Do you sometimes challenge your new acquaintances by asking them “Hey, what religion am I?”? This question can be perceived very personal and as if you were trying to start a fight but, I think it’s fun to dive deeper into our minds and find out why we would think of someone as a Christian or Jew, to name a few.
Our world is extremely diverse and inhabited by people of many different faiths and believe systems. Every religion has its unique approach to basically every subject of life. It gets even more complicated when people within the same religious community have different ideas about certain topics. In today’s quiz we will focus on four most recognised religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.
Ever thought you could be defined by more than just your religion? Find out your archetype here.
To simplify our thoughts about the world we tend to keep it down to the stereotypes. They help us organize the information we have gathered throughout our lives and put them into simple categories. Let’s look at this as drawers we open when we need to classify something. Whenever you ask someone “What religion am I?”, they will open adequate drawers in their heads.
Of course, it is not always the case but it’s just much simpler for our brain to assume their religion based on artificial characteristics. But that’s not what we’re trying to do in this quiz. We will try to get to the bottom of things and ask you more relevant questions that can hopefully help us correctly determine your religion. You can think of it as a religious compatibility test.
There are also other ways to see yourself on the religious spectrum. Internet offers you more than one “what religion am I flowchart”.
There is a special kind of stereotypes though and they cause much disruption in the world. Stereotypes about religions are one of the most cruel and hateful stereotypes that have unfortunately been evolving alongside humanity for thousands of years. Many wars and genocides took place on our planet, they affected people who simply believed in their God.
Some of the most well-known religious stereotypes include:
There’s no doubt that every religion is unique and has its proper characteristics. Nevertheless, it’s quite commonly forgotten that most of them share many similarities.
Every major religion consists of:
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It is important to briefly introduce the origins every religion we’ll be talking about in this “What religion am I” quiz.
It was founded by Jesus Christ who has become a spiritual leader for Jewish people. It is believed that he’s the Son of God that they have been waiting for. Essentially, people who believed in him and followed his rules became Christians and the others, who refused to see the God in him, remained Jewish. For some of the people at the time, Jesus Christ was a trigger to become religious in the first place.
The religion was born in 1st century CE after Jesus’ death and his resurrection. In the beginning it had a small number of followers who took it very seriously to spread the news of a new God in the world. It began with the Apostles, who started to travel the Roman Empire and educate people. Some of them became teachers and others, like Saint Paul, became leaders. In this case, he became the first Pope.
Christianity, like any novelty at the time, wasn’t really welcome in the Roman Empire. The ideas of equality it spread were problematic for everyone who wanted to keep their power over people. Christians believed that Jesus came to tell people that they should love each other and forget their differences. Obviously, it wasn’t what the Roman Emperors were dreaming of, as the disputes between people were helpful for them to rule efficiently.
Abraham is believed to be the father of Judaism as he is one the first to have ever spoken with God himself. The most important belief of Jews is that there is only one God. Although it may be a little confusing to understand sometimes, as he appears as Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jewish people think of Jesus Christ a prophet, they do not consider him to be the Son of God. Judaism teaches its followers that everyone is made in the image of God and by God himself. That is why people must treat each other with adequate dignity and respect.
Islam is another monotheistic religion. It has been brought to people by Muhammad, a prophet who is one of the most important figures if the religion. In the 7th century he recited the Quran, the holy book of Muslims. After Muhammad passed away, caliphs took the power in the community. Until the present days, that’s the name of spiritual leaders in Islam.
Islam is undoubtably the main religion in the Arab world. Contrary to common misconceptions, it’s a religion of peace. Muslims also have their own calendar. One of the most known Muslim celebrations is Ramadan, the ninth month in the calendar when Muslims fast during daytime.
Buddhism started in India and is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. A lot of his teachings are about overcoming suffering. He was originally a prince but later in his life he decided to leave his wealth behind and start a search for the meaning of life.
In Buddhism it is important not to search for Gods who should show us the right path. The enlightenment is found within if we spend enough time and efforts to discover the Truth.
Are you ready to discover what religion you belong to? Let’s get started!
