NationStates Jolt Archive

So I came across this (http://www.sporcle.com/games/popularreligions.php) not too long ago, and found some of the entries interesting. Perhaps it's merely a lack of depth in the world history classes I've taken, or that some of the religions (even the really populous ones) are obscure enough not to warrant much mention.

I'm curious how many of the most populous religions you folks can name (my score was 14/21, plus the easter egg).

As to a discussion, I'm whiting out with spoiler tags because of the quiz:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Dai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenrikyo
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritism
I point these out specifically because, aside from the fact that I'd never heard of them, they're all fairly new religions that have still managed to get hundreds of thousands of followers. What does it say of human psychology that these religions manage to generate so many followers in such short order?

Breathairianism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breatharianism). Freaking odd indeed.

Breathairianism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breatharianism). Freaking odd indeed.

Strange indeed, though it proved inspiration for the Oxygenarians dietary path in Kingdom of Loathing. :D

I got 18/21.

21/21 with 2 mins remaining :D

/is religious studies minor.

21/21 with 2 mins remaining :D

/is religious studies minor.

So what are Cao Dai, Unitarian Universalism and Tenrikyo then?

They say I got 15/21... however, two of the "missed" ones I feel I got under different names. The ones I missed: (in white, of course)

Juche (I guessed personality cult)
Spiritism (I guessed shamanism and animism)
Sikhism
Rastafari
Unitarian-Universalism
Tenrikyo

I've heard of all of them except for the last one, so I'm a bit ashamed I didn't get 19/21 or 20/21.

14/21 here, too, although I think a couple of answers are phrased such that it'd be hard to figure out how to put them. Interesting quiz, though.

strange indeed, though it proved inspiration for the oxygenarians dietary path in kingdom of loathing. :d

lol!:d

14/21 here, too, although I think a couple of answers are phrased such that it'd be hard to figure out how to put them. Interesting quiz, though.

Well it's actually pretty flexible in what it takes. Like the Neo-Pagan religions accept Wicca as a response, etc.

Huh, I'm surprised people missed UU. Maybe it's just a function of hanging out with crunchy hippie liberals, but I thought that one was well-known. :p

Well it's actually pretty flexible in what it takes. Like the Neo-Pagan religions accept Wicca as a response, etc.

It is, but I tried to put in something along the lines of "African tribal stuff," and it didn't like any of my phrasings.

Huh, I'm surprised people missed UU. Maybe it's just a function of hanging out with crunchy hippie liberals, but I thought that one was well-known. :p

I've always sort of lumped it in with Christianity, though that has more to do with not knowing enough about it, most likely.

Huh, I'm surprised people missed UU. Maybe it's just a function of hanging out with crunchy hippie liberals, but I thought that one was well-known. :p

What is it, though?

LOL @ Juche

I was doing a search in Google, just for the heck of it, and Scientology keeps coming up as one of those odd, unheard of religions.:tongue:

I was doing a search in Google, just for the heck of it, and Scientology keeps coming up as one of those odd, unheard of religions.:tongue:

I was surprised that it made the list at all

I'm curious how many of you got the 22nd hidden answer.

I was surprised that it made the list at all

I'm curious how many of you got the 22nd hidden answer.

Secular?

What is it, though?

a weird, protohippie, damn near anything goes split-off of christianity

Secular?

Yup.

I was surprised that it made the list at all

I'm curious how many of you got the 22nd hidden answer.

I got it. I just typed it in for shits and giggles. It really doesn't make sense, given the nature of the quiz.

Friggin' missed scientology, though, because I'm a dumbass.

i disagree with the lumping the world's indigenous religions/worldviews/whatever as a single religion. also, the neopagans form at least a couple distinct groups - the various witches can probably be safely lumped together, but putting them with the homeric revivalists/hellenic reconstructionists?

6/21 yikes I did get most of the top ones. I forgot Judaism. Go directly to jail do not pass go. I did get Bahai. I was trying to get Sikhism but I was spelling wrong.

Yeah. This was more an exercise of trying to think like the computer than it was an exercise in religious knowledge.



















Yeah. I did poorly.

So I came across this (http://www.sporcle.com/games/popularreligions.php) not too long ago, and found some of the entries interesting. Perhaps it's merely a lack of depth in the world history classes I've taken, or that some of the religions (even the really populous ones) are obscure enough not to warrant much mention.

I'm curious how many of the most populous religions you folks can name (my score was 14/21, plus the easter egg).


I would have never guessed that Jainism had that many followers. Is there a Patelism?

14/21, although I got tripped up by not distinguishing African traditional and tribal-traditional as well as forgetting Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

I would have never guessed that Jainism had that many followers. Is there a Patelism?

Hahahaha. There probably would be, if they had any followers other than themselves.

14/21, although I got tripped up by not distinguishing African traditional and tribal-traditional as well as forgetting Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

I'm ticked off that the hypertext didn't kick in for typing 'Zoroaster'.

I got 16/21 but I blame my inability to spell things on the problem......Buddhism, seriously?! I can never remember where the "h" goes.

