World Religions Final Exam
Jainism, as taught by Mahavira, emerged in India about the time of what other great teacher?
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
Which religions accept the eating of animals?
Sikhism and Islam
The god Rama is frequently paired with
Sita
Which country had a large Muslim population for almost 800 years?
Spain
The name given to Islamic mysticism is
Sufism
The day of Rejoicing in the Torah comes at the end of what festival?
Sukkot
One of the greatest examples of Islamic architecture is located in India and is called the
Taj Mahal.
The biblical book that describes the origins of the human race is
Genesis
The Jewish view of God is best expressed as
God makes moral demands
On what feast are Jewish children given presents for eight days?
Hanukkah
A major city of the pre-Vedic culture of the Indus River Valley was
Harappa
A hierarchical, hereditary form of religious Taoism is called
Heavenly Master Daoism
Which of these books is found in the New Testament?
Hebrews
The founder of the Church of England was
Henry VIII
The term maya may be translated as
Illusion
Buddhism began in
India
Confucius hoped to
restore the social harmony of the past
The religion of Sikhism first developed in
the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
"Orthodoxy" literally means
"right belief"
Literally, "synoptic" means
"together see"
China has had how many female rulers (emperors)?
1
How many Sikh gurus were there before the human line of gurus ended?
10
The Qing (Ching) Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty, collapsed in China in
1911
The Buddha left home to begin his life of wandering at what age?
29
Jain monasticism has split into how many branches?
4
The Tao Te Ching is written in approximately how many Chinese characters?
5000
The Shinto shrine that is dedicated to Amaterasu and is the shrine of the imperial family is located at
Ise
In religious studies, the word myth means
A story that is psychologically meaningful and may be either historically true or not
Contemporary Judaism has split into four parts. The most liberal is called
Reconstructionist Judaism.
Judaism traces itself back to what legendary patriarch who is written about in the book of Genesis?
Abraham
Muslims trace themselves back ultimately to what great patriarch?
Abraham
The Vedic god of fire was
Agni
The Buddha of the Western Paradise is
Amitabha
The center of the Sikh religion is at
Amritsar
The primary language that Jesus spoke was
Aramaic
The prince who is counseled by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is
Arjuna
The Indian ruler who spread Buddhist teaching widely was
Ashoka
The Southern Kingdom was destroyed in 586 B.C.E. by
Babylonia
When the Jewish boy turns thirteen, he is considered an adult in the religious community. This ceremony takes its name from his new status.
Bar Mitzvah
The dramatic style of church architecture that Catholics frequently used in order to oppose the Protestant Reformation is called
Baroque
The person whose Rule for Monks helped organize and spread Western monasticism was
Benedict
The absolute or divine reality is known as
Brahman
The oldest and most important of the Vedas is
Rig Vedas
Besides Tibetan Buddhism, another form of Vajrayana Buddhism is
Shingon Buddhism
The disciple of Freud who ultimately rebelled against him was
Carl Jung
What psychologist saw religion as a way for people to find their fulfillment as unique individuals, a process he called "individuation"?
Carl Jung
The basis for the Japanese writing system came from
China
Mencius (Mengzi, Meng Tzu) was a
Confucian with a positive view of human nature.
The bishop who is the most important bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church is the patriarch of
Constantinople
Important times in the development of the individual are often marked in oral religions by ceremonies. These are commonly called
Rites of Passage
Jainism was a strong influence on
Gandhi
The religious order that has especially focused on teaching and scholarship is
Dominicans
Omoto, in order to encourage international understanding, gives a special place to the study and use of
Esperanto
The anthropologist who lived in the Sudan among the Nuer and Azande peoples was
Evans Pritchard
Confucius's ideal society would live according to the ideals of the
Five Relationships
Krishna is often portrayed holding a
Flute
The primeval female kami who was burned by the fire god is
Izanami.
The Scottish anthropologist who was the author of the multivolume study of mythology called The Golden Bough was
James Frazer
The early anthropologist who saw religion as rooted in a belief in spirits and worship of them was
James Frazer
The early Christian group that was primarily Jewish in background had its headquarters in
Jerusalem
Confucianism was criticized by Chinese who had studied in the West and was influenced by the teachings of
John Dewey and Bertrand Russell.
