Art and Culture/Religion

Major schools of religion

1) Dharmic religions are a family of religions which originated in the Indian subcontinent. They encompass the Vedic religion (now Hinduism), Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism

2) Abrahamic religion is a term of Islamic/Muslim/Quranic origin, commonly used to designate the three prevalent monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – which claim Abraham as a part of their sacred history

3) Taoic religion is a religion, or religious philosophy, that focuses on the East Asian concept of Tao. This forms a large group of religions including Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto

The World Factbook (2013) gives the distribution of religions as Christian 31.50% (of which Roman Catholic 16.85%, Protestant 6.15%, Orthodox 3.96%, Anglican 1.26%), Muslim 23.20% (of which Sunni 75-90%, Shia 10-20%, Ahmadi 1%), Hindu 13.8%, Buddhist 6.77%, Sikh 0.35%, Jewish 0.22%, Baha'i 0.11%, other religions 10.95%, non-religious 9.66%, atheists 2.01%

Christianity

A bishop (from the New Testament Greek for "overseer", "guardian") is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. The traditional role of a bishop is as pastor of a diocese (also called a bishopric, synod, eparchy or see)

A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. They may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own

A primate is usually the bishop of the oldest church of a nation

The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East are called patriarchs

Traditionally, a number of items are associated with the office of a bishop, most notably the mitre, crosier, and ecclesiastical ring

Bishop is one ‘higher’ than archdeacon

Cardinal is an ordained bishop of the Roman Catholic Church

Bishops Conference – an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops

An archbishop is the bishop of an archdiocese. This is usually a prestigious diocese with an important place in local church history

Ecumenical Council or general council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. The first ecumenical council was the First Council of Nicaea, in 325. Led to the adoption of the Nicene Creed

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind

Doctor of the Church is a title given by a variety of Christian churches to individuals whom they recognize as having been of particular importance, particularly regarding their contribution to theology or doctrine

Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the ‘Apostle to the English’ and a founder of the English Church. Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to convert the pagan King Aethelberht of the Kingdom of Kent to Christianity. Landed at Pegwell Bay in Kent in 597

Marble chair on which Archbishop of Canterbury is enthroned is named after St Augustine

St Laurence was the second Archbishop of Canterbury

St Mellitus was the third Archbishop of Canterbury

Court of Arches is the court of appeal of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Lambeth Conferences are held every 10 years. Assemblies of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury

John Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death in 1604

Frederick Temple and his son William Temple both served as Archbishop of Canterbury

Recent Archbishops of Canterbury –

1945 – 1961         Geoffrey Fisher

1961 – 1974         Michael Ramsey

1974 – 1980         Donald Coggan

1980 – 1991         Robert Runcie

1991 – 2002         George Carey

2002 – 2012         Rowan Williams

2013 -                  Justin Welby

Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Church of Rome, and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope

The Order of the Golden Militia / Order of the Golder Spur is a Papal order of knighthood conferred upon those who have rendered distinguished service in propagating the Catholic Faith, or who have contributed to the glory of the Church

Urbi et Orbi is used to denote a papal address and Apostolic Blessing that is addressed to the City of Rome and to the entire world

Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City

Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope is preserved from the possibility of error

Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope

Catholicism

The sacraments of the Catholic Church are the seven rites of Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony

Seven Corporal Works of Mercy and Seven Spititual Works of Mercy are actions and practices which the Roman Catholic Church considers expectations to be fulfilled by believers

Archbishop of Westminster is the premier Roman Catholic Archbishop of England

The Tablet is a weekly Roman Catholic newspaper

Líbera me (‘Deliver me’) is a Roman Catholic responsory that is sung in the Office of the Dead and at the absolution of the dead, a service of prayers for the dead said beside the coffin immediately after the Requiem Mass and before burial

During the canonization process of the Roman Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith, popularly known as the Devil's advocate, was a canon lawyer appointed by Church authorities to argue against the canonization of a candidate. The office was established in 1587 during the reign of Pope Sixtus V and abolished by Pope John Paul II in 1983

