Christianity

Question 1

Belief in one God who appears in human form, as distinct from the strict monotheism of Muslims and Jews, who reject the descent of the divine into a human body

Answer 1

Soft monotheism

Question 2

Greek term for Messiah in Hebrew and the title Christians give to Jesus

Answer 2

Christ

Question 3

New Testament books that tell stories of Jesus’s life, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Answer 3

Four Gospels

Question 4

Virgin mother of Jesus and the most revered of Christian saints

Answer 4

Mary

Question 5

Both a state of separation from God and an act of wrongdoing; said by Christians to be wiped away by the death of Jesus on the cross

Answer 5

Sin

Question 6

Liberation from sin, the Christian religious goal

Answer 6

Salvation

Question 7

One of the three main Christian branches, particularly strong in Latin America, which looks to the authority of the pope in Rome

Answer 7

Roman Catholicism

Question 8

One of the three main branches of Christianity, which grew out of the Reformation and traditionally emphasizes faith over works and biblical authority over church tradition

Answer 8

Protestantism

Question 9

One of the three main branches of Christianity, particularly strong Eastern Europe, which honors the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul)

Answer 9

Eastern Orthodoxy

Question 10

A religious subgroup of organizations that operate under a common name, such as Methodism or Episcopalianism

Answer 10

Denomination

Question 11

Portion of the Christian Bible written in Hebrew and borrowed from the Jewish tradition, which refers to its books as the Hebrew Bible

Answer 11

Old Testament

Question 12

Portion of the Christian Bible written in Greek and focused on the life of Jesus and the history of the Jesus movement, including the Four Gospels, Acts, various epistles (or letters), and Revelation

Answer 12

New Testament

Question 13

Reconciliation of human beings with God, made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross

Answer 13

Atonement

Question 14

A central Christian term that originally referred to “trust” but is now typically understood to refer to “belief”. Protestants affirm that salvation comes by “faith alone” and not by works.

Answer 14

Faith

Question 15

Worship service consisting of the consumption of bread and wine and commemorating both the Last Supper of Jesus with his followers and the death of Jesus by crucifixion; also called the Mass, Divine Liturgy, and Holy Communion

Answer 15

Eucharist

Question 16

Sixteenth-century movement that, by challenging the authority of priests, popes, and the Roman Catholic Church, ultimately created Protestantism as its own Christian branch

Answer 16

Reformation

Question 17

Sacred image of Christ or a saint believed by Eastern Orthodox Christians to facilitate contact with the subject of the image

Answer 17

Icon (“image”)

Question 18

Bishop of Rome and, according to Roman leader of the Christian church on earth

Answer 18

Pope

Question 19

Popular Catholic saint in the Spanish-speaking world. Her basilica in Mexico City is the world’s most visited Christian pilgrimage site.

Answer 19

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Question 20

Belief accepted as correct by church leaders, as contrasted with heresy, or unacceptable belief

Answer 20

Orthodoxy (“right doctrine”)

Question 21

Christian doctrine that there are three persons (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) in one

Answer 21

Trinity

Question 22

Christian doctrine that Jesus is God who was embodied in human form and lived died as a human being

Answer 22

Incarnation

Question 23

Protestants who worked, first in England and the Netherlands and later in New England, to “purify” Christianity of lingering Roman Catholic influences

Answer 23

Puritans

Question 24

Christians, including Episcopalians in the United States, who trace their roots to the founding of the Church of England by King Henry VIII

Answer 24

Anglicans

Question 25

Roman Catholic doctrine that the bread and wine used in the Mass re ritually transformed into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ

Answer 25

Transubstantiation

Question 26

Central rituals for Roman Catholics and orthodox Christians, namely, baptism, confirmation, (or christmation for the orthodox), Eucharist (or the Divine Liturgy), confession, anointing of the sick (or holy auction), marriage, and ordination

Answer 26

Seven sacraments

Question 27

Protestant Reformation slogan affirming the sole authority of the Bible

Answer 27

Sola scriptura (“scripture alone”)

Question 28

People who believe that God is like a watchmaker who creates the world and then simply observes its activities without intervening

Answer 28

Deists

Question 29

Christians who reject the doctrines of the original sin, the Trinity, and the divinity of Jesus; the Unitarian Universalist Association now includes both Christians and non-Christians

Answer 29

Unitarians

Question 30

Protestants who insisted on the independence of each congregation. Dominant in New England beginning in the colonial period, they are now active in the United States in the United church of Christ

Answer 30

Congregationalists

Question 31

Protestants who emphasize conversion, biblical inspiration, atoning death of Jesus, and Christian activism

Answer 31

Evangelicals

Question 32

Protestants, classically evangelicals, who trace their roots to John and Charles Wesley and empathize the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives

Answer 32

Methodists

Question 33

Protestants, classically evangelicals, who insist on adult baptism by immersion and the independence of local congregations

Answer 33

Baptists

Question 34

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, founded by Joseph Smith Jr. and now headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah

Answer 34

Mormons

Question 35

Liberal Protestant movement that saw sin and salvation as social and worked to address structural injustice

Answer 35

Social Gospel

Question 36

Modern Protestants who reject biblical criticism and evolutionary theory and interpret the Bible literally. Though fervently opposed to modernity, they have creatively employed modern technologies, included radio, television, and the internet

Answer 36

Fundamentalists

Question 37

Theological school that depicts Jesus as a prophet on the side of the oppressed and emphasizes action over theory

Answer 37

Latin America liberation theology

Question 38

Theological school that draws on the civil rights and black power movements and focuses on Jesus as a “Black Messiah” of liberation

Answer 38

Black liberation theology

Question 39

Theological school that critiques patriarchal god language and develops resources for women’s liberation in Christianity and other religions

Answer 39

Feminist theology

Question 40

Participants in a 20th century American Protestant movement distinguished by its affirmation of both the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second experience of grace (after conversion) and the gifts that comes with that experiment, including speaking in tongues

Answer 40

Pentecostals