3.1. Religions of the world

The main religions practised by people in the UK today are Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. How much do you know about each one? Do you know anyone who practises any of these religions?

Actividad desplegable

Let's find out how much you know about world religions. Complete the sentences.

Bahaism

Buddhism

Christianity

Confucianism  

Hinduism

Islam

Jainism

Judaism

Shintoism

Sikhism

 

 

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Objetivos

Do parts I and II of this activity about church.

Objetivos

Get Talking

Do many people in Spain attend mass, church services or other types of service?

Is there a difference between generations?

Are older people more or less religious?

Which of the following would you use to describe yourself?

  • A religious person
  • A fairly religious person
  • Not interested in religion at all
  • Other

Do/did you receive any religious education at school or outside school?

What types of religious activity are you involved in?

Do you know anything about world religions?

Do you believe in any of the following ideas?

  • Life after death
  • Reincarnation
  • Spirits or ghosts
  • God or some greater power

Do you have the same religious beliefs as your family and your ancestors?

Who influenced the development of your beliefs?

"Linking r"

Do you remember the marginal phenomenon called linking “r”. In Received Pronunciation of British English, the phoneme /r/ never occurs in syllable-final position. However, this /r/ has not completely disappeared in such a position. For instance, before a vowel, this final /r/ is often pronounced, as in /f:r egz/ four eggs.

This would suggest that rather than having a linking “r” before a vowel, we have an elided /r/ in all other positions. This elision has not taken place in most dialects of American English nor in many varieties of British English. By a phenomenon of over-generalisation, speakers of Received Pronunciation tend to insert an /r/ between vowels even where there has never been a /r/. This is called intrusive r.

Watch the following BBC video explaining this feature:

Video by BBC Learning English on youtube