The Scottish church leader who studied with John Calvin in Geneva was
John Knox
The Hebrew ancestor who, according to the Bible, first settled in Egypt was
Joseph
Christianity grew out of
Judaism
This god is associated with destruction and rebirth.
Kali
The Turkish leader who ended the caliphate was
Kemal Ataturk
The Japanese monk who studied in China and established Shingon Buddhism in Japan was
Kukai (Kobo Daishi).
The language of Sephardic Jews has been
Ladino
Which book is part of the Torah or Pentateuch?
Leviticus
The book of Acts is really the second part of this gospel:
Luke
What is the oldest branch of the Protestant Reformation?
Lutheranism
The Bhagavad Gita is part of a long Indian epic poem called
Mahabharata
The German theologian who held that religions originate in human response to the mysterious side of reality was
Rudolf Otto
The Protestant Reformation was started by
Martin Luther
The gospel that is oriented toward a Jewish audience and that portrays Jesus as the "new Moses" is
Matthew
A major Shinto shrine in Tokyo is named after what emperor?
Meiji
The statue of the Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica is by
Michelangelo
The chanter who calls people to prayer is called
Muezzin
The founder of Tenrikyo was
Nakayama Miki.
Tenrikyo, which grew out of Shinto, has its headquarters near
Nara
Hinduism is the majority religion of
Nepal
Maori religion is part of the cultural rebirth in
New Zealand
Which division of modern Judaism stresses strict beliefs and careful keeping of dietary laws?
Orthodox
African tribal masks influenced the art of
Pablo Picasso
When the early Christian belief spread outside Israel, it was spread particularly by what missionary?
Paul
Gothic architecture, although it arose in France, may be traced back to
Persia
The "Sutras on the Perfection of Wisdom" have this Sanskrit name:
Prajnaparamita
The prophetic orientation in religion is particularly strong in
Protestant Christianity
The sacred book of Islam, which gives the sermons of Muhammad, is called
Qur'an (Koran).
Buddhism developed into several branches. The branch that spread into Sri Lanka and southeast Asia is
Theravada
The three categories of the Hebrew Bible are
Torah, Prophets, and Writings
The essential collection of sacred books of Buddhism is called
Tripitaka (Tipitaka).
Nanak's name for God was
True Name
Elements of Buddhism, as interpreted in Japanese woodblock prints, influenced this artist:
Vincent Van Gogh
The goddess Pele is associated with
Volcanoes and fire
The Sunni reform movement that began in Saudi Arabia is
Wahhabi
The American thinker who argued that religion brought a new vitality to people's lives was
William James
The emperor renounced his title to divinity when
World World II ended
The Jewish Day of Atonement, the most sacred day of the Jewish year, is
Yom Kippur
One religion that particularly values and makes use of silence is
Zen Buddhism
Which great scholar developed a complete philosophy of reality, now called Neo-Confucianism?
Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi)
The man who dreamed he was a butterfly was
Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu).
Oral religions today are especially threatened by
destruction of habitat
The Nihongi is
a collection of stories of the gods and early history.
State Shinto refers to
a former system of national shrines.
Sacred space is often constituted by
a great mountain or tree
Izanami and Izanagi created Japan when they stirred the ocean with
a jeweled spear
The Talmud is
a long work of commentary based on biblical principles.
Biophilia refers to
a love of all forms of life
In Jesus' day, a Samaritan was
a member of a despised outside group
Lent is
a period of preparation for Easter.
The Khalsa was created to be
a protective social organization
A sangat is
a religious group.
Vimalakirti was
a rich but compassionate and wise layman
A mantra is a
a sacred word or phrase repeated in prayers or chants
The term Poro refers to
a secret initiation society for males
The minaret is
a tower used to call Muslims to prayer
The religious practice of ordinary Hindus is primarily
devotion to deities
Bhakti means
devotion to god
The virtue of filial piety means
devotion to one's family
Jains believe that perfected souls
disappear from the world and live at the top of the universe
Sacred time tends to focus on the
distant past
The Upanishads are
about 100 written works that discuss the nature of spiritual reality
The ideal of causing no harm to anything that can suffer is
ahisma
Observant Muslims do not allow
alcohol
The Sadducees were
an aristocratic, priestly party centered in Jerusalem.
