Blog topic
Religion articles
The Five Pillars of Islam, the Torah, the Four Noble Truths, Diwali, Ramadan, the golden rule, pilgrimage, the Vedas, the Ten Commandments, karma and monotheism. Descriptive rather than devotional: what each tradition holds and practises, in its own terms, with the differences kept intact.
23 explainers, newest first. Each one ends with real questions from the unit that teaches it, so you can read the explanation and then check whether it stuck.
These are the readable companion to the Religion track, which holds 18 units and 2,157 practice questions. If you are starting the subject rather than looking something up, the study guide is the better place to begin.
What Is Lent? Forty Days, Fasting and the Road to Easter
Lent is the forty-day season before Easter in which Christians fast and prepare, modelled on Jesus's forty days in the desert. What is left of it.
October 19, 20267 min readWhat Is Confucianism? Ritual, Respect and the Order of a Good Society
Confucianism is the ethical and political tradition built on the teachings of a Chinese scholar of the sixth century BC. What he taught, and how it ran China.
October 17, 20268 min readWho Is Hanuman? The Monkey God of the Ramayana
Hanuman is the devoted, immensely strong monkey god of Hindu tradition who leapt to Lanka to find Rama's wife. His story, his powers, and his worship today.
October 15, 20268 min readWhat Is Zen Buddhism? Sitting, Koans and the Point of Not Explaining
Zen is the school of Buddhism that puts direct experience before scripture. Where it came from, what happens in the meditation hall.
October 13, 20268 min readWhat Is the Talmud? The Argument That Shaped Judaism
The Talmud is the record of rabbinic debate about how to live by the Torah, compiled over centuries. What is in it, how a page is built, and how it is read.
October 11, 20266 min readWhat Is Taoism? The Way, Effortless Action and the Tao Te Ching
Taoism is the Chinese tradition of living in accord with the Tao, the way of nature. Its founding text, wu wei, and how a philosophy became a religion.
October 8, 20267 min readWhat Is Sikhism? Beliefs, History and the Five Ks
Founded in Punjab five centuries ago, Sikhism teaches one God and human equality. Its ten Gurus, its scripture, and the five Ks.
October 6, 20266 min readWhat Is Shinto? Japan's Way of the Spirits
Shinto is Japan's native tradition of kami, the spirits of places and things. Its shrines and rituals, its long history with Buddhism, and how it is practised.
October 5, 20267 min readWhat Is Shabbat? The Jewish Day of Rest Explained
From Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall, Jewish life stops work and turns to meals, prayer and family.
October 2, 20268 min readWhat Are the Main Branches of Christianity?
Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, and the families within them. How two great splits produced the branches, what each holds, and where they overlap.
September 30, 20268 min readWhat Is the Difference Between Sunni and Shia Islam?
The split began over who should lead after Muhammad. What the two branches share, where they differ, and why today's conflicts are mostly political.
September 9, 20267 min readWhat Is the Hajj? The Pilgrimage to Mecca Explained
Two million people perform the same rites over five days each year. The Hajj step by step, where each ritual comes from, and how a crowd that size is managed.
September 9, 20267 min readWhat Are the Five Pillars of Islam?
A clear, respectful guide to the five practices that shape daily life for Muslims around the world.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Is the Torah?
A clear guide to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, how the scroll is used, and why it sits at the centre of Jewish life.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Are the Four Noble Truths?
What are the four noble truths of Buddhism? A clear guide to suffering, its cause, its ending and the path, explained in plain language.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Is Diwali, the Festival of Lights?
Why lamps are lit, which traditions celebrate it, and what the five days of Diwali actually involve.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Is Ramadan?
Why Muslims fast for a month, how the daily routine works, and what the end of Ramadan celebration involves.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Is the Golden Rule in World Religions?
How 'treat others as you would be treated' appears across many traditions, and where the versions differ.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Is a Pilgrimage?
Why people travel to sacred places, which pilgrimages are best known, and what the journey itself is meant to do.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Are the Vedas?
A clear guide to the oldest Hindu scriptures, how they were preserved by memory for centuries, and what they actually contain.
August 28, 20268 min readWhat Are the Ten Commandments?
The list, where it appears in scripture, and why Jewish, Catholic and Protestant traditions number them differently.
August 28, 20268 min readWhat Is Karma?
The actual meaning in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain thought, how it differs from the popular version, and why it is not cosmic punishment.
August 28, 20269 min readWhat Is Monotheism?
Belief in one God, how it differs from polytheism, which religions hold it, and how the idea developed historically.
August 28, 20269 min read