Where people gather to worship
Every faith has its own special places to gather and pray, and this word search gathers them. You'll be finding the Christian CHURCH and CATHEDRAL, the Muslim MOSQUE, the Jewish SYNAGOGUE, the Sikh GURDWARA, and the Hindu MANDIR — plus the TEMPLE and PAGODA of other faiths.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the buildings change every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
Towers, domes and quiet corners
These buildings are full of special features, and the words are here. There's the tall STEEPLE, SPIRE and TOWER, the great DOME and the slender MINARET, and inside the ALTAR, the PULPIT and the long central NAVE. You might light a CANDLE, be blessed at the FONT, or visit a small CHAPEL, SHRINE or MONASTERY. People travel as a PILGRIM to many of these holy places — each one a centre of worship for its community.
Buildings that tell you about a faith
You can often guess a building's faith just by its shape. A CHURCH or CATHEDRAL usually points to the sky with a tall STEEPLE or SPIRE; a MOSQUE has at least one slender MINARET, from which the call to prayer was traditionally given, and often a great DOME; a Hindu MANDIR and an East Asian PAGODA each have their own distinctive style. Inside, the layout reflects how people worship — a Christian church has an ALTAR and a PULPIT for preaching, while a MOSQUE has a niche showing the direction of Mecca.
These places are far more than buildings, though — they're the beating heart of a community. People gather there not only to pray but to celebrate, mourn, learn and help one another, and a GURDWARA even serves a free meal to all. Some are so special that believers travel huge distances as a PILGRIM just to visit. Spotting and naming them is a friendly, respectful way into an RE or world-religions topic.
Great for a world-religions topic
It's a great fit for an RE or world-religions lesson — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own RE words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Places of Worship word search?
Buildings where people worship — the church, cathedral, mosque, synagogue, gurdwara, mandir, temple and pagoda, plus features like the altar, pulpit, dome, spire, steeple, minaret and font. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Which buildings can you find?
The Christian CHURCH and CATHEDRAL, the Muslim MOSQUE, the Jewish SYNAGOGUE, the Sikh GURDWARA and the Hindu MANDIR, plus the TEMPLE and PAGODA, and features like the ALTAR, DOME, SPIRE, STEEPLE and MINARET.
Is it good for a world-religions topic?
Great fit for an RE or world-religions lesson. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.