REL 1300- Exam 1 - PRACTICE QUESTIONS

The so-called Golden Rule set forth in the Christian New Testament: a. establishes the Christian ethical perspective with regard to the pursuit of wealth b. is pronounced in similar forms in the scriptures of virtually all of the world's major traditions c. pronounces that God created heaven and earth through the Logos or Word d. distinguishes Christianity as being the most altruistic of the world's major traditions

b

Underlying Durkheim's definition is a theory that reduces religion to being: a. a drug-induced illusion b. an effect of societal forces c. Christianity, without being open to the possibility of other traditions d. the foundation of a person's sense of being

b

Certain basic and extremely significant scientific questions remain unanswered; for example, a. About how old is the universe? b. Does God exist? c. What is the ground of consciousness? d. What is the meaning of human existence?

c

French sociologist Émile Durkheim insists in his definition of religion on: a. An emphasis of its effects on the individual's psyche b. The harm brought about by religion, the "opium" of the people c. The unification brought about by "beliefs and practices," culminating in a "moral community called a Church" d. The notion of "transcendence" as its essential aspect

c

Religion functions in an unhealthy manner as an opiate that deters the suffering individual from attending to the true cause of affliction, according to: a. Émile Durkheim b. Sigmund Freud c. Karl Marx d. Paul Tillich

c

Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy a. asserts that divine truth can be known only through a mystical experience b. promotes Catholic teachings as fundamental to leading a religious life c. describes the encounter with "the Holy" as "numinous" d. can be summarized as the application of Platonic philosophy to Jewish theology

c

The capacity for seeing things from another's perspective is: a. audacity b. complacency c. empathy d. synchronicity

c

Which of the following is not typical of religious revelation? a. It is recorded in sacred texts or scriptures. b. It sets forth narratives describing the role of God or the gods in history. c. It is brought about through prayer on the part of a congregation of worshipers. d. It includes pronouncements directly attributed to the divine.

c

Swiss psychologist __________ made vital contributions to the study of religious symbolism and of the general role of the unconscious mind in the religious life.

carl jung

Until the late decades of the 19th century, theorists applied the term "world religion" only to __________.

christianity

According to William James, religion is "the feelings, acts and experiences of individual men __________." a. At the time of dying b. At their most heroic c. In relationship to their community of fellow believers d. In their solitude

d

Among many examples of a place of special significance established by a hierophany is a. Buddhism's Bodh Gaya, site of Gautama's foundational experience of Enlightenment b. Christianity's Church of the Nativity c. Islam's sacred city of Mecca d. All of the above

d

For the academic study of religion, as opposed to doing religion or being religious, a. consideration of the true nature of the divine is the central focus b. psychological and sociological studies are not highly relevant c. analysis of empirical data is not possible because of the nature of religion d. supernatural beings and events normally are held to be beyond its reach

d

Henotheism acknowledges: a. only one god who is thought to be qualitatively removed from the world b. the virtue of the gods, but sets forth the pursuit of pleasure as the ultimate good for humankind c. six separate deities, of the four directions and of the sky and of the earth d. a plurality of gods but elevates one of them to special status

d

Enlightenment thinkers, most influentially the German philosopher __________, conceived of religion as something separate from the various phenomena the human mind is capable of perceiving.

immanuel kant

Historian of religions __________ describes the hierophany as a manifestation of the sacred that helps a people to establish its cosmology.

mircea eliade

true/false "World Religions" has been a prominent course of study in American colleges and universities for nearly a century.

true

true/false Experiencing transcendence does not depend upon believing in God or gods.

true

American psychologist __________ emphasizes in his definition the individual nature of religion.

william james

__________ Buddhism refuses to make much at all of death beyond acknowledging its natural place in the order of things.

zen

true/false Religious cosmologies typically describe both the origin and the status of the universe.

true

Modes of experience such as Buddhist __________ are by definition beyond the reach of empirical observation and of description.