A deceased Catholic may be declared a Servant of God by a bishop and proposed for beatification by the Pope. The Venerable, is the style used for such a servant of God declared to be ‘heroic in virtue’ during the investigation and process leading to possible canonization as a saint. The next step is beatification, at which point the person is referred to as The Blessed, and finally canonization, at which point the person is referred to as Saint

The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It was convened three times between 1545 and 1563 in the city of Trent (modern Trento) as a response to the theological and ecclesiological challenges of the Protestant Reformation. It is considered one of the most important councils in the history of the Catholic Church

Index Librorum Prohibitorum (English: List of Prohibited Books) was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version (the Pauline Index) was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised form (the Tridentine Index) was authorized at the Council of Trent

Liturgy of the Hours or canonical hours, often referred to as the Breviary, is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited by clergy, religious institutes, and laity. It consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings

In England and other Anglican provinces, service books now include four offices: Morning Prayer, corresponding to Matins and Lauds; Prayer During the Day, conflating the lesser hours of Terce, Sext, and None; Evening Prayer, corresponding to Vespers; Night Prayer, or Compline

Ave Maria (or Hail Mary) is a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus

Transubstantiation – the change whereby, according to Catholic doctrine, the bread and the wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist become, not merely as by a sign or a figure, but also in reality the body and blood of Christ

The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to Marie-Bernadette Soubirous on a total of eighteen occasions in 1858 at Lourdes. Lourdes has become a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of miraculous healings

Knock Shrine is a major pilgrimage site in the village of Knock in County Mayo, where Catholics believe that in 1879 there was an apparition of the Virgin Mary, St Joseph, St John the Evangelist and Jesus Christ (as the Lamb of God)

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary. According to tradition, Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, saw a vision of a young woman in 1531. While he was on the hill in the desert of Tepeyac near Mexico City, the lady told him to build a church exactly on the spot where they were standing

Diocese of Urgell is a Roman Catholic diocese in Catalonia and Andorra

Society of Jesus is a Roman Catholic Church religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits, Soldiers of Christ, and Foot soldiers of the Pope, because the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a knight before becoming a priest. Founded in 1556. Jesuits are the largest male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church

Protestantism

Protestantism is a form of Christian faith and practice which originated with the Protestant Reformation. It is one of the three major divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Anglicanism is sometimes considered to be independent from Protestantism

Manse – Church of Scotland clergyman’s house

Presbyterianism is a branch of Reformed Protestantism which traces its origins to the British Isles. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government, which is government by representative assemblies of elders

Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism

The marriage of Martin Luther to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism

or (1580) is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church

Methodist revival began with a group of men, including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles, as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century. The Wesley brothers founded the Holy Club while they were at Oxford. Methodism split from the Church of England following the death of John Wesley

Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. International Gathering of Champions is a worship meeting of Pentecostalists in Britain

Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming (Advent) of Jesus Christ. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century and was formally established in 1863

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs

Latitudes – 18th century Anglican clerics

When the Thirty-Nine Articles were accepted by Anglicans generally as a norm for Anglican teaching, they recognized two sacraments only – Baptism and the Eucharist – as having been ordained by Christ

Oxford Movement – a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism

General Synod of Church of England is tricameral, consisting of the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity

Katharine Schori was the first woman elected as a primate in the Anglican Communion

Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York

Aldhun was the first Bishop of Durham, in 995

Bishops of Durham were also territorial Prince Bishops, with the extraordinary secular rank of Earl palatine, for it was their duty not only to be head of the large diocese, but also to help protect the Kingdom against the Scottish threat from the north

Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury

Thean was the first Bishop of London, in 186

Richard Chartres has been Bishop of London since 1995. The bishop's residence is The Old Deanery, Dean's Court, London

John Sentamu has been Bishop of York since2005

The five senior bishops in the Church of England are the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop of York, Bishop of London, Bishop of Durham, and Bishop of Winchester

Church of Ireland is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. there are 12 Church of Ireland dioceses, each headed by a bishop and belonging to one of the two surviving provinces – Armagh and Dublin

Primus, styled The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church

Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination

Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent

A Chapel Royal is a body of clergy and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so

Islam

Anno Hegirae – first year of the Muslim calendar, the year of the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina (Hejira) in 622

