Religions in South Africa

The main religions in South Africa: holy books, places of worship, leaders, symbols and festivals. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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Compare the faiths

Faith	Holy book	Place of worship	Leader / symbol
Christianity	Bible	Church	Minister; the cross
Islam	Qur’an	Mosque	Imam; crescent moon and star
Judaism	Torah	Synagogue	Rabbi; Star of David
Hinduism	Vedas, Bhagavad Gita	Temple or home shrine	Priest; Om sign
African Traditional Religion	None; passed on by word of mouth	At home, at the family kraal or shrine, and sacred places such as rivers, caves and mountains	Elders and traditional healers lead; the ancestors are honoured
Buddhism	Tripitaka (the teachings of the Buddha)	Temple or monastery; a stupa is a holy dome-shaped building	Monk; the Dharma wheel (eight spokes) and the lotus flower

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Beliefs and festivals

Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God. Muslims follow the Prophet Muhammad as God’s final prophet. Jewish people believe in one God.
Hindus celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting.
Followers of African Traditional Religion believe in one Supreme Being (uNkulunkulu in isiZulu, Qamata in isiXhosa, Modimo in Sesotho and Setswana). They believe the ancestors watch over the family and carry people’s messages to God.
Buddhists follow the teachings of the Buddha. They meditate and try to be kind and peaceful to all living things.

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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary

Bible (Christians), Qur’an (Muslims), Torah (Jews), Vedas and Bhagavad Gita (Hindus).
African Traditional Religion has no written holy book; it is passed on by word of mouth and honours the ancestors.
Muslims pray five times a day; most Christians go to church on Sunday.
The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) founded Buddhism; the goal is enlightenment (nirvana).
Show respect and be curious in a kind way about other faiths.

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Memory trick

Book-building-day: Christians Bible-church-Sunday; Muslims Qur’an-mosque-pray five times.

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Important words

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Test yourself · Part 2

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