You'll bring together everything you've learned about sacred texts across this unit. This assessment shows what you understand about how religions treat their scriptures and the question of authority.
Set a timer for 60 seconds. Write down everything you remember about ALL the sacred texts we've studied this unit. Don't look back. Just write what you can recall:
Keep asking these questions as you work through this lesson. Your answers will guide you through the assessment tasks.
This tab reviews everything you've learned about the Bible, Qur'an, Torah/Talmud, and Guru Granth Sahib. Use it to check your answers or refresh your memory.
| Category | Bible (Christianity) | Qur'an (Islam) | Torah/Talmud (Judaism) | Guru Granth Sahib (Sikhism) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author/Origin | Multiple human authors, believed to be inspired by God | God (Allah) revealed to Prophet Muhammad | Torah: God revealed to Moses; Talmud: rabbinic debate over centuries | Compiled from Sikh Gurus and also Hindu and Muslim saints |
| How Treated | Read in churches; studied in schools; basis for faith and ethics | Treated as perfect, literal word of God; memorized, recited daily; never touched without ritual purity | Torah: hand-written, kept in Ark, read in synagogue; Talmud: studied in pairs (chavruta), debated | Treated as a living guru; awakened each morning; has its own room; fanned with chaur sahib |
| Language | Originally Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT); translated into many languages | Arabic (the language reveals God's beauty); memorization in Arabic is central | Hebrew (Torah and Talmud); read in original | Gurmukhi (Punjabi script); always the same, 1,430 pages |
| Key Claim About Authority | Authoritative for faith and practice, but interpretation varies (liberal to fundamentalist) | Perfect, unchanging word of God; completely literal and authoritative | Torah is foundation; Talmud shows interpretation through debate; Jews argue about meaning | The book IS the eternal guru; consulted for daily guidance (hukamnama); every copy identical |
| How Used | Worship, study, prayer, moral guidance | Prayer (in Arabic), memorization (hafiz), daily recitation, guidance | Torah: yearly reading cycle, synagogue worship; Talmud: study in schools (yeshiva) and pairs | Daily reading in gurdwara; Akhand Path (48-hour continuous reading); consulted for guidance |
Key difference: Humanists don't believe in revealed sacred texts. Instead, they draw on human reason, science, and ethics. They value books by philosophers (like Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan) but these are not "sacred." Humanists use evidence and logic to decide what's true, not religious authority.
How this relates: Humanists challenge the idea that any text is unchangeable or perfect. They believe people should question, debate, and update their understanding—similar to Jewish chavruta learning, but without the assumption of divine authority.
10 quick-fire questions testing your recall from this unit. Answer each one, then reveal the answer to check yourself. Self-mark out of 10.
Try to answer each question before clicking "Reveal Answer." Keep track of how many you get right.
How many did you get right? Write your score: out of 10
You have a choice of writing tasks. Choose one, and write a strong paragraph or longer response.
Choose ONE of these options and write a response of at least 100 words. Use key terms and specific examples from what you've learned.
Compare how TWO different religions treat their sacred text. What is similar? What is different? Use key terms and specific examples.
Explain the different ways sacred texts can be interpreted (literal vs metaphorical, fundamentalist vs liberal). Use examples from at least TWO traditions.
Write a full evaluation with both sides, using examples from all four traditions PLUS Humanism. Your answer should be 120+ words minimum and include:
Consider: How do people use them today? What do they teach us? Why do billions still follow them?
Consider: Modern science, changing society, conflicting interpretations, Humanist alternatives.
Bring both sides together. What do YOU think? Use specific examples from the religions you've studied.
Beyond the assessment tasks, let's think about the bigger patterns and questions that connect all of Unit 3.
Authority: The Bible is authoritative, but interpretation varies widely. Some Christians read it literally; others read it metaphorically or historically. There's no single "correct" interpretation.
Authority: The Qur'an is the perfect, literal word of God. It's unchanging and complete. Islamic scholars interpret it, but they begin from the assumption that it's absolute truth.
Authority: The Torah is sacred, but debate about meaning is encouraged. The Talmud isn't a final answer—it's a record of disagreement. Wisdom comes through questioning.
Authority: The Guru Granth Sahib IS the eternal guru. It's treated as a living teacher, but it also includes voices from other religions, suggesting truth is broader than one book alone.
Authority: No sacred text has ultimate authority. Humanists use reason, evidence, and ethics to decide what's true. All ideas—including religious ones—can be questioned.
Different traditions answer this differently:
You've explored five different approaches to sacred texts: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Humanism. Each has a unique way of deciding what's true and how to live.
Write 3-4 sentences. What was surprising? What changed how you think?
Now you understand the sacred texts that guide believers. In the next unit, we'll explore how people actually USE those texts—through worship, prayer, and ritual. You'll see how the ideas in scripture come to life in people's daily faith.