Introduction to World Religion Quiz

Answer: Catholic

A denomination, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "a body of people classed together under the one name: [specifically] a religious sect or body with distinctive name and organization." Many religions have denominations, but the term is most commonly used in Protestant Christianity. Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist all refer to denominations of Protestant Christianity, which first separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.

Interestingly, all three of these groups separated from Catholicism in unique ways.

Answer: All are prophets

Islam accepts the prophecies of Jesus and Moses, as well as other Christian and Jewish religious figures. However, in Islam, Muhammad is the Prophet who spoke the ultimate truth in the Koran.

Answer: Zen

Zen Buddhism is perhaps the most well known sect of Japanese Buddhism in the West, and Soto and Renzai are sects of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is known for its use of seated meditation and the koan.

Answer: kafei

Yin is often interpreted to mean the feminine, or passive, side of nature, while yang represents the masculine and unyielding. They are brought together in the yin-yang symbol with yin being the dark and yang, the light. Each has a speck of one within the other, as they are inseparable. Wu wei is the Taoist concept of "non-action" or "not forcing things." Kafei is Mandarin for coffee.

Answer: Yom Kippur

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Hanukkah commemorates a siege during the Maccabean Revolt. Pesach is the Passover celebration.

Answer: karma

According to world religion scholar Huston Smith, moksha is the "liberation from everything that distances us from infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite bliss." Ganesh is a Hindu deity. Yoga is a practice that includes exercise and mental/spiritual training.

Answer: spirit or deity

An Orisha or Orisa is a spirit or deity in many African and African-based religions that may act as an intermediary with the Supreme Being. The term comes from the West African language of Yoruba.

Answer: lama

The 14th Dalai Lama is the current spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but there are other offices of lama in Tibetan Buddhism.

Answer: prayer

The holy Eucharist is the ritual replication of the Last Supper in which the wine and bread become the body and blood of Christ. Penance relates to confession. Last rites deals with death and dying. These are three of the seven sacraments recognized in the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer: maxims and anecdotes

Confucius lived in the fifth and sixth centuries BC and generally wrote brief maxims or proverbs. He is the most influential philosopher in Chinese history.