Worship, practices and festivals
What this domain tests
Worship, practices and festivals examines what believers do, where, when and why, and how ritual expresses belief. You need named examples, correct terminology and an explanation of meaning, not just description.
Core practices
- Christianity: liturgical worship (set prayers, Eucharist) and non-liturgical (free prayer); baptism, confirmation, marriage; Sunday; the church year - Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost; pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Lourdes, Iona.
- Islam: Five Pillars - Shahadah, Salah (five daily prayers, wudu, qibla), Zakat, Sawm in Ramadan, Hajj; Jumu'ah Friday prayer; Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
- Judaism: Shabbat (Friday evening to Saturday night), synagogue worship, kashrut, Passover (Pesach), Yom Kippur, bar/bat mitzvah.
- Hinduism: puja at home and in the mandir, murti, festivals such as Diwali and Holi, pilgrimage to the Ganges.
- Buddhism: meditation, chanting, Vesak, veneration at stupas, the Sangha.
- Sikhism: gurdwara, langar, Nitnem prayers, Vaisakhi, the Guru Granth Sahib.
Worked example
'Explain how Salah affects a Muslim's daily life.' Strong: 'It divides the day at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and night; wudu and facing the qibla create discipline; Friday prayer builds community; the practice expresses tawhid and submission.' Note how each detail answers 'how' and 'affects'.
Traps
Do not swap Eid al-Fitr (after Ramadan) with Eid al-Adha (during Hajj). Do not describe a festival without its meaning. Avoid saying 'they pray' without naming the practice or tradition; vague answers lose explanation marks.