Temple

A temple is a special building used for spiritual activities like prayer and sacrifice. Many different religions around the world use temples as places to honor their beliefs and connect with their gods or spirits. The word "temple" comes from ancient Latin, meaning a sacred space marked out by priests.

Some religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, call their places of worship temples. Others, like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, use different names such as churches, mosques, and synagogues. Even so, these buildings all serve similar purposes in helping people practice their faith.

Egyptian temple of Philae, Egypt, constructed in 6th century BC.

Temples can look very different depending on the religion and culture. They may be large, grand buildings or simple structures. Inside, people often make offerings and perform special ceremonies led by religious leaders. Some parts of a temple might only be open to these leaders, while others welcome everyone.

Temples have been important for thousands of years, from ancient times to today. They are not just buildings but also centers of community life, where people come together to share their beliefs and traditions.

Indian temples

Hindu temple

Main article: Hindu temple

Buddhist temples

Main article: Buddhist temple

Buddhist temples include structures like stupas, wats, and pagodas. These temples may have a meditation hall with an image of Buddha, called a Buddharupa, for people to focus on during meditation. Stupas are dome-shaped buildings used in rituals. Buddhist temples represent a peaceful place, inspired by the pure land of a Buddha.

Ranakpur Jain temple, Rajasthan, India.

Early Buddhist temples included monasteries, places to honor relics, and prayer halls. As Buddhism spread, the style of these temples changed, influenced by different forms of the religion.

Jain temples

Main article: Jain temple

Sikh temples

Main article: Gurdwara

A Sikh temple is called a gurdwara, meaning "doorway to the Guru." The most important part of a gurdwara is the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book. Gurdwaras have entrances from all sides, showing that they welcome everyone. They also have a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept and a Langar where people can share a free meal. Gurdwaras may also include a library, nursery, and classroom.

Mesopotamian temples

Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq

The people of Mesopotamia built special places called temples to honor their gods and goddesses. These temples were used by many different groups, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. The most famous type of temple in Mesopotamia was called a ziggurat. Ziggurats were large buildings made from sun-baked bricks, shaped like step pyramids, with a flat top where the temple or shrine was placed.

Egyptian temples

Main article: Egyptian temple

A panoramic view of the interior of the Luxor temple, Luxor, Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian temples were special places where gods and goddesses were thought to live on Earth. The Egyptians called these temples the “mansion of a god.” People visited these temples to perform rituals, which they believed helped keep the world in balance and order. These rituals were very important because they helped maintain harmony in nature and society.

These temples were also important for the economy. They stored and shared grain and owned a lot of farmland. Some temples even used a special design to guide visitors to the main room. In a book called The Temple in Man, an author suggests that the design of temples like the Temple of Luxor reflects deep ideas about the human body and the universe.

Greco-Roman temples

Main articles: Greek temple and Roman temple

Greek and Roman temples started as simple wooden buildings with mud brick walls. As these cultures grew, their temples became huge stone buildings with marble columns. These columns were once brightly painted in colors like white, blue, red, and black. The tops of the temples had sculptures showing stories from myths or battles, with special statues placed at the peaks and corners.

In front of these temples were altars for special ceremonies. Some altars were square with metal pans for offerings, while others were pits for pouring liquids like milk or wine. Inside the temple was a special room holding a statue of a god. Greek temples faced east toward the sunrise, and the places where temples were built often had stories or myths connected to them. These temples were not just for worship; they were also important community centers. For example, the Temple of Saturn kept the city's money safe in its basement.

European polytheistic temples

Zoroastrian temples

Main article: Fire temple

A Zoroastrian temple is also called a Dar-e-mehr or an Atashkadeh. These temples are special places for Zoroastrians to worship. Zoroastrians respect fire very much, and their temples have a special, never-ending flame called an eternal flame. The most important type of flame is called Atash Behram, which includes many different kinds of fire gathered in special ceremonies.

In Zoroastrianism, fire (Atar) and clean water (Aban) help keep things pure during rituals. Clean ash is very important for these ceremonies, which are similar to caring for a fire at home but done in a more formal way.

Chinese temples

Main article: Chinese temple architecture

See also: Joss paper, Air pollution, and Particulates

Chinese temples are special buildings used for worship in Chinese culture. People practice Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion in these temples. These temples have a long history, dating back to ancient times in China, and they are usually built in traditional Chinese architecture.

Most Chinese temples are made from wood, with some parts made from bricks and tiles. They often have curved roofs with beautiful decorations, including pictures of mythical animals like Chinese dragons and qilins. You can find Chinese temples in Mainland China, Taiwan, and in areas where Chinese expatriate communities live, including Chinatowns around the world.

Indonesian temples

Main articles: Candi of Indonesia and Balinese temple

In Indonesia, old temples are called candi. Between the 5th and 15th centuries, most people in places like Java and Sumatra followed Hinduism and Buddhism. Because of this, many Hindu temples were built there. These temples followed special building rules based on Vastu Shastra and were designed to look like Meru, a sacred mountain where gods live. Today, in Indonesian Buddhist communities, the word candi can mean either an old or a new shrine. Some modern Buddhist places in Indonesia even have copies of famous old temples.

Local stories say that the valley of Java once had many Hindu temples that stood alongside Buddhist temples. Most of these temples were covered by the eruption of Mount Merapi in the year 1006 CE.

