Religion is a complex and diverse aspect of human society that has been a part of human history for thousands of years. It is a set of beliefs, practices, and traditions that relate to the understanding of a higher power or divine force. There are many different religions in the world, each with its own unique set of beliefs, rituals, and practices. Some of the most widely recognized religions include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.
Religious beliefs can shape an individual's entire life, influencing their values, actions, and decisions. It can bring comfort, guidance, and a sense of community to people who follow it. However, it can also be a source of conflict and division, particularly when different religious beliefs come into conflict with one another. Despite these challenges, religion continues to be an important part of human life, providing meaning and purpose to millions of people around the world.
So, whether you are a devout follower of a particular religion or simply interested in learning more about different belief systems, test your knowledge with these religion trivia questions. Can you answer questions about the origins of various religions, key figures and events, and the beliefs and practices of different faith traditions?
88 Religion Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- A golden IPA made by New Belgium Brewing is ______ Ranger. Fill in the one word “V” blank, also the name of a Caribbean religion that combines Roman Catholicism with African magic.
Answer: Voodoo Ranger
- What is the primary religion of the Philippines?
Answer: Christian
- On the U.S. Library of Congress's list of "Books that Shaped America" is what 1830 religious text that sets out the tenets of a religion founded by Joseph Smith?
Answer: Book of Mormon
- In the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome is a title more commonly known as what?
Answer: Pope
- Within 3, how many books are in the New Testament
Answer: 27 (24 - 30 accepted)
- The phrase "sacred cow" to describe a person or thing immune from criticism comes from what religion that in fact does revere cows as holy animals?
Answer: Hindu
- Reinforcements in an x-shape that help a structure be more durable can be referred to as ______ bracing. Fill in the one word “C” blank, a shape that resemble an X, and is sometimes an important religious symbol.
Answer: Cross Bracing
- In the Christian Stations of the Cross, a man helps Jesus carry the cross at the 5th "station." This man has what Biblical first name?
Answer: Simon
- "Presbyterians" is not just a religious denomination -- it's also an anagram of the name of what singer of "Toxic" and "Gimme More?" First and last name required.
Answer: Britney Spears
- In what book of the Bible would you find the following phrase? "And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, come and see"
Answer: Revelation
- Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj are the "Five Pillars" of what religion which traces its descent through the ancestors of Ishmael?
Answer: Islam
- It's not officially known but because of his name most sources believe Singapura king Parameswara was a follower of what third-largest religion in the world?
Answer: Hinduism
- The city of Dearborn, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, is home to the country's largest community per capita who follow what religion?
Answer: Islam
- Lakshmi is one of the principal goddesses in a certain religion, and her vahana (mount) in that religion is an owl. What is this religion?
Answer: Hinduism
- A bar mitzvah, literally meaning "son of the commandment," is traditionally celebrated when Jewish males turn what age?
Answer: 13
- In Renaissance and Baroque art, a particular shade of blue paint made from lapis lazuli was so expensive it was primarily used for painting the robes of which religious figure? (Hint: The shade takes its name from this figure.)
Answer: The Virgin Mary
- What is the name of a Christian bishop's headdress that comes from the Greek for "turban"?
Answer: Mitre
- Located at 45–57 Bowne Street in Flushing, Queens and popularly referred to as the Ganesh Temple, this structure claims to be the very first temple in the US representing the traditional form of what major religion?
Answer: Hinduism
- What is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco? It was the sixth religious settlement established as part of a group's ambitious building and was founded in 1776 by Francisco Palóu.
Answer: Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores)
- What "D" book of the Bible exhorts: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified"?
Answer: Deuteronomy
- The 600-mile-long plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys was home to the city-state of Sumer, which was the first in a succession of what "M" civilizations?
Answer: Mesopotamia
- A beer brewed and bottled in Qiandao Lake, China, with crisp citrus notes, is Lucky ______ Beer. Fill in the one word blank, a historical religious leader with first name Gautama.
Answer: Lucky Buddha Beer
- The Cape Malay ethnic group in South Africa is typically associated with what religion?
Answer: Islam
- What is the name of the headdress worn by Christian bishops that derives from the Greek word for "turban"?
Answer: Mitre
- Myanmar has faced significant international pressure in early 2018 to stop the persecution of the Rohingya people, a group that is most often associated with what religion?
Answer: Islam
- What 1998 agreement between the British government, Irish government, and political parties of Northern Ireland was named after a religious holiday and is often considered the bassis for the present devolved system of government in Northern Ireland?
Answer: Good Friday Agreement
- The first known instance of banning coffee was in a Saudi Arabian holy city in 1511 as the drink was believed to stimulate radical thinking. What was this anti-joe city?
Answer: Mecca
- Mary Barrett Dyer was a martyr that was hanged in Boston in 1660 because of her staunch commitment to what "friendly" religious group?
