WORLD RELIGIONS Fill in the blanks below with the correct word or name.
RELIGION BELIEVER
ADJECTIVE
FOUNDER NAME
OF GOD
HOLY
BOOK
BUILDING HOLY
PLACE
HOLY
DAY
HOLIDAY CUSTOM
TABOO
Christianity
a
----------------
Islam
a
---------------
Judaism
a
---------------
Buddhism
a
---------------
Hinduism
a
--------------
WORLD RELIGIONS CHART (sample answers)
RELIGION BELIEVER
ADJECTIVE
FOUNDER NAME
OF GOD
HOLY
BOOK
BUILDING HOLY
PLACE
HOLY
DAY
HOLIDAY CUSTOM
TABOO
Christianity
a Christian
----------------
Christian
Jesus
Christ God
the
Bible
a
church
Rome
Bethlehem
Jerusalem
Sunday
Christmas
Easter
Some
Christians
wear a cross
Islam
a Moslem
----------------
Moslem
Islamic
Mohammad Allah
the
Koran
a
mosque
Mecca
Medina
Jerusalem
Friday
Ramadan
the Hajj
They pray 5
times a day.
---------------
They don’t
eat pork or
drink alcohol
Judaism
a Jew
----------------
Jewish
Abraham Jehovah
the
Torah
a
synagogue Jerusalem Saturday
Hanukka
Passover
Yom
Kippur
Jewish food
must be
prepared in
kosher style
Buddhism
a Buddhist
----------------
Buddhist
Buddha -
the
sutras
a
temple Bodh Gaya -
Buddha’s
birthday
Buddhist
monks wear
orange robes
Hinduism
a Hindu
----------------
Hindu
the Aryans
Shiva
Vishnu
Brahma
Ram
Krishna...
the Vedas
Bhagavad
Gita
a
temple
the
Ganges
River
-
Divali
Hindus don’t
eat beef and
don’t kill
cows
WORLD RELIGIONS
Judaism 0.3% Buddhism 6%
Other
Hinduism 13%
Christianity
Islam 18%
33%
How do you say yudayakyo in English?
When was Buddhism founded?
Where was Hinduism founded?
Who founded Christianity ?
What do you call people who believe in Islam ?
What percent of the world’s people are Hindus ?
Where do most Jews live?
What is the holiest day for Moslems ?
What holidays do Christians celebrate?
Where do Buddhists worship?
What’s the Jewish holy book called?
What are the most important Hindu holy places?
Is Buddhism monotheistic or polytheistic?
According to Islam , what happens after death?
What are the main sects of Christianity ?
J U D A I S M
Judaism developed in the Middle East about 1500
B.C. Abraham is considered to be the founder.
Believers in Judaism are called Jews (or Jewish people).
Less than 1% of the world’s population (0.3%) are
Jewish - about 17 million people. They live in the
United States (40%), Israel (23%), Russia (14%) and
Europe (10%).
The holiest day of the week for Jewish people is
Saturday. Major holidays include the Jewish New Year
Rosh Ha-Shanah (September), Yom Kippur (October),
Hanukah (December) and Passover (March). Jews
worship in a synagogue and study the Torah, the Jewish
holy book. Jerusalem is the holiest place in Judaism.
Jews have only one god, called Jehovah, and believe
they are a “chosen” people. They believe in heaven and
hell. Two main sects of Judaism are Reform and
Orthodox. Strict Jews can’t eat pork or shellfish and are
only allowed to eat specially-prepared kosher food.
Men often wear a small cap called a kipah or yamulkah.
Jews are not allowed to do any kind of work on
Saturday.
C H R I S T I A N I T Y
Christianity was founded in the 1st century A.D. by
Jesus Christ. Believers in Christianity are called
Christians. There are now about 2 billion Christians,
about 33% of the world’s people, living all over the globe
(mainly in North America, Latin America and Europe).
Sunday is the Christian holy day. Christmas and Easter
are two major holidays. Christians worship in a church
and believe in a book called the Bible. The most
important Christian holy places are Rome, Bethlehem and
Jerusalem.
Christianity has only one god, called God. Christians
believe that after death people go to heaven or hell. The
main sects of Christianity are Catholic (southern Europe,
Latin America), Eastern Orthodox (Greece, Russia) and
Protestant (northern Europe). Christians have a number of
special customs. Catholics pray to Mary, Jesus’ mother,
and confess their sins to a priest. Christians often wear
crosses, make the sign of the cross and baptize babies
with holy water. In church, they take communion drinking
wine (Christ’s blood) and eating bread (Christ’s
body).
