Leading Lights Trivia Quiz

Answer: Quaker

The Society of Friends (also known as the Quakers) was founded by English preacher and missionary, George Fox. He disagreed with church customs and believed that an individual's personal relationship with God was more important than rituals. Although he had a background in Puritanism, Fox was known for setting up the Quaker movement.

Answer: Judaism

Martin Buber was an early 20th century religious philosopher with a Jewish background. Buber was originally influenced by Jewish mysticism, but his ideas and philosophies developed over time. Much of his work focused on the relationship individuals have with God.

Answer: Haile Selassie

Marcus Garvey could be considered the founder of Rastafari. The religion grew from a prophecy he made in 1920: "Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer." When Ras Tafari Makonnen became the Emperor of Ethiopia (called Haile Selassie) in 1930, some of Garvey's followers believed that he was the God of the Black race. Haile Selassie, however, was not a follower of Rastafari and did not consider himself to be God.

Answer: Guru Nanak

Sikhism was influenced by Islam and Hinduism and was founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century. Sikhism is a monotheistic religion like Islam, but retained some elements of Hinduism, such as a belief in karma. "Guru" is a Sanskrit word meaning teacher and "Sikh" means disciple.

Answer: Assassination

Joseph Smith Jr was born in Vermont in 1805. At 14, he had an encounter with God who told him that all churches were wrong. The revelation drove Smith to create the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints. His ideas were controversial, however. In 1844, he was taken to a hearing concerning a charge for disturbing the peace. While there, Smith was shot and killed by a mob.

Answer: Zionist

Zionism began as a belief that Jews should have a national state in the ancient homeland of the Jews. While not all Zionists were religious, the idea that the nation should be located in Palestine was taken from Judaism. Zion was a hill in the Jewish city of Jerusalem.

Answer: Zarathustra

The name Zarathustra has slightly different variations depending on the language used. Zoroaster is Greek, Zarathusti is Persian and Zaratosht is Gurjarati. Zoroastrianism is thought to have begun around 1200 BCE, and was one of the earliest monotheistic religions. At 30 years old, Zarathustra had a vision that dramatically changed his world view.

Answer: Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a well-educated man. He became a monk and went on to study theology at university. In 1517, he formulated his famous "95 Theses" in response to contemporary Catholic teaching on penance. He also questioned the wealth of the church: "Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?"

Answer: Native American

The Native American Ghost Dance grew out of the visions and beliefs of prophet-dreamers like Wovoka. Wovoka, who had worked on ranches with Presbytarians and Mormons, claimed to have spoken to God in a dream. Wovoka taught that, by performing the Ghost Dance as he had been instructed, Native Americans could bring their ancestors back to life and get rid of the white settlers on their land.

Answer: H. J. Blackham

Thomas Aquinas was a medieval Christian thinker who later became a saint. Rumi was a poet with roots in Islam and Vallabha was the founder of a Hindu sect. H.J. Blackham was a leading British humanist during his life. Humanism is an atheistic world view that focuses on human experience. Humanists believe that moral codes develop from rational thinking and human experience; they are not revealed by a deity.