Other contemporary shrines

Besides Christianism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Judaism there are many more existing religions in world. Many of these religions have very interesting shrines and temples, which are no less impressive and sophisticated than the temples of large religions. Here are shortly outlined the specifics of sacred sites and worship structures of some of these religions, as arranged by the number of believers:

Sikhism

Sikhism is a comparatively new religion established by Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539) in Punjab (India) sometimes around 1507. Sikh faith was further developed by nine next Gurus living up to 1708. After the last human Guru there came Guru Granth Sahib – holy scripture and this is the sole and final guru. With 20 – 30 million followers Sikhism is the next largest religion after the four large religions in the world.

Sikh place of worship is named – gurdwara – literally "the doorway to guru". People of all faiths are welcomed to gurdwaras but should pay respect and follow certain rules of conduct. Gurdwaras can have different shapes – but almost all have a dome (gumbad). Sikh architects have mastered using artificially created water bodies to excel in the beauty of temples.

By far the most significant gurdwara is Harmandir Sahib (India, Punjab) in Amritsar. This gold-covered building is one of the highest achievements in Sikh architecture.

Bahá’í Faith

Nowadays Bahá’í Faith has some 7,6 – 7,9 million followers in the whole world. There are not many shrines of this religion but those few in existence are well worth mentioning. Bahá’í Faith believers try to build architectonically expressive buildings surrounded by beautiful parks. The holiest and the most important one is Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh (Israel, Acre) – it contains the remains of Bahá’u’lláh himself. Next in importance is the beautiful Shrine of the Báb (Israel, Haifa) – here is laid to rest Báb – the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh. This shrine is special due to its beautiful terraced park.

Elsewhere in the world there are several Bahá’í Houses of Worship. Notable is the House of Worship in India (Delhi) – Lotus Temple – built in 1986 and renowned due to its beautiful architecture.

Shinto

Japan does not have single main religion and the Japanese often feel as belonging to several religions at once. Shinto has evolved from more ancient Japanese traditions and religious practices and up to this day this religion serves as a spiritual link between the stressed urban life of contemporary modern Japan and the harmony of nature. In its divination of nature, this contemporary religion has many similarities to animism.

Shinto shrines have made Japan renowned in the whole world as a culture with exquisite and sophisticated taste and great achievements in search for harmony between design and nature. Some of the most renowned ones are – Ise Grand Shrine (Mie, Japan), Itsukushima Shrine (Hiroshima, Japan) with its floating wooden gate, and Izumo-taisha (Shimane, Japan) with a very long history and once most popular pilgrimage site in Japan.

Cao Đài

In 1926 in northern Vietnam there was born new religion – Cao Đài (Kingdom of Heaven). This religion requires its followers to be vegetarians, to respect non-violence, and to venerate deceased ones.

Homecity of this religion is Tây Ninh (Vietnam, Tây Ninh). Here is also located the beautiful Holy See of Cao Đài religion – Cao Đài Temple (1933 – 1955).

Zoroastrianism

Among the contemporary religions Zoroastrianism stands out as a very ancient religion both regarding its religious practices and its actual history. It is based on the teachings of the Iranian prophet and poet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra) who lived more than 3000 years ago. Zoroastrianism could be considered to be a state religion in Iran up to the coming of Islam in the 7th century, it was widespread in the whole of Central Asia.

Zoroastrians gradually lost their influence in the 7th – 9th centuries and often were forced to migrate to different regions – to remote places in Iran and also to Gujarat in India. Nowadays there are roughly 145 – 210 thousand Zoroastrians, approximately half of them living in India.

Site of Zoroastrianism worship is called – fire temple. Most venerated fires have been extinguished long ago – but legend goes that more than a thousand years ago a group of refugees brought a sacred fire to India, Gujarat. Here it has been preserved and today is burning in Udvada Atash Behram. There are eight more fire temples of the highest degree (Atash Behram) – all in India, except for the newest one in Iran, Yazd.

Other articles

Wondermondo has defined several other categories of religious structures:

• Religious architecture – list of more than 60 most interesting and impressive religious structures and sites around the world.
• Buddhist shrines
• Churches
• Christian monasteries
• Hindu shrines
• Islamic shrines
• Jain shrines
• Judaism monuments, sinagogues
• Ancient pyramids
• Ancient and prehistoric shrines