involved in bigamous relationships from a legal standpoint. Most arrests and convictions have instead focused on child abuse due to underage marriages.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, originated in the United States in the early 19th century under the leadership of Joseph Smith, Jr. The church follows Christianity but extends the religion to include American prophets. Although the church originally encouraged polygamy, the practice was renounced in the late 19th century. There are over 14 million Mormons worldwide.

Answer: Islam

Sources vary as to Hi Jolly's homeland, but most list either Jordan or Syria. He came to Arizona in the mid-19th century when the U.S. Army had decided to import camels to use in the southwestern deserts. The soldiers called him Hi Jolly since it was easier for them to remember than Hadji Ali, and the name stuck with him until he changed it to Philip Tedro after becoming an American citizen. He died in 1902, and in 1935, the pyramid monument with a golden camel on top was dedicated to him by Arizona governor Benjamin Moeur.

Islam emerged in the 7th century and follows the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Built on the foundation of Judaism and Christianity, Islam shares many of the same Old and New Testament characters but holds that Muhammad was the last prophet. The religion is one of the world's largest with over 1.5 billion followers.

Answer: It was built on a 250-foot-high spur on the side of a mountain.

Marguerite Bruswig Staude was responsible for the building of the chapel in 1956; she had the inspiration for it after viewing the Empire State Building soon after it was built and noticing at a certain angle, it appeared to have a cross within the structure. She searched for the perfect location to build a chapel in thanks for the blessings her family had received, and she decided upon Sedona after visiting and becoming enchanted with the area.

The chapel is maintained by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and Saint John Vianney Parish of Sedona. St. John, the patron saint of parish priests, was a French priest during the early to mid 1800s who gained thousands of converts as a parish priest. He was canonized in 1925.

Answer: Buddhism

The victims were six monks, a monk-in-training, a nun and her teenage relative. The motive for the murders, which comprised Arizona's largest mass murder at that time, appeared to be robbery, and two teenagers were convicted. Questionable police work, however, led to the convictions being overturned, and the suspects went on trial again over twenty years later.

The Wat Promkunaram Temple had been established in 1983 by Thai monks who practiced Theravada Buddhism. Over 100 million people worldwide follow this school of Buddhism, which is the oldest of the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism follows the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha, which emphasizes enduring suffering to reach enlightenment through a series of rebirths.

Answer: It's non-denominational

The small chapel was built by Dr. and Mrs. Watson Lacy as a place of contemplation. The original building burned down due to a campfire but was rebuilt in 1999. The very small and primitive building (it seats about 15 people and has no air conditioning or bathrooms) is located along the road between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. The chapel is popular for weddings, but at an elevation of 8,000 feet, it can be unreachable due to snowfall during winter so summer weddings are advisable.

Although the chapel was named for a passage in Mathew 3:16 and is maintained by a local church in Flagstaff, the chapel is not associated with any particular religion. All are welcome to visit, pray and meditate in the unlocked building.