Religious Leaders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joseph Ratzinger

The Bishop of Rome is the official name of the Pope, head of the Roman Catholic church and German Joseph Ratzinger was given the position in 2005, following the death of John Paul II. Ratzinger took the papal name of Benedict XVI and became the oldest person to have been elected pope since Clement XII in 1730. In 2013, he became the first pope to resign the position on his own initiative since Celestine V in 1294, specifyng a "lack of strength of mind and body" due to his advanced age as his reason. During his reign, he was determined to foster relations and understanding between religions, and addressed the first Catholic-Muslim Forum, a three-day conference of Catholic theologians and Islamic scholars.

Answer: George Carey

While the Supreme Governor of the Church of England is the British monarch, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the title bestowed upon the religious leader. George Carey held the title between 1991 and 2002 and his tenure saw the first women priests ordained in the Church of England. Carey attracted much negative press for his continued opposition to same sex partnerships while he was Archbishop of Canterbury, although since his retirement has said he is tolerant of homosexual partnerships but opposed to gay marriage.

In 2006, Carey stated the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, USA verged on heresy due to Bishop Robinson being gay and in a long-term relationship.

Answer: Tenzin Gyatso

Within Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, and considered a living buddha. The first Dalai Lama was Gendun Drup, who was appraised posthumously to be the first Dalai Lama. The third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (1543-1588) was the first person on whom the title was bestowed while living. Tenzin Gyatso, born in 1935 became the 14th Dalai Lama aged five in 1940, assuming full duties in 1950, aged 15.

He has been in exile in India since the Tibetan Uprising of 1959, but continues, during his exile, to negotiate with the Chinese government for the autonomy of Tibet and the protection of Tibetan culture.

Answer: Dimitrios Arhondonis

Dimitrios Arhondonis was born in 1940 and in 1991 was elected 270th archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and ecumenical patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since he assumed the position, the church has held dialogue with other religious groups, including Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim leaders, as well as attending the Papal inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013, the first time that the spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Christians had attended a papal inauguration since the two groups split in 1054. He has also earned the nickname "The Green Patriarch" due to his support for many environmental causes and in 2002, was awarded the Sophie Prize for his contribution to environmentalism.

Answer: Heber J. Grant

Heber J. Grant became the seventh president of the LDS church, often referred to as the Mormon church, in 1918 and served until his death in 1945. He was the first president born in what is now the Mormon stronghold state of Utah and the last church president to practice polygamy, having three wives.

He first married in 1877, and then twice in 1884, although by the time he became president, only his second wife, Augusta was still living. While president he outlawed polygamy within the church and oversaw the building of the first church temple outside USA, in Cardston, Alberta, Canada.

Answer: David Miscavige

The Church of Scientology was founded in 1953 by science fiction and fantasy author, L. Ron Hubbard. When Hubbard died in 1986, his deputy, David Miscavige became Chairman of the Board in 1987. Miscavige's family had joined the church in 1971, when Miscavige was 11 years old.

As a family, they moved to England, to the church's world headquarters in Saint Hill Manor, West Sussex. Even at such a young age, Miscavige was highly thought of and rose through the ranks. The family returned to USA and Miscavige attended high school in Florida, until his 16th birthday, when he left to devote his life to the Church of Scientology.

The church has attracted a lot of negative publicity under Miscavige's leadership, yet membership figures remain high, being estimated at anywhere between eight and 15 million worldwide.

Answer: Rael

Rael was born Claude Vorilhon in France in 1946, and was a teenage pop star in France under the name Claude Celler, having a minor hit in 1967 with "Le miel et la cannelle" (Honey and Cinnamon). Following his music career, he became a sports car journalist and in 1971, started a magazine on the subject called "Autopop". His life, and that of thousands of people around the world changed in 1973, when he was visited by aliens, who passed on a message with the instruction that he should tell the world.

In 1974, Vorilhon changed his name to Rael and thus began Raelism and International Raelian Movement which claims tens of thousands of members worldwide. In 1975, aliens visited Rael again and took him to another planet where he was given further enlightenment during a meal with Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. There are six levels to to hierarchical structure of Raelism, with Rael himself at the top as Guide of Guides, above levels of Bishop Guides and Priest Guides.

Answer: Gad al-Haq

The Grand Imam of al-Azhar, is seen by many Muslims as the highest authority in Sunni Islam. Gad al-Haq was born in 1917 and appointed The Grand Imam of al-Azhar in 1982, serving in the role until his death in 1996. During his tenure he worked hard at inter faith relationships, collaborating with the Vatican on the subject of abortion and was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in 1995 for his efforts to foster ties between Muslim communities throughout the world.

Answer: Peter H. Gilmore

The Church of Satan was established in 1966 by Anton LaVey, in San Francisco, California. Following LaVey's death in 1997, his partner Blanche Barton became High Priestess and in 2001, she relinquished leadership of the church to Gilmore and High Priestess, Peggy Nadramia, who is also his wife.

Under Gilmore's leadership the headquarters of the church has moved from San Francisco to Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City where it continues to attract members. Gilmore has published several books on the subject, including "The Satanic Scriptures" (2007) which details rituals that were previously only known to the priesthood, such as those for marriages and burials.

Answer: Jan Paulsen

The Seventh-day Adventist Church originated in 1863 in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA, with John Byington being the first president. Jan Paulsen was the 19th president, serving between 1999 and 2010, becoming just the third non-American to hold the position. During his time as president, he launched the "Go One Million" initiative, with the intention of recruiting, training, and equipping 1 million Seventh-day Adventist lay people for evangelism.

He also launched the "Sow One Billion" campaign, which challenged church members and leaders to invite one billion people around the world to study the Bible.