Hey the Jedi Church (http://www.jedichurch.org/) wasn't mentioned! :p

I'm ticked off that the hypertext didn't kick in for typing 'Zoroaster'.

That's like typing in Jesus and expecting them to give you Christianity.

Very odd divisions IMHO. Why are African and Primal separated? If UU is separated from Christianity, why not LDS? If LDS is kept within Christianity, why is Cao Dai separated from Daoism and Tenrikyo separated from Shinto?

So what are Cao Dai, Unitarian Universalism and Tenrikyo then?

Cao Dai is basically a Vietnamese off shoot of Daoism. UU is really two different branches of Christianity. Tenrikyo is an offshoot of Shinto.

Huh, I'm surprised people missed UU. Maybe it's just a function of hanging out with crunchy hippie liberals, but I thought that one was well-known. :p

I assumed they were lumping it with Christianity.

I've always sort of lumped it in with Christianity, though that has more to do with not knowing enough about it, most likely.

I know quite a bit about it, and that's where I've always put it.

LOL @ Juche

Indeed. That and Co$.

i disagree with the lumping the world's indigenous religions/worldviews/whatever as a single religion. also, the neopagans form at least a couple distinct groups - the various witches can probably be safely lumped together, but putting them with the homeric revivalists/hellenic reconstructionists?

Indeed, poor lumping.

I got it. I just typed it in for shits and giggles. It really doesn't make sense, given the nature of the quiz.

Friggin' missed scientology, though, because I'm a dumbass.

in your defense, the quiz only said it was for religions, not for religions and con artistry...

I wouldn't categorize UU as Christianity. Plain old Unitarianism, sure, but the whole point of that second U is that it borrows from all religions, yes?

I fail...

I got a 14/21 correctly, I remembered 2 more, but only by their German names and couldn't translate them... :/ I know all of them though...

That's like typing in Jesus and expecting them to give you Christianity.

Actually, it's more like typing in 'christ' and getting 'christianity'.

Which it did. :)

Actually, it's more like typing in 'christ' and getting 'christianity'.

Which it did. :)

You sure? for me, it didn't take it until I had "Christian"

Huh, I'm surprised people missed UU. Maybe it's just a function of hanging out with crunchy hippie liberals, but I thought that one was well-known. :p

I always lump it in with Christianity for some reason.

I got 17/21.

Oh, and I have to second the people complaining about lumping. When I saw a lot of the answers, I thought "WTF, X's not its own religion, especially not if Y gets lumped in with Z!"

I got 13/21

Indeed, poor lumping.

adherents.com is notoriously stupid. The comic book chart they have is hilarious. (http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html)

That's like typing in Jesus and expecting them to give you Christianity.

Considering I got Secular by typing in "no", that doesn't seem like much of a stretch.

You sure? for me, it didn't take it until I had "Christian"

You may be right.

Regardless, the 'jesus' analogy failed. That it wouldn't take 'zoroasterian' instead of 'zoroastrianism' (or whatever the spelling is) is my point. I tried several incarnations, with, apparently, none of them spelled correctly. That annoys me. I was close enough, dammit! Just give me the Zoro! :p

I got 10/21, plus the secularism.

I was trying to get what would amount to the African traditional and indigenous stuff, but it would never take, I hadn't thought of Unitarians as non-Christians, and I couldn't get it to take Hindu, which apparently, should have been Hinduism...

So I believe I should have gotten 13/21, or maybe 14, if the Unitarians had occurred to me. Plus one.

You may be right.

Regardless, the 'jesus' analogy failed. That it wouldn't take 'zoroasterian' instead of 'zoroastrianism' (or whatever the spelling is) is my point. I tried several incarnations, with, apparently, none of them spelled correctly. That annoys me. I was close enough, dammit! Just give me the Zoro! :p

yeah! in fact, let's just have to get the first letter! :tongue:

I wouldn't categorize UU as Christianity. Plain old Unitarianism, sure, but the whole point of that second U is that it borrows from all religions, yes?

Nope. Unitarianisnm and Universalism, in the context of UUism, were both Xian heresies.

Universalism
Unitarian Universalism emerged from two separate denominations: Unitarianism and Universalism.

Universalists are Christians who believe in universal salvation. They don't believe that a loving God could punish anyone to hell for eternity. Instead, they believe that everyone will be reconciled with God eventually.
http://www.uua.org/visitors/ourhistory/6904.shtml

Considering I got Secular by typing in "no", that doesn't seem like much of a stretch.

Secularism is definately one that shouldn't be on the list, along with Juche (a political system) and Co$ (a money making scheme/scam).

Curse my inability to spell Baha'i.

Nope. Unitarianisnm and Universalism, in the context of UUism, were both Xian heresies.


http://www.uua.org/visitors/ourhistory/6904.shtml



Fair 'nuff. I've only attended a couple of UU services at one church, so they may just be a bit more inclusivity-focused than some or something. :)

15. I guessed "spiritualism" and "deism" but not "spiritism" or whatever.

I got 9/21...Im not really religious, lol...

