How Many Gods? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity

Jews, Muslims, and Christians are referred to as "people of the book" because all three religions "came out of" the Bible, so to speak. Tradition identifies the Jews as the descendants of Isaac and the Muslims as descendants of his half-brother Ishmael.

Answer: Buddhism

Belief in gods is permitted in Buddhism, and many Buddhists worship multiple gods. However, Buddhism does not require belief in gods, and, in fact, the Buddha taught that it was not particularly useful to believe in gods when seeking enlightenment. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to find Buddhists praying to and worshiping both the Buddha and numerous other divinities.

However, there are also atheistic Buddhists. Traditionally, Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic religions, and Hinduism is polytheistic.

Answer: Christianity

Most Christians, though monotheists, understand God to be three distinct persons: the Father, generally associated with Yahweh, the God of the Jews; the Son, or Jesus Christ, the Messiah; and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity encapsulates this perspective.

A difference in perspective as to whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, or just the Father, contributed to the division between the East and the West. While the Western church added filoque ("from the Son") to its creed in 589, the Eastern church denounced its inclusion.

There are non-Trinitarian versions of Christianity, but these are in the minority and would not fall under the umbrella of "orthodox" Christianity.

Answer: Unitarianism

Unitarians reject the doctrine of the Trinity and maintain that God is only one person. Unitarianism grew out of Christianity but rejects many of the central doctrines of orthodox Christianity. Unitarians do not accept the divinity of Jesus. There are Unitarian faiths that do accept the divinity of Jesus, however, while yet maintaining that God is only one person, including Oneness Pentecostalism and the United Pentecostal Church International.

Answer: Ditheism

Moral dualism is a belief in the conflict (or complement) between good and evil, positive and negative, or benevolent and malevolent forces. It can exist within a monotheistic system and does not necessarily imply belief in two (or any) gods. "Ditheism," "duotheism," or "bitheism" are all terms used to refer to belief in two gods.

Answer: Hinduism

A prominent Hindu, Sri Ramakrishnah, once wrote that there could exist "as many Hindu Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees," and it is commonly said that Hinduism is a religion of 330 million gods.

However, this number is symbolic, and certainly not precise, and Hindu belief systems can range from monotheistic to polytheistic.

Answer: Taoism

Different Taoist deities are worshipped in temples by various sects. Yu-huang, knows as the Jade Emperor, is the great high god and all other deities report to him.

Answer: Shintoism

The kami are viewed as typically benign beings that sustain and protect the people.

Answer: Sikhism

A primary tenant of Sikh belief is "Ik Onkar," or "one God." Though God is described by many different names throughout Sikh writings and hymns, the oneness of God is emphasized. While Buddhism and Hinduism may contain some monotheistic strains, they are not generally known as monotheistic religions. Pagans are typically polytheistic.

Answer: 10

While Judaism teaches that there is only one God, Kabbalah discussed the many "emanations" or life-forces (powers, radiances, eluminces, etc.) that come from God. These are referred to as the "ten sefirot" and include crown, understanding, wisdom, knowledge, might, loving-kindness, beauty, acknowledgment, victory, foundation, and kingdom.