Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Religious Knowledge Quiz

A key aspect of fostering positive interfaith relations includes knowledge. Test your knowledge of U.S. religions using this quiz from the Pew Research Group, and see how you do. You’ll see in the quiz some questions about such religions as Buddhism, Hinduism, and many others. 

How much do you know about religion? And how do you compare with the average American?

Here’s your chance to find out.

Take our short, 15-question quiz, and see how you do in comparison with 3,412 randomly sampled adults who were asked these and other questions in the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey.
When you finish the quiz, you will be able to compare your knowledge of religion with participants in the national telephone poll. You can see how you compare with the overall population as well as with people of various religious traditions, people who attend worship services frequently or less often, men and women, and college graduates as well as those who did not attend college.

For a full analysis of the findings of the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey, read the full report.
- See more at: http://www.irfwp.org/wp/index.php/u-s-religious-knowledge-quiz/#sthash.CNTvpTnl.dpuf

Bridging the Gap Between the Christian and Muslim Communities in Iraq

Ayatollah al-Sistani of Iraq’s Shia Islam community continues his efforts to forge positive relations with Christians worldwide. Shia Islam is the majority among Iraq’s Muslims. We hope for a welcome reception for this positive example for interfaith dialogue, including meetings with influential Christian figures.
This past week, the Shia leader met with a Community of Sant’Egidio delegation in Najaf. The Community of Sant’Egidio planned to visit Iraq to “participate in a symposium on the issue of coexistence and dialogue among faiths.” During the meeting, al-Sistani expressed solidarity with Iraqi Christians. He stated that Iraq’s Christian communities must survive, and that any violence against these communities would “pose a threat to the whole of Iraq.”
Grand Ayatollah Ali all-Husayni al-Sistani, the highest-ranked Shia in Iraq and son of religious scholars, met with Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, in the Shia holy city of Najaf just over a year ago. The Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan’s purpose of the visit was to “visit Christian sites discovered in this city.”
During his travels, he granted the Shia religious leader “a courtesy visit” where the two discussed “a recent papal visit to Lebanon, which had significant results from the perspective of interfaith dialogue.”At the meeting, Ayatollah al-Sistani affirmed the possibility of Muslims and Christians coexisting “without hatred, respecting the beliefs of each other” for the purpose of building “together a free and humane society.”
- See more at: http://www.irfwp.org/wp/index.php/bridging-gap-christian-muslim-communities-republic-iraq/#sthash.oGRD0GtM.dpuf