Religion and me Essay
katerinaki
ReligionBasics3.rtfNAME: _________________________ Major Religions: The Basics
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The who, what, where, why, when of religions:
Use the resources provided to discover the basics of the major religions of the world. Specifically:
- When they started: how old is each religion (an approximate century is sufficient)
- Where they started: country or region of the world
- Who was the founder or other key person(s) in the early development of the religion (if unclear, just indicate as “unknown”)
- What is the name of the sacred or important text(s) (scripture)
- How many followers in the world today (approximate)
- What country (today) has the most followers for each religion
Fill in the chart below with your findings:
Buddhism
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Sikhism
When founded
Where originated
Who founded
Text(s)
Size (# in the world - approximate )
Where now (country with the most…)
For most of this information use:
- http://www.patheos.com/Library/ (click on the name of any religion to access the “quick facts”)
- http://www.religionfacts.com/ (click on the name of any religion then look at “fast facts”) or
For size and the country with the most… Use the Quicklists at The ARDA.com: (indicate number of followers not ranking or percent of population)
- THE WORLD http://www.thearda.com/QL2010/QuickList_125.asp (for size)
- COMPARE NATIONS Religions: http://www.thearda.com/ql2010/ (country with the most…) (click on “adherents” to get the highest count at the top of the list)
Note: for “size” we are looking for population count, not ranking, not percentage of the population
(Grade for charts = 25 points. -1 point for every three blank or incorrect answers)
[More on next page]
Now let’s focus more on the number of followers for each religion as well as for several different Christian denominations. Use the resources provided to find out how many followers for each religion are in your state and your county. I’ve given you the counts for the world and the USA for comparison.
Note: the shaded spaces do not seem to be indicated in the sources provided. If you can find reasonable information at some other source, bonus points for you (please provide the URL for the source). If some information seems unavailable you may indicate “NA” in the space in the chart. But be warned: your “NA” notation will be checked against the ARDA resource and if the information is present, your NA will be counted as a blank (=wrong, for grading purposes). Putting a zero instead of NA or leaving an NA blank will both be counted as wrong.
Christian Denominations
And other religions
In the world*
In the USA
In your state (indicate which state):
In your county (indicate which county):
1,050,000,000
58,970,854
70,000,000
29,759,000
240,000,000
1,057,000
73,000,000
1,951,907
Latter-day Saints (Mormon)
12,500,000
6,266,771
66 million
64,000,000
7,091,000
70,000,000
12,145,000
105,000,000
5,779,000
75,000,000
4,487,000
13,954,269
5,121,801
1,552,330,194
4,106,065
Hinduism
948,950,149
1,444,775
Buddhism
494,893,753
3,955,046
Sikhism
24,055,806
279,346
*Counts for Christian denominations in the world from Adherents.com (http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity" http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity )
Use the Quicklists at The ARDA.com: http://www.thearda.com/ql2010/
- US RELIGIOUS FAMILIES and US RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS (breakdown for states and counties)
Hints:
the lists are alphabetized by county (or state) to make it easy to find your county/state
- For county and s tate you can also use the U.S. Congregational Membership: Reports http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/ (“browse reports” by states and counties…)
Hints:
Select the reports for your state and county
[More on next page]
Now, using the information in the charts, above , answer these questions (10 points):
Which religion is the youngest?
(5 points for this section + 1 bonus point if you get all six correct)
L ocate the closest place of worship to you for each of the following religions (you may want to reference this information when it comes time to select a place to visit for your field research). Resources at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/scavhuntsup.html#directories" http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/scavhuntsup.html#directories may help you with this search but sometimes Google Maps will be sufficient.
Include the NAME and ADDRESS of the places and indicate how many miles away each place is.
Jewish synagogue :
Muslim mosque (or Masjid) :
Hindu temple (Mandir) :
Buddhist temple :
Sikh temple (Gurdwara) :
Christian Church (any denomination, including Catholic, Orthodox, Mormon, any Protestant, non-denominational, etc.):
Include your (or nearby) address (at least zip code) here to identify the location from which you were doing this search (I cannot give you points for correct findings if I do not know the area you are in):
Note: even if the “closest” place is 100 or more miles away from you, you should still include it here
Please reflect on this activity in a paragraph or more (10 points):
What is a valuable insight or something interesting or surprising that you learned from this exercise?
- Why is this valuable, interesting or surprising to you?
- How does this activity/insight relate to your life?
- What questions does this activity raise for you?
Write your reflections here (you may go onto another page if needed):