B U D D H I S M
Buddhism was founded in India in 525 B.C. by
Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama). People who believe in
Buddhism are known as Buddhists. 6% of the world’s
population are Buddhist, about 350 million. Almost all
Buddhists live in Asia (mostly South-East Asia and East
Asia).
There is no special holy day of the week in
Buddhism. The major Buddhist holiday is Buddha’s
birthday. Buddhists worship at home or in a temple. The
holy Buddhist writings are called sutras. Bodh Gaya in
India is a very holy place for Buddhists, since that is
where Buddha attained enlightenment sitting under a
tree.
Originally, there were no gods in Buddhism, but
people later made Buddha a God. Buddhists believe that
people who die are reborn. Two Buddhist sects are
Theravada (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia) and Mahayana (Tibet, China, Korea, Japan).
Buddhists in different countries have special customs.
In Thailand, for example, Buddhist priests wear orange
robes and beg for food each morning.
Christian
cross
The
Bible
star of
David
menorah
candle
stick
Buddhist
wheel of
law
Buddha
statue
I S L A M
Islam was founded in the Middle East in 622 A.D.
by Mohammad. Believers in Islam are called Moslems
(or Muslims). There are about 1 billion Moslems in the
world, about 18% of the world’s population. They live
mainly in North Africa, in Asia (e.g. China and
Indonesia) and in the Arab countries of the Middle East.
Friday is the Moslem holy day. Major holidays are
the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) and Ramadan (a
special month of daily fasting). Moslems worship in a
mosque and believe in a book called the Koran (also
spelled Quran). The holiest places in Islam are the cities
of Mecca and Medina (in Saudi Arabia) and Jerusalem.
Islam is a monotheistic religion. The Moslem god is
called Allah. Moslems believe that people go to either
heaven or hell after they die. Islam’s main sects are
Sunni (90%) and Shi’ite (Iran). Moslems have some
special customs. They’re not allowed to eat pork or
drink alcohol, and only eat specially-prepared halal
food. They pray 5 times a day, facing Mecca. Some
Moslem women wear veils and cover their bodies in
black robes.
H I N D U I S M
Hinduism originated in India in 1500 B.C. after the
arrival of a people known as the Aryans. There are more
than 750 million Hindus in the world, or about 13% of
all people. India is the home to almost all Hindus.
Hindus also live in places such as Nepal and in Bali,
Indonesia
Hindus have no one holy weekday. Diwali
(November), a festival of lights, is one of the main
Hindu holidays. Hindus can worship either at home or
in a temple. Holy Hindu books include the Vedas, the
Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita. One of the most
holy Hindu sites is the Ganges River in India.
Hinduism is polytheistic and has thousands of gods.
Three main Hindu gods are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Other gods include Ram, Kali and Krishna. Like
Buddhists, Hindus believe in rebirth. There are many
Hindu sects. Hindus have some special customs and
taboos. They don’t eat beef and never kill cows.
Women put a red dot on their forehead called a tilak.
People believe in karma (fate), astrology and the caste
system.
Q U I Z
(1) What religion are these people? (matching)
• Albert Einstein Christian?
(German scientist)
• Mohammad Ali Buddhist?
(American boxer)
• Gandhi Hindu?
(Indian leader)
• the Dalai Lama Jewish?
(Tibetan leader)
• Mother Teresa Moslem?
(Nobel Prize winner)
(2) What job did they do before becoming religious
leaders?
JESUS butcher
shepherd
carpenter
BUDDHA slave
prince
priest
MOHAMMAD businessman
beggar
farmer
(3) What religion is it?
(a) Alcohol and pork are taboo.
(b) They have an elephant god, Ganesh.
(c) People don’t do any work on Saturday.
(d) Monks often wear orange robes.
(e) They drink wine and eat bread in church.
(f) They pray five times a day, facing Mecca.
(g) They don’t eat shellfish.
(h) Women wear a red dot on the forehead.
(i) They often wear a cross on a necklace.
(j) They believe their religion is right.
RELIGION VOCABULARY
agnostic !"#$%
atheist &'$%
baptize ()
beggar** +,
believer**-%
butcher**./
carpenter* 01
confess* 23
fasting** 4,
founder* 56%
holy*** 789
karma/fate* :;
monotheistic <'=>
pilgrimage* ?)
polytheistic*@'=>
to pray* A9
priest** B
Protestant* C=
sect*** DE
shepherd* FGH
slave*** IJ
worship* )K
Islamic
crescent
and star
There is
no God
but Allah
Aum
symbol
Hindu
swastika