Thanks to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research and other websites that compile interesting facts about religion, this article will present some trivia regarding some of the religious and cultural practices seen around the world.
1. In Australia, ‘Jedi’ is an official religion that has more than 70,000 followers, which do follow some of the principles associated with the Star Wars movies.
2. Some people are curious as to how many people attend church on Sunday. For many years, the Gallup Research Organization claims that about 40% of all Americans go to church by asking people who attended worship during the previous weekend. According to sociologists, people tend to tell little white lies about how often they attend. However, two researchers took to the task of counting the number of people who showed up at a representative sample of churches. They concluded that only 20.4 % of the population were present at church that week.
4. Can you believe that 1/3 of the funeral processions in Taiwan include the services of a stripper?
5. Not a part of their religion, it is estimated that close to 10% of Jewish households put up a Christmas tree.
6. Some prominent figures are granted honorary degrees from colleges, while Pope John Paul II was named an ‘Honorary Harlem Globetrotter’ in 2000.
7. In southern India, it is not unheard of for a man to marry the daughter of his oldest sister.
8. When it comes to the most sought-after book for shoplifters, it is the Bible.
9. With roots planted about 5,000 years ago, Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world , about 80% of the population practices it.
10. The longest word in the Bible is “Mahershalalhashbaz” and can be found in Isaiah 8:1.
11. The Bible has been translated into 1,200 different languages.
12. If you are interested in playing the numbers game with the Bible, you might be pleased to know that there are 1,260 promises found in the Bible. The Bible contains 6,468 commands and 3,294 questions.
13. If you are wondering the largest denominations found in the United States and Canada, as of 2007, consider the following statistics: The Catholic Church (69,135,254 members); the Southern Baptist Convention (16,270,315 members); The United Methodist Church (8,075,010 members); The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (5,690,672 members); The Church of God in Christ (5,499,875 members); National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (5,000,000 members); Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (4,850,776 members); National Baptist Convention of America (3,500,000 members) ;Presbyterian Church (USA) (3,098,842 members) ;Assemblies of God (2,830,861 members) ;African Methodist Episcopal Church (2,500,000 members); National Missionary Baptist Convention of America (2,500,000 members) ;Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (2,500,000 members) ;The Lutheran Church , Missouri Synod (LCMS) (2,440,864 members) ;Episcopal Church (2,247,819 members) ;Churches of Christ (1,639,495 members) ;Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (1,500,000 members) ;Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. (1,500,000 members) ;The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (1,432,795 members) ;American Baptist Churches in the USA (1,396,700 members) ;United Church of Christ (1,224,297 members) ;Baptist Bible Fellowship International (1,200,000 members) ;Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (1,071,615 members);The Orthodox Church in America (1,064,000 members); and Jehovah’s Witnesses (1,046,006 members).