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Religions of the World: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
The World’s Faiths
Most people in the world follow a religion. The largest are Christianity, with about 2.3 billion followers, and Islam, with about 2 billion. Hinduism is third.
Key fact
About a quarter of people worldwide have no religious affiliation.
Abrahamic Faiths
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are called Abrahamic religions: all trace their roots to the figure of Abraham, and all believe in one God.
Key fact
Judaism is the oldest of the three.
Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions, with roots over 3,000 years old in the Indian subcontinent. It includes ideas like karma and rebirth, and many deities.
Key fact
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s biggest celebrations.
Buddhism
Buddhism began in India about 2,500 years ago with Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. It teaches a path to end suffering through wisdom, ethics and meditation.
Key fact
“Buddha” means “the awakened one”.
Sacred Texts
Many religions have sacred texts: the Torah in Judaism, the Bible in Christianity, the Quran in Islam, the Vedas in Hinduism and the Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism.
Key fact
The Bible is the most translated book in the world.
Places of Worship
Religions gather in different places: synagogues, churches, mosques, temples and gurdwaras. Many welcome visitors and share food, like the free kitchens of Sikh gurdwaras.
Key fact
The Golden Temple in Amritsar serves free meals to tens of thousands a day.
Religious Festivals
Festivals mark the religious year: Christmas and Easter for Christians, Ramadan and Eid for Muslims, Diwali for Hindus, Passover for Jews and Vesak for Buddhists.
Key fact
During Ramadan, many Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.
Fun facts
Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country.
Their weekly holy days differ: Friday for Muslims, Saturday for Jews and Sunday for most Christians.
More than nine in ten of the world’s Hindus live in India.
Buddhism almost died out in India, where it began. Most Buddhists now live in East and Southeast Asia.
Sikhs treat the Guru Granth Sahib as a living Guru: at night it’s ceremonially laid to rest in its own room.
The Golden Temple has doors on all four sides, a sign that people from every direction are welcome.
Easter moves every year: it falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March.
Story: The Emperor on the Floor
The Emperor on the Floor
1500s, Punjab. The Sikh Gurus run a free kitchen, the langar, where everyone eats the same meal, sitting side by side on the floor.
When the Mughal emperor Akbar comes to visit Guru Amar Das, he’s told the rule: first eat in the langar, like everyone else. Tradition says he did.
The langar at Amritsar’s Golden Temple now serves free meals to tens of thousands of people every day, whoever they are.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
About a quarter of people worldwide have no religious affiliation.
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True. According to Pew Research.
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Question 2 of 10
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all believe in one God.
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True. They are all monotheistic.
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Question 3 of 10
Hinduism has no single founder.
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True. It grew from many traditions over thousands of years.
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Question 4 of 10
Buddhism began in India.
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True. In the north-east of the Indian subcontinent.
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Question 5 of 10
The Quran is the sacred text of Islam.
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True. Muslims believe it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
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Question 6 of 10
A mosque is a place of worship in Islam.
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True. Muslims gather there for prayer, especially on Fridays.
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Question 7 of 10
Many Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan.
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True. The fast ends each evening with a meal called iftar.
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Question 8 of 10
Hinduism is the world’s largest religion.
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False. It’s third, after Christianity and Islam.
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Question 9 of 10
Islam is the oldest of the Abrahamic religions.
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False. Judaism is the oldest; Islam is the most recent.
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Question 10 of 10
Karma and rebirth are unknown in Hinduism.
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False. They are among its central ideas.
Keep going in the app
KnowSoda learns what you know and brings back what you’re about to forget. Religions of the World has 6 more ideas at the Advanced and Expert levels.
Sources
- Pew Research Center (2025) — How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism
- BBC Bitesize — Religious Studies
- Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee — Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Sikhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, laïcité, Candomblé, Bahāʾī Faith
- Pew Research Center — Global religious landscape
