Religion guides and questions
Understand religions in context.
Clear guides to major religions, beliefs and practices, with sources for further reading.
Religion guides
Each guide covers belief, scripture, worship and the major traditions within a religion. It opens with an object from a museum collection, recorded with its source and license.
IslamIslam is a monotheistic religion centered on worship of one God, the Quran, and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript, late 9th–early 10th century
ChristianityChristianity is a family of religious traditions centered on Jesus Christ, the Bible and worship of God.Jaharis Byzantine Lectionary, ca. 1100
JudaismJudaism brings together religion, peoplehood, sacred texts, law, memory, ethics and community.Bowl Fragments with Menorah, Shofar, and Torah Ark, 300–350
HinduismHinduism is a large family of traditions shaped over many centuries in South Asia and around the world.Nanda and Vasudeva: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana, ca. 1520–30
BuddhismBuddhism began with the teaching community associated with Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, in ancient South Asia.Seated Buddha, 1st to mid-2nd century
SikhismSikhism began in the Punjab with Guru Nanak and the Gurus who followed him.Taus, c. 1800
Focused questions
Shorter pages that answer one question first, then give the context and the differences between traditions.
- Why do Muslims fast?Muslims fast for several connected reasons, but the central answer is religious rather than nutritional or cultural.Read the answer
- Why do Christians pray?Christians pray because prayer is understood as a central way of relating to God.Read the answer
- What is kosher?Kosher is a Jewish term for what is fit or permitted according to kashrut, the body of Jewish dietary law and practice.Read the answer
How to read BeliefField
Sources on every page
Scripture, a tradition’s own institutions and academic scholarship are cited separately, for what each can support.
Source policyPerspectives are named
A denomination, school or institution is described as itself, not presented as the voice of a whole religion.
MethodologyCorrections are welcome
If a page gets something wrong or leaves out important context, you can report it with a source.
Corrections