Temple vs. Pantheon — What's the Difference?

A temple (from the Latin templum) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Islam (whose temples are called mosques), Judaism (whose temples are called synagogues), and ancient religions such as the Ancient Egyptian religion.

Pantheon A circular temple in Rome, completed around AD 125 and dedicated to all the gods.

A building devoted to the worship of a god or gods.

A temple dedicated to all gods.

A group of buildings in Fleet Street, London, which stand on land formerly occupied by the headquarters of the Knights Templar. Located there are the Inner and Outer Temple, two of the Inns of Court.

All the gods of a people considered as a group

The flat part of either side of the head between the forehead and the ear

A public building commemorating and dedicated to the heroes of a nation.

A device in a loom for keeping the cloth stretched.

A group of persons most highly regarded for contributions to a field or endeavor

A building dedicated to religious ceremonies or worship.

A temple dedicated to all the gods.

Temple Either of two successive buildings in ancient Jerusalem serving as the primary center for Jewish worship.

(mythology) All the gods of a particular people or religion, particularly the ancient Greek gods residing on Olympus, considered as a group.

(Judaism) A synagogue, especially of a Reform congregation.

(by extension) A category or classification denoting the most honored persons of a group.

Mormon Church A building in which the sacred ordinances are administered.

A temple dedicated to all the gods; especially, the building so called at Rome.

Something regarded as having within it a divine presence.

The collective gods of a people, or a work treating of them; as, a divinity of the Greek pantheon.

A building used for meetings by any of several fraternal orders, such as the Freemasons.

All the gods of a religion

A building reserved for a highly valued function

A monument commemorating a nation's dead heroes

Temple Either of two groups of buildings in London, the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, that house two of the four Inns of Court and that occupy the site of a complex used by the medieval Knights Templars.

(antiquity) a temple to all the gods

The flat region on either side of the forehead.

Either of the sidepieces of a frame for eyeglasses that extends along the temple and over the ear.

A device in a loom that keeps the cloth stretched to the correct width during weaving.

A house of worship, especially:

A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith.

(Judaism) synagogue, especially a non-Orthodox synagogue.

(Mormonism) As opposed to an LDS meetinghouse, a church closed to non-Mormons and necessary for particular rituals.

(in Japan) A Buddhist monastery, as opposed to a Shinto shrine.

A meeting house of the Oddfellows fraternity; its members.

(figurative) Any place regarded as holding a religious presence.

(figurative) Any place seen as an important centre for some activity.

(figurative) Anything regarded as important or minutely cared for.

(figurative) A gesture wherein the forefingers are outstretched and touch pad to pad while the other fingers are clasped together.

(anatomy) The slightly flatter region, on either side of the human head, behind of the eye and forehead, above the zygomatic arch, and forward of the ear.

(ophthalmology) Either of the sidepieces on a set of spectacles, extending backwards from the hinge toward the ears and, usually, turning down around them.

(weaving) A contrivance used in a loom for keeping the web stretched transversely.

(transitive) To build a temple for; to appropriate a temple to; to temple a god

A contrivence used in a loom for keeping the web stretched transversely.

The space, on either side of the head, back of the eye and forehead, above the zygomatic arch and in front of the ear.

One of the side bars of a pair of spectacles, jointed to the bows, and passing one on either side of the head to hold the spectacles in place.

A place or edifice dedicated to the worship of some deity; as, the temple of Jupiter at Athens, or of Juggernaut in India.

The edifice erected at Jerusalem for the worship of Jehovah.

Hence, among Christians, an edifice erected as a place of public worship; a church.

Fig.: Any place in which the divine presence specially resides.

A building dedicated to the administration of ordinances.

A local organization of Odd Fellows.

To build a temple for; to appropriate a temple to; as, to temple a god.

Place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity

The flat area on either side of the forehead;

An edifice devoted to special or exalted purposes

(Judaism) the place of worship for a Jewish congregation