Can You Name These Faith Reformers?

<p> Over the centuries, the interpretation and practice of almost every religion has changed with the times. Literal interpretations of holy books have waxed and waned in influence. Religious hierarchies have risen and fallen. Sometimes, the most basic of doctrines have even been questioned.</p> <p>At the heart of almost every shift in faith interpretation is an individual who looked at their religion through a slightly different lens. Their thoughts and interpretations were not always welcomed. In fact, reformers’ ideas were sometimes violently rejected. That did not, however, stop their ideas from spreading and taking root in the minds, hearts and spirits of other people. Over time, their ideas came to utterly reform their faith. They were some of the most important figures in their faiths. Do you know who they were and what they did?</p>

This Christian nailed his list of propositions to the door of Wittenberg Castle church, thus sparking the Protestant Reformation.

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John Calvin

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James Protestant

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Martin Luther

This Hindu pioneered the idea that the practice of each Hindu sect would eventually lead a person to the same goal. He was also instrumental in raising Hinduism to the status of a major world religion and reviving Hinduism in India.

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Swami Vivekananda

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Mahatma Gandhi

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Arya Samaj

This legendary Indian monk is credited with bringing Zen Buddhism to China. He is also said to have begun training the monks of Shaolin Monastery in what would later become Shaolin kungfu.

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Dogen

correct!

Bodhidharma

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Abhidharma

This Christian emperor called for the creation of a single, unifying Christian creed. This creed would become the Nicene Creed and contains the most basic tenets of Christianity.

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Constantine II

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Theodosius

correct!

Constantine the Great

This Buddhist monk established the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, the tradition that now contains 40 percent of Japanese Buddhists.

correct!

Honen

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Rensei

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Tokikuni

This Christian nailed his list of propositions to the door of Wittenberg Castle church, thus sparking the Protestant Reformation.

This Hindu pioneered the idea that the practice of each Hindu sect would eventually lead a person to the same goal. He was also instrumental in raising Hinduism to the status of a major world religion and reviving Hinduism in India.

This legendary Indian monk is credited with bringing Zen Buddhism to China. He is also said to have begun training the monks of Shaolin Monastery in what would later become Shaolin kungfu.

This Christian emperor called for the creation of a single, unifying Christian creed. This creed would become the Nicene Creed and contains the most basic tenets of Christianity.

This Buddhist monk established the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, the tradition that now contains 40 percent of Japanese Buddhists.

You may know your faith as it stands now, but you are not entirely aware of the influences that shaped it into the form it holds today. You are curious about how religious interpretations have shifted over the centuries, but you do not recognize the individuals who sparked those changes.

You are a student of history as much as a student of religion. You know how religions shift over the centuries and you are aware of the individuals that drove those changes. You can recognize the influences that helped shape your faith and see the difference they made in their religions.