nirvana

true/false Bruce Lincoln's definition of religion could not leave room for an atheistic tradition.

false

true/false In monotheistic religions, the world is normally depicted as a kind of illusion, somehow not altogether real or permanently abiding.

false

true/false Karl Marx was a thoroughgoing idealist who insisted that religious ideas can cause great changes in the economy.

false

true/false Monotheism is the belief in one god who is more powerful than the rest.

false

true/false Rudolf Otto gives preference to the mystical experience, a category that includes such phenomena as Buddhist nirvana.

false

true/false The academic study of religion has been an important field of study in universities for several centuries.

false

According to Bruce Lincoln's definition, the fourth "domain" of religion is __________.

institution

true/false Neither Freud nor Marx ever tried actually to define religion; rather, they tried to explain it away.

true

true/false One effect of feminist theory has been to reveal contributions of women through the ages that hitherto have been largely ignored.

true

true/false Quasi-divine figures, such as angels and demons, though difficult to categorize, are important elements of religion nonetheless.

true

true/false Religions typically prescribe what is right behavior and what is wrong based on a set of ethical tenets such as the Jewish and Christian Ten Commandments.

true

true/false Some religions, Christianity among them, teach that both revealed ethics and individual conscience work together as means of distinguishing right from wrong.

true

true/false The attempt to define religion is a relatively recent phenomenon, beginning for the most part with the European Enlightenment of the 18th century.

true

true/false The traditional Catholic doctrine of purgatory anticipates an intermediary destiny somewhere between the perfect bliss of heaven and the horrible agony of hell.

true

In 2009, the percentage of senior pastors in Protestant Christian churches who are women was a. 5 percent b. 10 percent c. 15 percent d. 20 percent

b

The world religion that most emphasize doctrines is: a. Buddhism b. Christianity c. Hinduism d. Judaism

b

A primary concern regarding a sound academic approach to the study of world religions involves the fact that it arose within an intellectual culture that: a. Embraced atheistic and agnostic theories of human behavior b. Ignored the relevance of religion as an important factor in molding society c. Tended to take for granted that Christianity was a model of what religion ought to be d. Was overtly influenced by Communism and therefore tended to undervalue religion

c

Psychologist __________ asserted that religion is "the universal obsessional neurosis of humanity."

sigmund freud

Both the numinous and nirvana are examples of __________ states of existence.

transcendent

Globalization, like modernization, has nurtured the notably modern process of __________, the general turning away from traditional religious authority and institutions.

secularization

A statement that is foundational to the field of religious studies is: a. To know one just one religion is to know none. b. If you follow a religion, do not study it. c. All religions are equally true. d. Religions evolve; God does not.

a

Bruce Lincoln's definition of religion emphasizes four "domains": a. Discourse, practice, community, and institution b. Essence, existence, freedom, and regeneration c. Inner, outer, esoteric, and exoteric d. Eastern, Western, African, and Australian

a

Globalization is a. the linking and intermixing of cultures b. imperial expansion and domination c. the embrace of a common religion worldwide d. the tendency to understand the world cultures in a new way thanks to new technologies

a

Religious scholar Ninian Smart's "dimensional" scheme divides the various aspects of religious traditions into seven dimensions, which include: a. doctrinal and ritual b. causal and reactionary c. artistic and architectural d. sacred and profane

a

Which of the following is not among the prominent questions addressed by religions? a. What is the correct definition of "religion"? b. What is ultimate reality? c. How should we live in this world? d. What is our ultimate purpose?

a

__________ explicitly denies the existence of God or gods.

atheism

The encounter of religion and science can clearly be observed by noting the impact of Charles Darwin's __________.

origin of species

In the words of sociologist __________, "a definition is not more or less true, only more or less useful."

peter berger

For many individuals who live in religiously __________ societies, it is difficult to regard any one religious worldview as the only viable one.

pluralistic

Along with being cross-cultural, religious studies is multidisciplinary, or __________, drawing on the contributions of various disciplines and fields of study.

polymethodic