EDIT: Also got Secular, didnt realize it was a bonus...I just typed Atheist cause it should be included....

I forgot about the Jews.

Damn how did I forget the Rastafarians.

14/21, plus secular, which I got by typing in agnostic.

I didn't get and haven't heard of juche, cao dai, and tenrikyo.
I didn't get Chinese Traditional, African Traditional & Diasporic, Spiritism, or Unitarian-Universalism despite having at least heard of them before, although not really knowing all that much about them...

There are a couple of things wrong with that quiz, IMO. African traditional should probably fall under animism, Juche is arguably not a religion.

adherents.com is notoriously stupid. The comic book chart they have is hilarious. (http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html)

That's just sad. They list the folowing as "religions": Utilitarianism, Objectivism, Humanism, Communism, Agnostic, Atheism, Veganism, Animal Rights, Environmentalism, Hippism, Radical Feminist, pro-abortion, LGBT, Alcoholics Anonymous, Utopianism, Anarchism, National Socialism, Transhumanism, Social Darwinism, and Freudianism. One has to work at being that stupid.

However J. Jonah Jameson's listed religion is the best: "hates Spider-Man".

I got Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese Traditional (I typed "Taoism" and it took it), Primal-indigenous, and Spiritism. I don't believe I missed Judaism and Scientology, I should have gotten those. I also should have gotten Buddhism, I kept misspelling it. African Traditional & Diasporic isn't that different from Primal-indigenous, I think. I've heard of Shinto and Neo-Paganism and maybe a few others, but I was surprised at some of those.

\What does it say of human psychology that these religions manage to generate so many followers in such short order?Erm, promiscuous sex and flash mobs? Flash promiscuous sex mobs?
Somewhere in that ballpark?

Oh, and good to see you back, good sir. *bows*

What is it, though?

Thats coz it's not religion as such, but an umberella church which acepts memebership from any religoin.

Did they include Pastafarian (http://www.venganza.org/)?

Hahahaha. There probably would be, if they had any followers other than themselves.
Actually, I was half serious. Isn't Jain a family name? Is it just a coincidence that it's also the name of religion?

I got 7. Ah well.

:(

Failed miserably.


I keep writing 'bullshit' and apparently the test didn't liked my wording. :p

I used to RP on the MSN chatrooms and I remeber coming across a lot of people who believed in the church of Aztaroth or something. Can anyone here clarify if indeed there was such a take on religion?

I used to RP on the MSN chatrooms and I remeber coming across a lot of people who believed in the church of Aztaroth or something. Can anyone here clarify if indeed there was such a take on religion?

Aztaroth...or Goddess Lilith Aztaroth?

Aztaroth...or Goddess Lilith Aztaroth?

Check either. I cannot remember, it was more than 6 or 7 years ago.

Check either. I cannot remember, it was more than 6 or 7 years ago.

Any way, there isn't any true religion about Astarot, Ashtarot, Aztarot, Aztharot,Aztaroth or how ever you want to spell it. Neither is Litlith Aztaroth a real goddess. Many people believe it is the name of an angel fallen from heaven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astaroth

On another note there is at least one heavy metal band named like every single spelling of that name. :)

Any way, there isn't any true religion about Astarot, Ashtarot, Aztarot, Aztharot,Aztaroth or how ever you want to spell it. Neither is Litlith Aztaroth a real goddess. Many people believe it is the name of an angel fallen from heaven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astaroth

On another note there is at least one heavy metal band named like every single spelling of that name. :)

Hm... just in case, I want to double check. I remember that at the time (unless I'm using an erronoeus name) the church had a website and a hierarchy of elders and the like.

Hm... just in case, I want to double check. I remember that at the time (unless I'm using an erronoeus name) the church had a website and a hierarchy of elders and the like.

There are hundreds of Luciferian or Satanic Churches. They all make their sites. But almost all of the time they aren't a real religion. Just a bunch of punks trying to outrage chirstians. As if that was difficult...:rolleyes:

http://www.remnantofgod.org/steeple.htm
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/BaphometSigil.html
http://www.churchofmammon.com/ :p :tongue:
http://www.luciferian.org/

Huh, I'm surprised people missed UU. Maybe it's just a function of hanging out with crunchy hippie liberals, but I thought that one was well-known. :p

Oh, I knew of it, but I lumped it under other categories. I tried Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses, though, so yah.

I missed those two relatively new religions it seems practically everyone missed, but got everything else except for the aforementioned one in the quote.

I knew most of them I just kept spelling them wrong :(

Actually, I was half serious. Isn't Jain a family name? Is it just a coincidence that it's also the name of religion?It comes with a *killer* hat from mommy.
http://www.geocities.com/fadingendlessly/jayne1.gif

Actually, I was half serious. Isn't Jain a family name? Is it just a coincidence that it's also the name of religion?

My bad. And yes. I actually brought this up to a Jain friend Wednesday and was told that the name started out similar to Singh in Sikhism (i.e. it was a surname of followers of that religion) but now they make up just a small portion of followers of Jainism.