Guru Granth is
an honorary title for the sacred book of Sikhism
The belief that all elements of the world are inhabited by spirits or spirit is called
animism
The view that the end of the world is near is called
apocalypticism
That area of investigation that looks for and interprets religious evidence in ancient sites, buildings, and objects is
archeology
The ideal of the Theravada branch is the
arhat (arahat).
Omoto is a new religion that emphasizes the value of
art
The Jewish New Year occurs at what time of year?
autumn
The Jain worldview holds that a Creator
does not exist
The goal of ultimate liberation from egotism and from rebirth is called
moksha
A story in the Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) makes fun of the silliness of human beings. It compares them to
monkeys
Perhaps the most important ritual of Christianity is a sign of entry into the church, or
baptism
The prophetic orientation in religion emphasizes
beliefs and moral codes
Confucianism has been especially concerned about relationship
between human beings
Literally, Mahayana means
big vehicle
Nirvana seems to come from a word that means
blow out
A person of great compassion, willing to be reborn constantly to help others, is called
bodhisattva.
The general Jewish attitude toward physical matter and bodily pleasure has generally been that
both matter and the body are innately good
Jainism seems to be most strongly concerned about
breaking the power of bondage to the physical world.
The successor to Muhammad, for centuries a political as well as a religious figure, was called
caliph
The most significant Confucian art form has been
calligraphy
Shinto puts great emphasis on
careful ritual
Literally, the word religion means
connect again
What animal is treated with special devotion and care by Hindus?
cow
In Hinduism, the dead body is disposed of by
cremation
Tirthankara is the Jain name that is translated
crossing maker
Anthropology typically studies religions as
cultural creations with multiple aspects
An image use by the Tao Te Ching to express the difficulty of seeing in the Taoistic way is
darkness
Among many reasons, religions exist to help people
deal with the certainty of death
Taoists aim at enjoying a long life but also accept death because
death is a part of the natural order of things
According to the Book of Exodus, what disaster was the last to strike the Egyptians?
death of the firstborn male children
The Tao Te Ching is known for its
deliberate obscurity
What is most important in Zen is
enlightened awareness
Circumcision is a rite often associated with
entry into adulthood
The year 1 of the Muslim calendar dates from what event in the life of Muhammad?
escape from Mecca to Medina
One of the essential Buddhist teachings is
everything is changing
A common element often found in religions is
feelings of wonder
The Buddha lived about this time.
fifth century b.c.e.
The authoritative pre-Confucian books are the
five classics
A characteristic symbolic object associated with Krishna, indicative of the attractive power of the divine, is a
flute
Jains allow and even recommend
gentle suicide after a long life of virtue
A Sikh temple is called a
gurdwara
A memory of what Muhammad said or did is called
hadith
An important element of ritual at a Shinto shrine is
hand clapping
Shinto
has helped the Japanese maintain a sense of their unique identity.
The name Mahavira literally means
hero or great man
Sallekhana means
holy death
The Sioux term wakan means
holy or mysterious
Belief in one God is called
monotheism
Tradition holds that which relative of the Buddha died soon after the birth of the Buddha?
mother
Compared with oral religions, today's dominant religions are
much younger
Jain monks differ from Buddhist monks in allowing
nakedness
Ramadan is the
name of the month in which Muhammad received revelation.
Regarding traditional Jewish practices, Jesus seems to have thought that
human happiness was an important goal.
Dancers often wear masks
in order to become the spirit represented by the mask
The sacrifice of an animal may occur
in order to placate a spirit after a taboo has been broken
Buddhism came to Tibet from
india
The Chan/Zen virtues are especially
intuition and naturalness
The Yi Jing (I Ching)
is a book, valued by Confucius, that is used for divination.
The vision quest in Native American religions
is frequently undergone during adolescence
The law of moral cause-and-effect is called the law of
karma
In Hinduism, dharma refers to
law, duty, and obligation
At the end of his life, Laozi (Lao Tzu) is said to have
left China riding an ox
To lessen suffering, the Buddha recommended
lessening desire
The name "Eve" means
life
Jainism sees reality as made up of
life (jiva) and nonlife (ajiva)
The conception of time that is found in religions that emphasize a creation and a cosmic purpose is usually
linear
Raja yoga is the yoga of
meditation
The unconditioned state of reality that is the highest goal of Buddhism is called
nirvana
The month-long fast that observant Muslims keep involves
no eating or drinking of anything during the daylight hours.
