Temple is a house of worship. The word temple usually refers to Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Taoist, and ancient Near Eastern and European places of worship. In Christianity, it is generally used only for certain Mormon buildings. In Judaism, Reform houses of worship are commonly called temples, but Conservative or Orthodox ones are usually called synagogues.
Most temples are built to honor God, a god, or many gods. Many of these buildings are considered the homes of gods. Worship at temples often involves traditional ceremonies and may include sacrifices. Many people visit temples as individuals or in small groups, rather than as members of large congregations.
Temples range from small, simple huts to huge, elaborately decorated buildings. Many contain a picture or statue of the honored god. In a typical temple, the holiest image or object of worship is in a central room. To reach this area, worshipers may have to pass through a series of gates or doors that symbolize a spiritual journey. In many temples, only the clergy may enter the room. An altar stands inside or in front of many temples.
The design of numerous temples is symbolic. In Eastern Asia, for example, a number of Buddhist temples are towerlike buildings called pagodas, which have many stories. The stories represent the levels of the earth and heaven, or the various spiritual goals that a Buddhist must achieve to gain salvation.
Certain temples stand on sacred sites. For example, some were built where people believed that miracles or divine revelations occurred. King Solomon of ancient Israel erected a temple in Jerusalem at the place where God was believed to have stopped a plague. This temple, which served as the center of the Hebrew religion, is considered the most important one in the history of Western religion. Temples also have been built where people thought sacred forces flowed together in the most favorable way. Hindus and Taoists use an elaborate procedure involving the interpretation of divine signs to choose the most favorable location for a temple.
The oldest known temple site is Göbekli Tepe, built around 10,000 B.C. in what is now southeastern Turkey. The site is a megalithic monument —that is, a structure made of large stones by prehistoric people. It includes huge limestone pillars decorated with images of wild animals and arranged in a series of circles. Archaeologists think the Stone Age inhabitants of the region used the site as a religious center before the development of farming and settled societies.