Muhammad returned to Mecca in 630, and died in Medina in 632

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the place where Muhammad is said to have ascended into heaven

Muslims believe the Quran (also Qur’an or Koran) was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril) gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning in 609 when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death

Cave of Hira, near Mecca, is the location where Muslims believe Muhammad received his first revelations from God

Fatima was Muhammad’s daughter

Aisha (Muhammad’s second wife) was known as ‘the mother of believers’

Buraq is a mythological steed, described as a creature from the heavens which transported the prophets. The most commonly told story is how in the 7th century, Buraq carried Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and back during the Isra and Mi'raj or ‘Night Journey’

Islamic traditions consider Ishmael as the ancestor of northern Arab people

Eid ul-Fitr often abbreviated as simply Eid, sometimes spelled Eid al-Fitr, is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Fitr means ‘to break the fast’

Eid ul-Adha is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son (Ishmael) for (Allah) God. Others celebrate Eid ul-Adha as it marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, established in the year 638

During Ramadam, Muslims eat one meal before the sunrise called suhoor and one meal after the sunset called iftar

Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem are the three sacred Islam cities

Friday is the obligatory day of prayer

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. 80% of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims are Sunni. The only countries where Shias outnumber Sunnis are Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan ^[

Wahhabism is a branch of Sunni Islam practiced by those who follow the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, after whom the movement is named. Ibn Abdul Wahhab reintroduced Shariah (Islamic) law to the Arabian Peninsula. This theology is the dominant form found in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The term ‘Wahhabi’ is rarely used by the people it is used to describe

The Shia (also Shi'a or Shi'ite) represent the second largest denomination of Islam. Shia means ‘party of Ali’ (Mohammed’s son-in-law)

According to Twelver Shi'as Imam Hujjat al-Mahdi is the twelfth Imam (hidden Iman) and the Mahdi, the ultimate savior of humankind

The Ismaili branch of Islam is the second largest part of the Shia community, after the Twelvers

The Alawites are a sect of Shi'ite Islam prominent in Syria. The Alawites take their name from Imam Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. Centred in Syria

Five pillars of Islam

• The Testimony of Faith (Shahadah) – the declaration that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his last messenger
• Ritual Prayer (Salah or Salat) – establishing of the five daily Prayers. Compulsory for all Muslims aged 10 and older
• Obligatory (religious) almsgiving (Zakat) – which is generally 2.5% of the total savings for a rich man working in trade or industry, and 10% or 20% of the annual produce for agriculturists. This money or produce is distributed among the poor
• Fasting (Sawm) – refraining from eating, drinking or engaging in sex from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan
• The Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) – this is done during the month of Zul Hijjah, and is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it. Hajj occurs in the last month of the Muslim calendar

Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam (spiritual and general leader) of the Ismaili Nizaris, a perspective of the Shi'a Ismaili branch of Islam which formed in 765. Prince Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini became the present Aga Khan IV in 1957

In Islamic family law, the husband just has to repeat the word talaq (‘I repudiate you’) three times in three months to get a divorce

Turkey is the only Muslim state to have completely abandoned Sharia law

Sufism is the inner mystical dimension of Islam. Followers seek to find the truth of divine love through direct experience of God, has a name that is thought to derive from the Arabic for 'wool', in reference to the garments worn by early Islamic ascetics

The Quran is composed of verses (Ayah) that make up 114 chapters (suras). Chapters are classed as Meccan or Medinan, depending on when (before or after Hijra) the verses were revealed

Quran was originally written in Arabic

Hafith or Hafiz, literally meaning 'guardian', is a term used by Muslims for people who have completely memorized the Quran

Zabur, Tawrat and Injil were precursors to the Quran

Sajjada is a Muslim prayer mat

Qiblah is an Arabic word for the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during Salah. Most mosques contain a niche in a wall that indicates the Qiblah

Kiswa is a black cloth covering the black stone in the Kaaba, in Mecca

Zamzam Well is a well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, 20 metres east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic belief, it is a miraculously-generated source of water from God

Isa Ibn Maryam, or Jesus in the New Testament, is considered to be a Messenger of God and al-Masih (the Messiah)

