Marry You Quiz | Religion Mixture

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Is pure joy possible in this world, and in this day and age? This religion teaches that it isn't, and so a couple getting married will temper their joy with sorrow by breaking a wineglass at the climax of the ceremony. What faith is this?

Answer: Judaism

The timing varies, but at a high point of the wedding -- maybe just after the benedictions, or maybe at the very end of the ceremony -- the groom will step on a wineglass, breaking it against the tile it sits on. (Some couples substitute a light bulb, which is more fragile. This can be a wise choice: I was once at a wedding where the tile broke before the glass did!)

The custom makes a general point about the transience of joy, but also a specific one: it reminds those present of a very great sorrow, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem nearly two thousand years ago. It is impossible to overstate that building's importance in Judaism; many rites described in the Bible cannot be performed in the Temple's absence.

2. Most Buddhists consider marriage to be a secular matter; it isn't a religious sacrament, as it is in many other faiths. However, it's always appropriate to cite religious guidance in a wedding ceremony. If a Buddhist couple derives their vows from the Digha Nikaya, a collection of sayings and sermons from the Pali canon, to what school of Buddhism do they likely belong?

Answer: Theravada

It's popular for Theravada Buddhists to adapt their vows from the Sigalovada Sutta, a part of the Digha Nikaya. In this text, Buddha explains the duties of a householder - an ordinary layperson - to a young man he encounters on a walk. These duties include avoiding evil acts and deeds; valuing friendships; and taking one's place in the societal web of relationships and obligations.

The groom vows, among other things, "to love and respect" his wife; the bride vows hospitality, love and conscientiousness.

It's considered best to go to a temple after a civil ceremony, to obtain a proper blessing from the monks there, but do-it-yourself vows from the Sigalovada Sutta will start the marriage off on the right foot.

3. Wedding ceremonies typically involve vows: solemn promises that the couple makes to each other, to society, and to the divine. Films and television shows have helped standardize one form of these vows, in which each person promises to take the other as a spouse, "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part..." In what Christian book did these vows originate?

Answer: The Book of Common Prayer

"The Book of Common Prayer" was first published in England in 1549, codifying the rituals and prayers of the fledgling Anglican Church. Since Anglicanism was the state religion, the language of this prayerbook became a standard of the English-speaking world. Today, the slightly archaic wording of the vows adds to their apparent solemnity, and they are widely used even among people who don't belong to the Anglican communion. With a few changes, that is: fewer and fewer modern brides vow to "obey" their new husbands.

4. When a Muslim couple gets married, the groom is supposed to provide his bride with something called a mahr. Which of these best describes a mahr?

Answer: Money or another tangible asset

In many cultures, a wedding is accompanied by a transfer of assets. A woman might bring a dowry to her husband; a man might pay a bride price to his wife's family. The mahr goes directly from husband to wife, and she is still entitled to it even if the marriage ends in divorce or in her husband's death. Cash is a popular choice for the mahr, but it might be as humble as an iron ring or as expansive as a business, depending on the couple's situation.

Whatever else the mahr is, it must not be begrudged: "give the women their mahr with a good heart," the Quran admonishes (4:4).

5. Zoroastrian weddings are filled with symbolism. Relatives might rub rock-sugar cones together to symbolize hopes for a life of sweetness; the families of the happy couple might plant saplings to represent fertility. At what time of day are Indian Zoroastrian weddings usually performed?

Answer: Soon after sunset

This timing is a symbol of tradition, history, and the keeping of vows. When the Sassanid Empire, centered in what is now Iran, fell in the mid-seventh century, many Zoroastrians fled to what is now the Indian state of Gujarat. According to legend, they were welcomed under a few conditions, which included the requirement that weddings be held in the evenings - matching the existing local customs. Indian Zoroastrians, or Parsis, have honored this tradition ever since.

Of course, the wedding itself may be held in the evening, but the celebrations stretch for days; in fact, the wedding is traditionally performed on the fourth day of the party!

6. Pagan and Wiccan couples often solemnize marriages and betrothals in outdoor ceremonies, performed by a priestess and priest or by the couple themselves. The name for these rituals is taken from the common practice of binding together the couple's clasped hands, symbolizing their union. So tell me: what is the name for this kind of wedding?

Answer: Handfasting

To bind two things together is to make them fast: hence, handfasting. Of course, in many modern handfastings, nothing is actually tied: instead, a ribbon, rope or cloth is loosely wrapped around the couple's hands, symbolizing that the two are bound together because they wish to be.

A handfasting might be for any length of time, but "a year and a day," "as long as love shall last," and "a lifetime" are all popular choices.

7. At a Sikh wedding ceremony, the happy couple makes four circuits around the Guru Granth Sahib, while four sacred hymns are sung. Who or what is the Guru Granth Sahib?

Answer: The Sikh holy book

The bride and groom make each circuit together, their wrists loosely tied together with cloth. Each wedding hymn, or laav, describes a part of the journey the couple are making toward the divine, and lays out what they are to do in their marriage and in their lives. The fundamental theme is that the newlyweds must place God at the center of their lives, and their circuits of the Guru Granth Sahib - the Sikh holy text, which is regarded as the religion's eleventh and final living Guru - underline the point.

The laava were written by Guru Ram Das, the fourth of Sikhism's ten human Gurus. The Guru Granth Sahib also has something to say about the meaning of a marriage: "[T]hey alone are called husband and wife, who share one soul in two bodies."

8. You'll see a chuppah at just about any Jewish wedding, although one chuppah may be very different from the next. Which of these is the best description of a modern chuppah?

Answer: A canopy

In medieval times, a chuppah was sometimes as simple as a bridal veil, or a prayer shawl draped over the couple. Nowadays, it's typically a canopy supported by four poles, standing in for the home the couple will make for themselves: apart from the hustle and bustle of the world, but still hospitable to others. The happy couple stands beneath the chuppah during the wedding ceremony; above the chuppah, there is often open sky.

The word "chuppah" appears a few times in the Tanakh, although the word's original meaning (was it a canopy? A veil? A chamber?) is now unclear. One of the loveliest mentions is in the fourth and fifth verses of Psalm 19: "In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chuppah, like a champion rejoicing to run his course."

9. The specifics of a Hindu wedding often vary from region to region. One near-universal feature, however, is an homage to the god Agni. In this ritual, the couple walks seven times around what object?

Answer: A fire

Though the details vary, each circuit around the fire expresses a particular hope or promise: a step toward prosperity, for example, or a promise to hold one's spouse above all others. For some steps, the bride announces their intentions and leads the groom in the circle; for others, the groom both announces and leads.

These trips around a sacred fire are meant to honor Agni, the Hindu fire god, and call down blessings upon hearth and home. Agni is usually considered a messenger between humans and the divine, making him a sound choice for the role.

10. In many faiths, readings from a holy book form a big part of a wedding ceremony. Sometimes, every wedding uses the same classics; sometimes, the couple chooses their favorites. The following quotation is from an extremely popular reading at weddings in which religious tradition? "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud ... It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Answer: Christianity

The reading is from the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, one of the books in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. (The question reproduces verses 4 and 7 in particular.) The book consists of a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in the city of Corinth.

In this chapter, he refers to the virtues of faith, hope, and love, famously concluding that "the greatest of these is love" (verse 13). Although Paul is speaking of ideal love in all its forms -- not just romantic love -- this aspirational litany is beautifully apt for a couple choosing to step into the future together.

Source: Author CellarDoor

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LeoDaVinci before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Marry You Trivia Quiz

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness weddings from different religious traditions. Can you answer ten trivia questions about these ceremonies? Speak now or forever hold your peace!

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>