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Religion & Belief
Traditions & Texts
The major world religions, their books and their practices.
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The Quran is the central religious text of which faith?
Places of Worship Around the World
Every tradition builds differently, and almost every feature of the building has a practical reason behind it.
About this topic
Religious buildings are shaped by what happens inside them. A mosque needs a clear indication of the direction of Mecca, so it has a mihrab set into one wall; it needs the congregation to hear a sermon, so it has a minbar beside it. A synagogue needs somewhere secure and honoured to keep the Torah scrolls, and somewhere raised to read them from. A church built for processions gets a long central space with aisles either side. The vocabulary can look forbidding and is mostly descriptive once you know what the parts do. Some structures have also changed hands over the centuries — Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has served as a cathedral, a mosque and a museum across nearly 1,500 years, and its architecture has been read as a model by builders in both traditions. This quiz is about the buildings and their features rather than about belief itself.
Questions & answers
Places of Worship Around the World: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
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1The tower attached to a mosque, from which the call to prayer is traditionally given, is called what?
- A A mihrab
- B A minbar
- C A madrasa
- D A minaret Correct
Answer: D. A minaret
Why: The person who gives the call is the muezzin. Many mosques now use loudspeakers mounted on the tower rather than the balcony itself.
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2Inside a mosque, what does the mihrab indicate?
- A The entrance used by latecomers
- B The position of the library
- C The direction of Mecca Correct
- D Where shoes should be left
Answer: C. The direction of Mecca
Why: That direction is called the qibla. The minbar, a raised set of steps beside it, is used for the Friday sermon.
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3In a synagogue, the Torah scrolls are kept in a cabinet known as what?
- A The genizah
- B The ark Correct
- C The bimah
- D The mikveh
Answer: B. The ark
Why: The bimah is the raised platform the scrolls are read from. A genizah is a storeroom for worn-out texts, which are not simply thrown away.
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4A stupa is a domed structure associated with which tradition?
- A Buddhism Correct
- B Islam
- C Shinto
- D Zoroastrianism
Answer: A. Buddhism
Why: Stupas were built to hold relics, and pilgrims walk around them clockwise. The pagoda of East Asia developed from the same basic form.
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5A gurdwara is a place of worship in which religion?
- A Jainism
- B Hinduism
- C Buddhism
- D Sikhism Correct
Answer: D. Sikhism
Why: Each one houses the Guru Granth Sahib, the scripture treated as the living guru. Most run a langar, a free kitchen open to anyone who comes.
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6A torii gate marks the entrance to a shrine in which tradition?
- A Taoism
- B Confucianism
- C Shinto Correct
- D Zen Buddhism
Answer: C. Shinto
Why: It marks the boundary between ordinary and sacred ground. Some shrines are approached through long avenues of them.
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7In a traditional cross-shaped church, what is the long central space where the congregation sits called?
- A The narthex
- B The nave Correct
- C The apse
- D The transept
Answer: B. The nave
Why: The transepts are the arms that cross it and the apse is the rounded end behind the altar. The word nave comes from the Latin for ship.
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8The Kaaba, which Muslims face during prayer, stands in which city?
- A Mecca Correct
- B Medina
- C Jerusalem
- D Damascus
Answer: A. Mecca
Why: It sits at the centre of the Masjid al-Haram, the surrounding mosque. Pilgrims on the hajj circle it seven times.
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9The Western Wall in Jerusalem is a surviving part of what?
- A The palace of King David
- B A Roman fortress gate
- C The medieval city wall
- D A retaining wall of the Second Temple compound Correct
Answer: D. A retaining wall of the Second Temple compound
Why: The Temple itself was destroyed in AD 70. The wall is among the most visited places of Jewish prayer anywhere.
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10Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has served across its history as what?
- A A hospital and later a mosque
- B A monastery throughout
- C A cathedral, then a mosque, and for a period a museum Correct
- D A palace and later a library
Answer: C. A cathedral, then a mosque, and for a period a museum
Why: It was completed in 537 under Justinian and converted after the Ottoman conquest in 1453. Its dome was among the largest built anywhere for a thousand years.
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