Iblis is the name for the Devil

Peace be upon him, abbreviated PBUH, is a phrase that Muslims say after uttering or hearing the name of any of the Islamic prophets

Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule before the Day of Judgment  and will rid the world of evil

Mormonism

Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith in the 1820s. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism distinguished itself from traditional Protestantism. After Smith's death, most Mormons followed Brigham Young on his westward journey, calling themselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Moroni, according to the Book of Mormon, was the last prophet, historian, and military commander who lived in North America in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. He is identified as the same angel who presented the golden plates to Joseph Smith

According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon

Brigham Young was born in Vermont, and had 17 wives and 56 children

George D Watt was the first convert to Mormonism baptized in the British Isles

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church or, informally, the Mormon Church) is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations (called wards or branches) and built temples worldwide

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles one of the governing bodies in the Mormon church hierarchy

Hinduism

Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Purusarthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (ethics/duties), Artha (prosperity/work), Kama (emotions/sexuality) and Moksha (liberation/freedom); karma (action, intent and consequences), samsara (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha). Hindu practices include rituals such as puja (worship)

Hindu texts are classified into Shruti ("heard") and Smriti ("remembered")

Veda is any of the oldest and most authoritative Hindu sacred texts, composed in Sanskrit and gathered into four collections. Veda means ‘knowledge’

Sutra is any of various aphoristic doctrinal summaries produced for memorization generally between 500 and 200 BC

Upanishad is any of a group of philosophical treatises contributing to the theology of ancient Hinduism, elaborating on the earlier Vedas

Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage that occurs four times every twelve years and rotates among four locations: Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. Each twelve-year cycle includes one Maha Kumbh Mela (Great Kumbh Mela) at Prayag, which is attended by millions of people, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world. Pilgrims bathe in the Ganges

Holi festival is a popular occasion in the northern part of India. It is an occasion when people smear each other with bright colored powders, which are known as Gulal, and colored water. This festival is celebrated around early March each year

Hindu temples are known as mandirs

Brahman is the state of unchanging reality

Basil, also called tulsi, is especially associated with death rituals in Hinduism

The festival Janamashtami, meaning 'birth on the Eighth day', celebrates the birth of Krishna

Varna refers to the categorization of the Hindu society by four castes, hypothesized by the Brahmins and their sacred texts. The four varnas, are mentioned in ancient texts in the following order, from top to bottom:  the Brahmins: Scholars, teachers and fire priests; the Kshatriyas: Kings and soldiers warriors; the Vaishyas: Agriculturists and merchants; the Shudras: Service providers and artisans

Dalit is a member of the lowest class in India, whom those of the four main castes were formerly forbidden to touch

Puri is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages

Buddhism

Siddhartha Guatama or Buddha was born around 560 BC

King Suddhodana and Queen Maha Maya were the parents of the Buddha

Buddha gave his first sermon by the Ganges. Taught in India

Buddhist legend tells of Gautama Buddha attaining enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath the Bodhi tree, a Ficus religiosa or Bo-Tree

Theravada is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka and most of continental Southeast Asia

Mahayana is the other major branch of Buddhism existing today. The main countries in which it is practiced today are China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. From Mahayana developed the esoteric Vajrayana found mainly in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Mongolia

Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren

Pure Land Buddhism is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism and currently one of the most popular schools of Buddhism in East Asia, along with Zen

A tulku is a Tibetan Buddhist lama or other religious figure who has consciously decided to be reborn, often many times, in order to continue his or her religious pursuits. The most famous example is the lineage of Dalai Lamas

Dalai means ‘ocean’ in Mongolian, and Lama is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word ‘guru’, and is commonly translated to mean ‘spiritual teacher’. The actual title was first bestowed by the Mongolian ruler Altan Khan upon Sonam Gyatso in 1578. The fourteenth and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso

The Panchen Lama is the second-highest-ranking lama after the Dalai Lama

The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists give themselves to, and in return look toward for guidance, in the process known as ‘taking refuge’. The Three Jewels are: Buddha (The Enlightened or Awakened One), Dharma (The Teaching), Sangha (The Community)

Four Noble Truths relate to suffering

Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of suffering (dukkha) and the achievement of self-awakening

