Memorize these and you could recognize 27.6% of all Religion clues.
| # | Answer | Appearances | Sample Clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buddhism | 40 | Soto & Rinzai are the 2 main schools of this form of Buddhism |
| 2 | Hinduism | 31 | To die at city of Benares ensures members of this religion a release from endless rebirths |
| 3 | Islam | 29 | Pakistan was established as a haven for members of this religion |
| 4 | Shinto | 26 | In Japanese the name of this religion is kami no michi, meaning "the way of the gods" |
| 5 | Judaism | 21 | Oldest surviving religion to teach belief in just one god |
| 6 | the Quakers | 15 | Some early followers of this religion founded in England in the 1600s called themselves the Friends of Truth |
| 7 | Sikhism | 14 | This religion was founded by Guru Nanak, a Hindu teacher |
| 8 | the Buddha | 13 | He was born to a noble family circa 563 B.C. in the region of the Indian-Nepalese border |
| 9 | Mecca | 11 | Holy city whose sites include the Well of Zem-Zem, Abraham's Footprint, & a Great Mosque |
| 10 | Hindu | 10 | Ganesha, a god of this religion, has a man's body & an elephant's head & rides on a rat |
| 11 | the Jehovah's Witnesses | 10 | You'll find the official website of this religious group at www.watchtower.org |
| 12 | The Koran | 9 | A good Muslim should be "tahara", or ritually pure, before praying or touching this sacred book |
| 13 | the Book of Mormon | 9 | 1st published in Palmyra, N.Y. in 1830, this book was reportedly translated from golden plates |
| 14 | Taoism | 9 | Chinese religion that teaches happiness & immortality, it has more deities than almost any other |
| 15 | Shintoism | 9 | About 8 million gods are worshiped in this Japanese religion |
| 16 | India | 8 | Few of this country's people are Buddhists, though Buddha spent most of his life there |
| 17 | baptism | 8 | This ceremony can be conducted by pouring, sprinkling or immersion |
| 18 | John Wesley | 8 | In 1743 this Anglican clergyman published his rules for the Methodist Societies |
| 19 | the Shakers | 8 | In the early 1800s, this sect was synonymous with the simple chairs & furniture they made |
| 20 | the Dalai Lama | 8 | The current holder of this religious title was born in China in 1935 & fled to exile in India in 1959 |
| 21 | Voodoo | 7 | Believers in this Haitian religion say "loa" spirits possess them & ride them like horses |
| 22 | the Amish | 7 | North American Protestant group featured in the movie "Witness" |
| 23 | Martin Luther | 7 | The way the Catholic church sees it, he was revolting--starting October 31, 1517 |
| 24 | Christian Science | 7 | Founded in 1879, this group teaches disease is an aspect of falsehood that can be destroyed by prayer |
| 25 | the pope | 7 | His title comes from the Latin "papa", meaning father |
| 26 | Joseph Smith | 7 | Both this founder of the Mormon church & his successor, Brigham Young, were born in Vermont |
| 27 | Passover | 6 | This Jewish holiday begins with a special meal called a seder |
| 28 | Muhammad | 6 | The Aga Khan, leader of the Ismaili Muslims, is a direct descendant of this founder of Islam |
| 29 | Lutheranism | 6 | The Augsburg Confession of 1530 sets forth the basic tenets of this denomination |
| 30 | Confucius | 6 | He called himself "a transmitter, not an innovator", so the Chinese picked his birthday for Teacher's Day |
| 31 | Roman Catholicism | 6 | Assumption, Ascension |
| 32 | Zoroastrianism | 5 | This religion at the end of the alphabet was founded by a Persian prophet & pre-dates Islam |
| 33 | Zoroaster | 5 | Some sources say this religious founder was born circa 628 B.C. in what is now Iran |
| 34 | Yom Kippur | 5 | In Judaism this day of atonement is the holiest of all days |
| 35 | the Ganges | 5 | Among Hindus, it's the greatest of India's sacred rivers |
| 36 | Shiva | 5 | In the Rig veda this major Hindu deity is called Rudra & is addressed in just 3 hymns |
| 37 | Ramadan | 5 | During this holy month of fasting, many Muslims will recite the entire Koran, a portion each day |
| 38 | Peter | 5 | This apostle who denied he knew Jesus 3 times is sometimes called the "Apostle to the Jews" |
| 39 | nirvana | 5 | For a Buddhist, this blessed state ends the cycle of death & rebirth |
| 40 | Medina | 5 | The Muslim calendar dates from the 622 A.D. flight of Mohammed to this 2nd holiest city in Islam |
| 41 | Mary Baker Eddy | 5 | Lesson sermons in Christian Science churches are read from the Bible & her book "Science & Health" |
| 42 | karma | 5 | Buddhist concept in which a good act leads to a good result & a bad act creates a bad result |
| 43 | a mosque | 5 | House of worship where you'd find an imam leading the people in prayer |
| 44 | the Salvation Army | 5 | Org. begun in 1878, "to carry the blood of Christ & fire of the Holy Ghost to every corner of the world" |
| 45 | John Knox | 5 | This Protestant reformer brought Calvinism to Scotland |
| 46 | Baptists | 5 | This "directional" group formalized its split from Northerners in Augusta, Georgia in 1845 |
| 47 | Zen | 4 | The goal of this form of Buddhism is to attain satori, a state of spiritual enlightenment |
| 48 | Vishnu | 4 | Varaha, who's often depicted with the head of a boar, is the third avatar of this Hindu god |
| 49 | the Talmud | 4 | A child will say in public what his parents say at home, says this book of Jewish wisdom |
| 50 | the Mormon church | 4 | Though this church has over 4 million members, it has only 39 temples worldwide |