Mesoamerican temples

Main article: Mesoamerican pyramids

Temples in Mesoamerica were often built as stepped pyramids, with a smaller temple or shrine at the top. These pyramids had steep steps leading up to a flat area where important rituals took place. The temples were made of stone and could be square or rounded, with a door that opened into a special inner room.

Some of these pyramids tell stories through pictures and writings about gods like the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl and myths about how the world began. Famous examples include the Aztec site of Acatitlan and Mayan sites like Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Tikal.

Jewish synagogues and temples

In Judaism, ancient Hebrew texts called the special places of worship in Jerusalem Beit YHWH, meaning 'YHWH's House'. In English, we usually call these places "temples."

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is where two important temples, the First Temple and the Second Temple, were built long ago. At the center was a very special room called the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest could go. Today, the Temple Mount is home to an Islamic building called the Dome of the Rock.

During a time called the Hellenistic period, the word synagogue began to be used for Jewish and Samaritan places of worship. Other names like shul and Beit Knesset are also used.

Since the 1700s, some Jewish communities in Europe started calling their places of worship "temples." This name became common, especially in places where traditions changed. Today, in America, the word temple is often used instead of synagogue, especially in places that are not traditional.

The word kenesa is used by Karaite Jews for their places of worship.

One example is the Sofia Synagogue in Bulgaria, which is the largest synagogue in Southeastern Europe and the third-largest in Europe.

Christian temples

Orthodox Christianity

In Eastern Christianity, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the word temple is often used to talk about places of worship. The word temple helps make a difference between a church building and the idea of the church as the Body of Christ. In Russian and other Slavic languages, the word for a church building is often khram, meaning temple. Even though church is used more often, the word temple can describe bigger and more important churches. Some well-known churches called temples include Hagia Sophia, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia.

Catholicism

In Western Christianity, especially in English-speaking areas, the word temple is not often used. In some languages like Irish, Hungarian, and Spanish, special words are used that come from the same Latin root as temple. Usually, words like abbey, basilica, cathedral, chapel, and church are used instead. However, there are a few examples where Catholic churches are called temples, such as the Sagrada Familia Temple in Barcelona, Spain, and the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur Temple in Paris, France. Another example is the Temple of Our Lady of the Pillar in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Protestantism

Some Protestant churches also use the word temple. For example, above the main entrance of the Lutheran Gustav Vasa church in Stockholm, Sweden, there is a Latin inscription calling it a temple. Starting in the late 1700s, some Protestant groups in France and elsewhere began using the word temple to make their churches different from Catholic ones. Today, many Protestant churches use words like church, tabernacle, or temple to describe their places of worship. Some breakaway Catholic groups, like the Mariavite Church in Poland, also call their main church a temple.

Latter Day Saint movement

For Latter Day Saints, temples are very special places of worship. In 1832, Joseph Smith received a message about bringing back temple worship in a house of the Lord. The Kirtland Temple was the first temple built by the Latter-day Saint movement and was finished during Smith's life. The Book of Mormon talks about temple building by ancient people in the Americas, called the Nephites. These temples were important for religious and community events.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints builds many temples. They have 385 temples at different stages, including those that are finished, under construction, or just announced. These temples are used for very special religious practices and are kept very sacred. They have strict rules for who can enter. After a temple is built but before it is officially opened, people can visit it during a special open-house period.

Other Latter Day Saint denominations

Various groups that came from Joseph Smith's teachings also have temples. For example, the Church of Christ (Wightite) built a temple in Zodiac, Texas. The Community of Christ opened the Independence Temple in Independence, Missouri. There are also temples built by other groups, such as one near Modena, Utah.

Esoteric Christianity

Mount Ecclesia Esoteric Christian Temple of the Rosicrucian Fellowship with its round 12-sided building on top of a mesa and facing east. This modern temple has symbols related to alchemy and astrology.

Masonic temples

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that began in the eighteenth century. Members share moral and metaphysical ideals based on stories about building King Solomon's Temple. Freemasons meet in groups called Lodges. These Lodges often meet in special buildings called Masonic Temples, Masonic Centers, or Masonic Halls, like Freemasons' Hall in London. Sometimes people get confused because Masons say they are "in Lodge" when they meet.

Others

Göbekli Tepe, located in southern Turkey, was built between the 8th and 10th millennium BCE. Its circular compounds on top of a tell are made of large T-shaped stone pillars decorated with mysterious pictures and animal reliefs.
Temples of Sheikh, ancient temples in Sheikh, Somaliland
Temple of Yeha, the oldest standing structure in Yeha, Ethiopia; built around 700 BCE
In the Star Wars films, the Jedi Temple is located on Coruscant.
Wolmyeongdong Natural Temple, located in South Korea, was developed beginning in 1990 and continues to this day.
Pashupatinath is one of the most famous temples of Hinduism, which is located at Kathmandu, Nepal.

Convention sometimes allows the use of temple in some of the following cases:

Baháʼí Faith temple (Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs or 'Houses of Worship').
Traditional Chinese folk shrines are called miao, or ancestral hall in English. Joss house is an old American term for such places of worship.
Confucian temple
Mankhim, the temple of the ethnic group the Rai, located at Aritar, Sikkim.
Shinto jinja are normally called shrines in English to tell them apart from Buddhist temples (-tera, -dera).
Taoist temples and monasteries are called guan or daoguan (道观, literally 'place of contemplation of the Tao') in Chinese, with guan being the shorter name.