Tantrism is a movement within Buddhism combining elements of Hinduism and paganism

Gompa is a Buddhist place of learning

In Buddhism the elephant is a symbol of mental strength

Conch shell is used in Tibetan Buddhism to call together religious assemblies. Shells which spiral to the right in a clockwise direction are a rarity and are considered especially sacred

Ananda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha

Kanthaka was a favourite white horse that was a royal servant of Prince Siddhartha, who later became Gautama Buddha

Dharmachakra is a symbol that has represented dharma, the Buddha's teaching of the path to enlightenment, since the early period of Indian Buddhism. Wheel with eight spokes

Bodhisattva is an enlightenment being

Maitreya is a future Buddha of this world

Vihara is a Buddhist monastery

Jainism

Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma is a religion and philosophy originating in ancient India. The most cited Jain scripture is the Tattvartha Sutra, or Book of Reality written by the monk-scholar, Umasvati almost 1,800 years ago. The primary figures are Tirthankars. There are two main sects called Digambar and Shvetambar. The Jain religion places great emphasis on the theory of Karma. The backbone of the Jain philosophy, the Nine Tattvas, shows how to attain salvation. The holiest symbol is a simple swastika. Another incorporates a wheel on the palm of a hand

Tirthankara is a human being who helps in achieving liberation and enlightenment

Jainism means ‘to conquer’

The principle of ahimsa is the most fundamental and well known aspect of Jainism. In Jainism, killing any living being out of passions is himsa (injury) and abstaining from such act is Ahisma (noninjury or nonviolence)

The other main principles of Jainism are non-absolution and non-possessiveness

Followers of Jainism undertake five major rows

Mahariva is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamana who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism

Jainism rejects the idea of a creator or destroyer god and postulates that the universe is eternal. Jainism believes every soul has the potential for salvation and to become god

According to Jainism, time is beginningless and eternal; the cosmic wheel of time, called kalachakra, rotates ceaselessly

Sikhism

Sikhism is a panentheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, by Guru Nanak and continued to progress through the ten successive Sikh gurus

The central teaching in Sikhism is the belief in the concept of the oneness of God

Panj Kakke are the five K’s of Sikhism (articles of faith) – Kachera (underwear), Kangha (comb), Kara (steel band), Kesh (uncut hair) and Kirpin (sword)

Guru Gobind Singh was the last of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. His five K's and taking up arms against the Mughals created a warrior brotherhood that was visibly different and helped evolve Sikhism from an embryonic lifestyle into a disciplined and determined religion

Guru Granth Sahib is a Granth (book) originally compiled by Fifth Guru and named as Adi Granth, and later recompiled by all the gurus that followed him. Guru Granth Sahib was appointed as the Eleventh Guru by Tenth Guru Guru Gobind Singh. It is the ultimate teacher of the Sikhs

Sikh means ‘disciple’ and Guru means ‘teacher’

The Golden Temple, located in Amritsar in the state of Punjab, is the most sacred shrine of Sikhism. The official name of the Temple is Harmandir Sahib, (‘the Temple of God’). Operation Blue Star in 1984 was an Indian military operation at the Golden Temple to destroy the popularity Sikh faith was attracting

The Khanda is one of most important symbols of Sikhism

Vaisakhi is an ancient harvest festival in Punjab, which also marks beginning of a new solar year, and new harvest season. Vaisakhi is one of the most significant holidays in Sikh calendar, commemorating the establishment of the Khalsa in 1699; which marks the Sikh New Year

Khalsa refers to the collective body of all baptized Sikhs

Gurpurb is a celebration of an anniversary related to the lives of the Sikh gurus

Judaism

Star of David is a hexagram

United Synagogue is a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues

Gentiles are non-Jewish people

Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism

Bendal is a red string bracelet worn by Kabbalah followers to protect against the influence of the evil eye

Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is written in Aramaic

Menorah is a candelabra with seven branches used in the temple

Hannukah menorah has nine branches and is lit during the holiday of Hannukah

Mezuzah is a piece of cased parchment fixed to the front door of a Jewish residence

