Places of worship, sacred texts, symbols and objects

25 min

Buildings that teach

Walk into a church and your eyes are led forward to the altar and the cross. Walk into a mosque and you find no pictures at all, only an open carpeted hall and, in the far wall, a small arched niche that shows which way to face. The shape of a place of worship, the books read there and the objects used all teach what a community believes. In this lesson you learn to "read" them.

Definition

Sacred: set apart for God and treated with special respect.

Sacred text (scripture): writings believed to come from God or to record God's revelation: the Bible for Christians, the Qur'an for Muslims.

Symbol: an object, picture or sign that stands for a deeper meaning, such as the cross for Christ's death and resurrection.

Qibla: the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca, which Muslims face in prayer. The mihrab is the niche in the wall of a mosque that shows the qibla.

Places of worship

Part of a church	Use	Part of a mosque	Use
altar	table for the Eucharist (Holy Communion, the Mass)	mihrab	niche showing the qibla; the imam leads prayer in front of it
lectern or pulpit	reading the Bible and preaching	minbar	stepped pulpit for the Friday sermon (khutbah)
font	water for baptism, near the entrance	ablution area	washing (wudu) before prayer
nave	where the congregation sits or stands	prayer hall	open floor where worshippers pray in straight rows
bell tower	calls people to worship	minaret	tower from which the call to prayer (adhan) is given

Sacred texts

	The Bible	The Qur'an
Parts	Old Testament and New Testament; 66 books in Protestant Bibles, 73 in Catholic Bibles	114 surahs (chapters) of different lengths
Original languages	Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek	Arabic
How believers see it	God's word, written by many inspired authors over many centuries	Allah's word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Jibril, over about 23 years
In worship	read aloud at every service; read in any language, including Kinyarwanda	recited in Arabic in every prayer; translations explain its meaning
Other guidance	the Church's tradition and teaching	the Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet) and Islamic scholarship

Both faiths show respect for their scripture: Muslims touch the Qur'an only in a state of purity and keep it in a high, clean place; in many churches the Gospel book is carried in procession and the people stand to hear it read.

Sacred symbols and objects

Christianity	Meaning	Islam	Meaning
cross or crucifix	Christ's death and victory over death	Arabic calligraphy	the words of the Qur'an and names of Allah, used instead of pictures
water	baptism, new life	geometric patterns	the order and unity of Allah's creation
bread and wine	the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist	prayer mat	a clean place to pray
candles	Christ, the light of the world	prayer beads (misbaha)	counting phrases of dhikr
rosary (Catholic)	counting prayers while meditating on Christ's life	crescent and star	a widely used sign of Islam, though not commanded in the Qur'an

Islam forbids pictures or statues of Allah and does not depict the prophets in worship, so mosques use writing and patterns instead of images. Many churches use paintings, statues and stained glass to teach the story of faith; some Protestant churches keep their buildings plain.

Tip

Visiting another faith's place of worship. Ask permission first, dress modestly, remove your shoes in a mosque, keep quiet and do not touch sacred objects. Respect is itself a lesson in faith.

Warning

Don't confuse similar words. The mihrab (niche) is not the minbar (pulpit). The altar is a table, not a pulpit. The rosary and the misbaha look alike but belong to different prayers.

Discuss. Why do you think Islam forbids images in worship while many churches are full of pictures? What does each choice teach about God?

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Practice

What is the qibla, and how is it shown in a mosque?
Name three parts of a church and say what each is for.
In what language is the Qur'an recited in salah?
How many surahs are in the Qur'an, and how many books are in a Protestant Bible?
Why do mosques use calligraphy and patterns rather than pictures?
Match each object to its faith and use: font, minbar, misbaha, candle.
Your class will visit a mosque and a church. Write five rules of respectful behaviour for the visit, and explain why each matters.

Show answersHide answers

The direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca; by the mihrab niche in the qibla wall.
Any three, e.g. altar (Eucharist), lectern or pulpit (reading and preaching), font (baptism), nave (congregation).
Arabic.
114; 66.
Islam forbids images of Allah and does not depict the prophets in worship, so the words of the Qur'an and patterns are used to point to Allah without pictures.
Font: Christianity, baptism. Minbar: Islam, the Friday sermon. Misbaha: Islam, counting dhikr. Candle: Christianity, Christ the light of the world.
E.g. ask permission; dress modestly; remove shoes in the mosque; keep silent during prayer; do not touch or photograph sacred objects without permission. Each shows respect for what others hold sacred.

Remember

Church: altar, lectern, font, nave, cross. Mosque: mihrab (qibla), minbar, prayer hall, ablution area, minaret.
Bible: two testaments, read in any language. Qur'an: 114 surahs, recited in Arabic.
Symbols point beyond themselves; treat other faiths' sacred things with respect.

Sources and credits

Lesson text, plans, tables and practice: written by Ganzaa.
Photo: Green mosque Kigali.jpg by Francisco Anzola, Wikimedia Commons, public domain (as marked on the file page).
Photo: ASC Leiden - Rwanda 2021 - 027 - A church service in a modern church - Kigali.jpg by Gerard van de Bruinhorst, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Shown without change.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Buildings that teach

2Places of worship

3Sacred texts

4Sacred symbols and objects

Buildings that teach

Places of worship

Sacred texts

Sacred symbols and objects