Islam is the dominant religion of North Africa, as it is for the Middle East and a portion of Central Asia. Interestingly the Sahara Desert acts as a sort of boundary between Islam-dominated North Africa and Christianity-dominated Sub-Saharan Africa. This is caused by the different historical, particularly colonial, experiences of these two parts of Africa.

These are all large cities in the Middle East that have close ties to Islam, and, in the case of Jerusalem and Cairo, to other religions as well. Mecca, however, is considered the birthplace of the Islamic faith. It is found in modern-day Saudi Arabia. It is where the Prophet Muhammad was born. As part of the five pillars of Islam all Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at one point in their lifetime (assuming they are physically and financially able to do so).

During the sixteenth century, both England and Scotland fell under the sway of the Protestant Reformation, although in two entirely different forms. England had many ups and downs, resulting in the distinct form of Protestantism known as Anglicanism, while Scotland developed the Calvinist-based Presbyterianism. Both countries would have pockets of Catholics for centuries, and both nations have seen a rising tide of secularism and reduced religious participation since the twentieth century.

All of these religions are monotheistic except Hinduism, which is polytheistic. A polytheistic religion is characterized by belief in multiple gods, usually that are responsible for different areas of the universe and of human experience. According to common understanding (although this is probably more of a common misunderstanding) there are over three-hundred million deities in the Hindu faith.

Islam, Judaism, and Christianity (which was ultimately derived from Judaism) originated in the Middle East and can be eliminated as possible answer choices. While both Hinduism and Buddhism originated in South Asia, the spread of Buddhism to Southeast Asia was catalyzed by merchants and settlers traveling to Southeast Asia as well as religious emissaries sent by leaders (like King Asoka) to help spread the word about Buddha's teachings.

When a religion is described as evangelical it means that many of its followers actively try and convert others through missionary work, education, and general proselytizing. Islam and Christianity are both evangelical religions. Hinduism is sort of an evangelical religion but is not truly a global religion because it is followed in significant numbers only in the Indian subcontinent. Judaism, despite its immense cultural and historical significance, is not followed in large numbers anywhere in the world except Israel and the United States. Buddhism is a global religion, followed by people in a wide variety of places, which is not considered to be evangelical.

“Ahimsa” is an important concept in both Hinduism and Buddhism and affects a great deal of everyday life in South and East Asia where these two religions are dominant. “Ahimsa” involves practicing nonviolence towards all living beings, both humans and animals. It is a major reason why so many Hindus and Buddhists are vegetarians.

There are approximately two billion people in the world who identify as Christian (most estimates or data puts the number at slightly over two billion). Christianity is the dominant religion in North America, South America, Europe, parts of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Oceania.

Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion. To be clear a monotheistic religion is a religion based on the belief that there is only one God. Judaism as a religion is over three thousand years old. It is the progenitor of the two most widely followed religions in the world - Christianity and Islam. Although the raw number of Jewish people in the world has always been relatively small they have had an immense impact on culture and western society for thousands of years.

The Baha’i faith is a fast growing and widespread religion - it claims somewhere between five and ten million members and is present in almost two hundred countries. It was founded in modern-day Iran (then called Persia) in the nineteenth century. According to the Baha’i faith there is one God that all religions worship with equal validity and all human beings are equally valued and deserve equal respect. Due to its universal appeal the Baha’i faith has been widely adopted in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.