Sephardic Jews fled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition

Ashkenazi Jews are from Germany

Mizrahi Jews are descended from local Jewish communities of the Middle East

Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Bar Mitzvah is the rite of passage for boys, celebrated at age of 13

Bat Mitzvah is the rite of passage for girls, celebrated at age of 12

Jewish holidays –

• Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year. falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri
• Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement. Holiest day of the Jewish year
• Sukkot – Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles). Commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land
• Hanukkah – Festival of Lights. Celebrates the recapture of the temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC, after Judah Maccabeus removed the pagan statuary. Normally falls in December
• Purim – Festival of Lots. Commemorates the deliverance from Haman's plot to annihilate all the Jews of the Persian Empire, who had survived the Babylonian captivity, after Persia had conquered Babylonia who in turn had destroyed the First Temple and dispersed the Jewish people; as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther
• Pesach – Passover. Commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt
• Shavuot – known as the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. Commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai

Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Passover holiday

Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to ‘tell your son’ of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (c. 200 CE), the first written compendium of Judaism's Oral Law; and the Gemara (c. 500 CE), a discussion of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Tanakh. The terms Talmud and Gemara are often used interchangeably

The Torah is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. The word Torah means ‘teaching,’ ‘instruction,’ or ‘law’ in Hebrew. It is also known as the Five Books of Moses, the Law of Moses or the Pentateuch (Greek for ‘five containers,’ which refers to the scroll cases in which books were being kept)

The Mahzor is the Jewish prayer book for high holidays.The Siddur the prayer book that contains the daily liturgy

Hasidic Judaism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith

Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel

Herem (or Cherem), is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community

Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month (eighth, in leap year) of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar

Yeshiva is a Jewish school for study of traditional religious texts

Midrash is a method of interpreting biblical stories

Tanakh is the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The traditional Hebrew text is known as the Masoretic Text

Rabbinic Judaism has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Talmud

Traditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily

The Jewish dietary laws are known as kashrut

Taoism

Taoism (or Daoism) means ‘path’ or ‘way’. Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order. Tao is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered. Tao is associated with nature, due to a belief that nature demonstrates the Tao. The flow of qi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is compared to the universal order of Tao

Laozi (also Lao-Tzu or Lao-Tze) was a philosopher and poet of ancient China. He is best known as the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of philosophical Taoism, but he is also revered as a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. Although a legendary figure, he is usually dated to around the 6th century BC and reckoned a contemporary of Confucius

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra). Mazdaism is the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all (God). As demonstrated by Zoroastrian creed and articles of faith, the two terms are effectively synonymous. Zoroastrianism was once the dominant religion of much of Greater Iran

A Parsi or Parsee is a member of one of the two Zoroastrian communities found throughout South Asia. Parsees are left on ‘towers of silence’ on hilltops when they die, to be eaten by vultures

Magi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote followers of Zoroaster

Baha’i

Baha’i Faith is the religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th century Persia by Mirza Hoseyn Ali Nuri. There are around six million Baha’is in more than 200 countries around the world. According to Baha'í teachings, religious history is seen as an evolving educational process for mankind, through God's messengers, which are termed Manifestations of God. Bahá'u'lláh is seen as the most recent, pivotal, but not final of these individuals. Bahá'í World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith. The World Centre consists of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh near Acre, Israel, the Shrine of the Báb and its gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, and various other buildings in the area including the Arc buildings

Religious Movements

Amish were founded in 1693 when Jacob Amman, a Swiss Mennonite bishop, broke away from the Mennonites. There are 200,000 Amish in the US, mostly in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio. Most speak a High German dialect called Deitsch.  The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The Amish rite of passage is called rumspringa

Anabaptists are a Protestant sect which arose in Germany in 1521. Their name derived from their belief that baptism had to be repeated in adulthood before it acquired spiritual significance. They opposed the payment of taxes and the service of the state either as soldiers or magistrates

Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. Cathar society was divided into two general categories, the Perfecti (Perfects) and the Credentes (Believers)

Coptic Orthodox Church was founded in Egypt by St Mark (Monophysite Christians. Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark's is the head of the Coptic Church

Druze is an esoteric, monotheistic religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism, that incorporated several elements of Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies. Walid Jumblatt is the most prominent leader of Lebanon's Druze community