The notion of wu wei is
no unnecessary action
Vedic worship was primarily
offerings to nature gods and fire altars
Taboos
often exist regarding sex, marriage, and birth
The torii is
often used as a gateway to a sacred location.
The Bible says that God spoke to Moses
on Mount Sinai
Wilhelm Schmidt, an Austrian philologist, argued that human beings originally believed in
one god
Islam particularly stresses
oneness of God
The name Adi Granth means
original collection
The approach that especially makes use of reason to find answers to religious questions is
philosophy
The calumet is a
pipe
Belief in many gods is called
polytheism
Jewish dietary laws forbid eating
pork
A libation involves
pouring a liquid as an offering to a god
The Mencius
presents the teachings of a Confucian thinker.
A brahmin is a
priest
Until recently, oral religions were looked at as
primitive and undeveloped
The turning point in Nanak's life was a
prophetic call near a river
The word masjid (mosque) literally means a place of
prostration
The biblical book of song lyrics sung in worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem is
psalms
Most Jains practice the devotional activity called
puja
Among Shinto values and practices, which task is quite important?
purification
Shinto often makes use of
purification rituals
Divination is employed to
read the past or look into the future
Nanak, like the Hindus, believed in
reincarnation and karma
In regard to Confucianism, the Communists after the Communist Revolution
rejected it as not being egalitarian.
The transmission of oral religions is made more difficult by the fact that teachings are often conveyed in ways that are
relatively impermanent
A guru is a
religious teacher
After his wife died, Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)
sang
The name for the Buddhist community of monks and nuns is
sangha
The emperor of Japan came to be considered a father figure for the whole country. This
seems to show the influence of Confucianism.
Hylozoism, the background philosophy of Jainism,
sees life in everything, even what is inanimate.
Tibetan Buddhism includes elements of
shamanism
The name of the Digambara branch literally means
sky-clothed
The major problem with a reliance on hadiths is that
some hadiths do not agree with each other.
The Passover occurs at what time of year?
spring
Literally, psychology means
study of the soul
Islam literally means
submission
Literally, the word "Muslim" means a person who
submits
The Buddha was particularly troubled by the problem of
suffering and death
Kamikaze is a term used for referring to
suicide pilots
The general name for that category of books that is said to give the words of the Buddha is
sutra
"Divination" refers to
telling the future
The Jains consider Mahavira to be
the 24th "crossing maker"
The Gospel of John shows many similarities with
the Dead Sea Scrolls
The central sacrament (ritual act) of the Roman Catholic Church is called
the Mass
Christianity first spread in
the Mediterranean region
Christianity added its books to those of the Hebrew Bible; the distinctively Christian books are called
the New Testament
The Torah is
the first 5 books of the Bible (pentateuch)
Sigmund Freud, when analyzing the origin of religion, emphasized
the human need for psychological security
Which of the following has been of special value in the new appreciation for and understanding of oral religions?
the ready availability of cameras and recorders
Tao is the origin of
the rhythms of nature
The Analects are
the sayings of Confucious
The term Shinto comes from two Chinese words that mean
the way of the gods
In the story of their lives, Mahavira and the Buddha show similarities, such as
their both practicing extreme asceticism.
In regard to the common belief in a permanent soul, the Buddha seems to have taught that
there is none
To "atone" means
to do something that shows regret for wrongdoing
It is possible that the creation myth that tells of numerous kami
unites the beliefs of several clans or tribes
Traditionalists sometimes interpret the command not to work on the Sabbath as including no
use of the telephone
In a holistic culture,
virtually every object and act may have religious meaning
The word Vedas is related to the English word
vision
In Hawai`i, during the celebration of Makahiki
war and heavy work were forbidden
Muhammad and his followers escaped from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina). This event
was the turning point, after which Muhammad gained success.
The most important image to be found in the Tao Te Ching, the image that best expresses its ideals, is
water
Literally, Tao Te Ching means
way-power-classic
From a Taoist perspective, the proper job a person should have would be determined by
what the individual is most capable of doing
One of the major areas of debate among early Christians was about
whether or not they had to keep Jewish laws.
The color most often associated with Shinto is
white
The aspect of reality that expresses itself in silence, receptivity, and darkness is called
yin