Answer: The Quakers
- Christianity and Islam each have more than one billion followers. So does one other world religion. What is it?
Answer: Hinduism
- What Chinese philosopher of the 6th-century BC taught ethics, politics, and other ways of life to Yan Hui, Zengzi, and other disciples of his philosophy and eventual religion?
Answer: Confucius
- Huitzilopochtli was a deity of war, the sun and human sacrifice, as well as being the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan, in which Mesoamerican civilization?
Answer: Aztec
- Thomas Edison was a proponent of the religious theories of Thomas Paine, writing praise for Paine’s book “Age Of ______”. In 2003, the band Hoobastank released a song called “The ______.” What is the word that fills in both of these blanks?
Answer: Reason
- Shortly after Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948, it drew Korean War conscientious objectors from what pacifist religious sect that "tremble in the way of the Lord?"
Answer: Quakers
- While the family resided in the White House, the Obama children attended Sidwell Friends, a D.C. school founded by a member of what religious group?
Answer: Quakers
- What is the two-word phrase for someone that claims the right to refuse military service based on religion, morals, or freedom of thought?
Answer: Conscientious Objector
- What is the "G" name associated with hotel Bibles because of a religious organization that places the tomes in bedside tables? The first of these Bibles was placed in a hotel in Superior, Montana.
Answer: Gideons Bible
- What is the political term for belief in government by divine guidance?
Answer: Theocracy
- The Hindu deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Lakshmi are commonly depicted in religious art as sitting or standing on what flower, now the national flower of India?
Answer: Lotus
- One tradition of the Pueblo religions of the U.S. Southwest is the creation of small cottonwood "dolls" which represent spirits with what "K" name?
Answer: Kachina
- The “hallow” in Halloween comes from another name for a person who is most holy and can be canonized in some religions?
Answer: Saint
- Located in Los Angeles, Beth Chayim Chadashim became the first LGBT place of worship for followers of which religion when it opened in 1972?
Answer: Judaism
- While it is impossible to confirm, a popular legend suggests that the popularity of coffee in Europe did not truly take off until after 1600, when it was supposedly blessed by which religious figure?
Answer: The Pope
- Created in 1916 and rebuilt in 1998, what prominent Vilnius landmark consists of a trio of religious symbols rendered in white reinforced concrete?
Answer: Three Crosses
- 12 km north of Siaullai, Lithuania is a hill covered with what religious items? It is believed to have started after the 1831 uprising.
Answer: Hill Of Crosses
- The SWORD Project is an open-source project designed to encourage development of software related to what ancient religious text?
Answer: The Bible
- The massive 1964 earthquake that killed 133 people and destroyed several villages in coastal Alaska occurred on what religious holiday? The quake's moment magnitude of 9.2 was more than a thousand times as powerful as the famous 1989 San Francisco earthquake.
Answer: Good Friday
- Costa Rica is the only sovereign nation in the Americas with what branch of Christianity as the official religion?
Answer: Catholicism
- Charles Fort famously influenced many author writers and religious leaders. A modern horror scribe used the works of Fort as "advice" for the parents of a pyrokinetically gifted child in "Firestarter." What Maine-born writer wrote "Firestarter"?
Answer: Stephen King
- At the Council of Clermont in 1095, Pope Urban II called for the first of what actions which became a recurring event throughout the Medieval period?
Answer: Crusades
- How many Sacraments does catholicism have?
Answer: 7
- Martin Luther's 95 Theses kickstarted the Reformation Movement in what German city in which Luther was a professor of moral theology?
Answer: Wittenburg
- What 2004 film, directed by Mel Gibson, depicts the final 12 hours of Jesus's life?
Answer: The Passion of the Christ
- In January 1377, Pope Gregory XI returned the papal residence to what European city?
Answer: Rome
- "Thou shalt not covet" is one of the Ten Commandments, a set of traditional Christian religious verses said to have been relayed from God to what famous, hirsute man?
Answer: Moses
- "Thou shalt not covet" is one of the Ten Commandments, a set of traditional Christian religious verses said to have been relayed from God to what famous, hirsute man?
Answer: Moses
- According to Chapter 9 in Proverbs, what four-word phrase "is the beginning of wisdom"?
Answer: Fear of the Lord
- In the '90s, which 2-word Chinese spiritual movement meaning "discipline of the dharma wheel" ran afoul of the government
Answer: Falun Gong
- What is the more common name for the members of a historically Christian group formally known as the Religious Society of Friends?
Answer: Quakers
- Mary Baker Eddy founded what religion to "reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing"? The religion's central Church is located in Boston and publishes a popular "Monitor."
Answer: Christian Science
- Known as a chadaree in Afghanistan, a veil that conceals the entire face and body is more commonly known as what religious garment that is traditionally worn by Muslim women?