Essenes were a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. The Essenes have gained fame in modern times due to the discovery of the extensive religious library they maintained for their studies at Qumran known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Essenes preserved multiple copies of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible untouched from as early as 300 BC until their discovery in 1946

Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning ‘knowledge’. It is a term created by modern scholars to describe a diverse religious movement often associated with Christianity, although textual evidence for the movement contains distinctly non- and anti-Christian elements, as well as anti-Judaic elements

Jehovah’s Witnesses emerged from the Bible Student movement. Founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell with the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society. The name Jehovah's Witnesses was adopted in 1931 to clearly distinguish themselves from other Bible Student groups. Jehovah's Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door preaching, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake!, and refusing military service and blood transfusions. They consider use of the name Jehovah vital for proper worship. Meetings for worship and study are held at Kingdom Halls

Lollards were followers of John Wycliffe; they believed that the Bible was the sole authority in religion and that every man had the right to read and interpret it for himself. In 1378 they defied the Church and translated the Bible from Latin into English

Maronites derive their name from the Syriac saint Maron whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria establishing the nucleus of the Maronite Church

Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons (1496 – 1561), who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders

Panacea Society was a religious group based in Bedford. The Society was founded by Mabel Barltrop in 1918. Its inspiration was and is the teachings of the Devonshire prophetess Joanna Southcott (1750–1814). Barltrop took the name Octavia and believed herself to be Southcott's child

Plymouth Brethren was a conservative, Evangelical Christian restorationist movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin in the late 1820s. The title, ‘The Brethren,’ is one that many of their number are comfortable with, in that the Bible designates all believers as ‘brethren’

Quakers are members of a family of religious movements collectively known as the Religious Society of Friends. The central unifying doctrine of these movements is the priesthood of all believers, doctrine derived from a verse in the New Testament, 1 Peter. Quaker places of worship are known as Meeting Houses

Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as ‘spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology’. E-meter is used by scientologists to measure the state of electrical characteristics of the 'static field' surrounding the body – it is a modified ohmmeter. A basic idea in Dianetics is that the mind consists of two parts: the ‘analytical mind’ and the ‘reactive mind.’ The reactive mind (or, ‘unconscious mind’) acts as a record of shock, trauma, pain, and otherwise harmful memories. Experiences such as these, stored in the reactive mind are dubbed ‘engrams’. Dianetics is a proposed method to erase these engrams in the reactive mind to achieve what is referred to in Scientology as a state of ‘Clear’. A Clear is one who is thought to no longer possess his reactive mind. Scientology beliefs revolve around the ‘thetan’, the individualized expression of the cosmic source, or life force, named after the Greek letter theta. The thetan is the true identity of a person

Shakers are a Protestant religious denomination officially called the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. Originated in Manchester in 1772 under the leadership of Mother Ann Lee, who moved the nine-person group to New York in 1774. They branched off from a Quaker community, and were known as "Shaking Quakers" because of their ecstatic behavior during worship services. Shakers designed simple functional furniture

Voodoo is a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable Supreme Creator, Bondye. As Bondye does not intercede in human affairs, vodouists direct their worship toward spirits subservient to Bondye, called Loa

Religious Orders

Mendicant orders are religious orders which depend directly on the charity of the people for their livelihood

Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, whence the order receives its name. Saint Bertold has traditionally been associated with the founding of the order

Carthusian Order, also called the Order of Saint Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns

The Order of Cistercians, otherwise White Monks (from the colour of the habit, over which a black scapular or apron is sometimes worn) is a Roman Catholic order of enclosed monks. The first Cistercian abbey was founded by Robert of Molesme in 1098, at Citeaux Abbey in France

The Order of Preachers, after 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order, or Dominicans is a Catholic religious order, created by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France. In England and some other countries the Dominicans are referred to as Blackfriars on account of the black cappa or cloak they wear over their white habits (for the same reason, Carmelites are known as ‘Whitefriars’ and Franciscans as ‘Greyfriars’). In France, the Dominicans are also known as Jacobins

Franciscans is a religious order which adheres to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi. Franciscan monks wear brown

Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was founded around 1130 by Saint Gilbert in Sempringham, Lincolnshire. It was the only completely English religious order and came to an end in the 16th century at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries

Samsara, literally meaning ‘continuous flow’, is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism

In some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, there is a tradition that the universe is categorised into Seven Heavens or Realms

Om – the supreme and most sacred syllable, consisting in Sanskrit of the three sounds (a), (u), and (m), representing various fundamental triads and believed to be the spoken essence of the universe. It is uttered as a mantra and in affirmations and blessings

The swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The Hindu version is often decorated with a dot in each quadrant

Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD. The name of the proto-Indo-Iranian god Mithra, adapted into Greek as Mithras, was linked to a new and distinctive imagery

Mystery religions, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious cults of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the cult practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders

Holy Basil, also called 'Tulsi', is highly revered in Hinduism and also has religious significance in the Greek Orthodox Church, where it is used to prepare holy water

Raphael is an archangel of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, who in the Judeo-Christian tradition performs all manners of healing

Sheba was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures (Old Testament) and the Quran. Modern archaeological evidence supports Sheba being located in modern Yemen

Saints

Patron saints

Andrew – patron saint of Scotland. Crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross

Apollonia – patron saint of toothache sufferers

Bernadette of Lourdes – patron saint of shepherds

Catherine – patron saint of wheelwrights. Her principal symbol is the spiked wheel

Cecilia – patron saint of music and musicians

Crispin – patron saint of shoemakers

Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo – patron saint of sailors

Francis of Assisi – patron saint of animals. Born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone, he was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis for men and women not living monastic lives

Giles – patron saint of lepers and disabled people

Lawrence – patron saint of cooks and librarians. St Lawrence was a deacon of the church in Rome. In the year 258 he was martyred for his faith by being roasted on a gridiron

Jude – patron saint of lost causes

Lucy – patron saint of the blind

Luke – patron saint of doctors and artists

Mark – patron saint of Venice

Matthew – patron saint of tax collectors and accountants

Michael – patron saint of grocers

Mungo, also known as Saint Kentigern – patron saint and founder of the city of Glasgow

Nicholas – patron saint of children and pawnbrokers. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor (Greek Anatolia), part of present day Turkey

Patrick – patron saint of Ireland. Patrick (c. 387–493) was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland. When he was about 16 he was captured from Britain by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island. By the eighth century he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. Reputed to be buried in Downpatrick. Legend credits Saint Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock

Swithun – patron saint of Winchester

Veronica – patron saint of photography

Vitus – patron saint of comedians and dancers. Saint Vitus was a Christian saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303

Patron saints of European countries – Boniface (Germany), Denis (France), James (Spain), Leopold (Austria), Stanislaus (Poland), Paul (Malta), George (Georgia), Nicholas and Andrew (Greece)

Genevieve was the patron saint of Paris in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition

The first patron saint of England was Saint Edmund, an East Anglian Anglo Saxon King who was born around 840 and died c. 869, who was martyred by the Danes

Saint Agnes is depicted with a lamb

Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, the Apostle of Northumbria (died 651), was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria

Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain in the 3rd century AD

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order

Saint Brendan of Clonfert was called The Navigator. He is chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the ‘Isle of the Blessed,’ also called Saint Brendan's Island in the 6th century

Saint Columba was granted land on the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland which became the centre of his evangelising mission to the Picts, in 563

Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne. Afterwards he became one of the most important medieval saints of England, a cult centred at Durham Cathedral

Saint Dunstan was a 10th century Archbishop of Canterbury, who ‘seized the devil by the nose with red hot tongs’

Saint John the Evangelist is associated with the eagle

Saint John of the Cross was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest

Saint Martin of Tours (316–397) was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela

Saint Ninian was the earliest known bishop to have visited Scotland

Saint Sebastian was a Christian saint and martyr, who is said to have been killed while the Roman emperor Diocletian engaged in the persecution of Christians in the 3rd century. He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post and shot with arrows

Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death (c. 35 AD) by an infuriated mob encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, the future Saint Paul

Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus has a shrine in Lisieux, Normandy

Saint Veronica, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back to her, the image of his face miraculously impressed upon it