Answer: Burka
- At the ripe age of 969, who lived the longest in the Bible?
Answer: Methuselah
- What ancient man wrote a work of political philosophy titled simply "Politics"? Admittedly that's a translated title. The work is divided into eight books and ranges from discussing the instability of tyrannies to pontificating on marriage and children.
Answer: Aristotle
- A Healthcare Sharing M______ is an organization in which the healthcare costs of members are shared among members with similar ethical or religious views? They often exclude care for medical expenses associated with a non-Christian lifestyle, such as drinking or birth control.
Answer: Ministry
- Known mainly for spreading a specific type of food, what Massachusetts-born 19th century man was also fond of spreading religion throughout the country on his journeys?
Answer: Johnny Appleseed
- What religious term refers to the percentage of liquid a distilled spirit loses during the aging process? Kentucky bourbons, because they are often aged for long periods, lose high percentages of spirit this way.
Answer: Angels' Share
- In what religion is a book of the dead called the "Bardo Thodol" read to the dying to help them prepare for a favorable rebirth?
Answer: Buddhism
- In 1832, at the age of 21, a member of a prominent religious family moved to Cincinnati to join her father, who had become the president of a theological seminary. Her religious conviction, progressive inclinations, the recently-passed Fugitive Slave Act, and the death of her own 18-month-old-son were said to be key influences for one of the most influential novels in American history. What is this novel?
Answer: Uncle Tom's Cabin
- In 2020, the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates signed a series of peace agreements. Which religious figure was it named for?
Answer: Abraham
- All Mughal emperors were practitioners of what religion? The empire's peak is often considered the 17th and 18th century when it ruled over nearly all of the Indian subcontinent.
Answer: Islam
- Founded in 1819, what public U.S. university famously featured a library as its "head building" rather than a religious building? This was a departure from most schools founded before 1830 in the U.S. and the building today is referred to as the Rotunda.
Answer: University of Virginia
- Both the Hindu japa mala and the Roman Catholic rosary are what type of tool used in devotional meditation?
Answer: Prayer beads
- In what modern day country is the holy Islam city of Mecca located?
Answer: Saudi Arabia
- In what country was Gautama Buddha said to have been born? Hint: the country neighbors India.
Answer: Nepal
- Initially founded by Curtis Sliwa in the 1970s to stem the widespread violence on the New York City subway system, what is the religiously-inspired name of the volunteer youth patrol and non-profit famous for wearing red berets?
Answer: Guardian Angels
- The house at 501 Auburn Avenue and the religious establishment where its residents practiced are both part of a National Historic Park named for what man?
Answer: Martin Luther King Jr
- In the Bible, on what island was Paul shipwrecked?
Answer: Malta
- How many yards is it from the penalty mark to the goal line on a standard soccer field?
Answer: 12
- According to the Bible, in what city was David anointed King?
Answer: Hebron
- What two-word video game franchise is considered a "score attack racing game" and is often considered innovative for its use of in-game advertising and its soundtrack provided by punk bands The Offspring and Bad Religion?
Answer: Crazy Taxi
- What word, meaning "my messenger" is the last book of the Old Testament in the Bible? The relatively short book is made up only 55 verses across 4 chapters.
Answer: Malachi
- What 1997 film was about a Texas preacher and featured a trifecta performance by Robert Duvall (wrote, directed, starred)?
Answer: The Apostle
- Fittingly, what is the name of the hero of John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" who flees from the City of Destiny to the Celestial City?
Answer: Christian
- What actress, who played the lead in "Judging Amy" (1999 to 2005) and starred as Violet Turner in "Private Practice" (2007 to 2013), received a degree in comparative religion from Harvard University in 1987?
Answer: Amy Brenneman
- Dating back to 3600 BCE in Persia, water-filled "bladder" mattresses were made from an oft-discarded organ of a particular domesticated animal. What is this animal?
Answer: Goat
- The world's first endowed professorships were bestowed by Lady Margaret Beaufort at Oxford and Cambridge in what religious-slash-academic discipline?
Answer: Divinity
- The 1618 Defenestration of Prague marked the beginning of what religious conflict within the Holy Roman Empire?
Answer: Thirty Years War
- What famed absurdist and nihilist author and philosopher once said “Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?”?
Answer: Albert Camus
- What country is considered to have the highest wine consumption per capita? The demographics of the country skew towards additional wine consumption, including religious beliefs.
Answer: The Vatican
Play Religion Trivia with Water Cooler Trivia
Water Cooler Trivia is well-equipped to provide you with exciting and engaging trivia quizzes.
So, how does it work?
Each week, our team will deliver original trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
All you have to do is pick the categories.
You can leave the rest of the heavy lifting to us.
Take Water Cooler Trivia for a test run with our four-week free trial.
About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
.png){kind=logo}
.jpg)
.png)