What is Religion?

Which of the following do most scholars want to count as religion? -Meditation -Buddhism -Communism -Philosophy -Contemplative Practices

-Buddhism

Over the course of the twentieth century, which two social movements emerges as crucial test cases for what counts as religion? -African tribal religions and communism -Buddhism and Communism -Islam and Protestantism -African tribal religions and Protestantism -Buddhism and Islam

-Buddhism and Communism

When Western scholars began to explore religion, they searched for things familiar to them from ______. -Hinduism and Buddhism -Islam -Christianity -Judaism -the Industrial Revolution

-Christianity

Which of the following do most scholars want not to count as a religion? -Contemplative Practices -Philosophy -Meditation -Buddhism -Communism

-Communism

How would most Chinese people describe Confucianism? -Confucianism is not a religion -Confucianism is the true religion of all Chinese people -Confucianism is the mode through which God speaks to humans. -Confucianism is one of the most populous and longest-lasting religions of the world -Confucian priests are anointed by God

-Confucianism is not a religion

How would most Westerners describe Confucianism? -Confucianism is mainly about the worship of the God Confucius -Confucianism is a communist religion. -Confucianism is not a religion -Confucianism has a poorly-articulated philosophy and no canon of sacred texts -Confucianism is one of the most populous and longest-lasting religions of the world

-Confucianism is one of the most populous and longest-lasting religions of the world

Who states that religion is simply "the belief in spiritual beings"? -B. White -Rudolf Otto -E. B. Tylor -Anne Taves -Max Weber

-E. B. Tylor

What is the "ultimate concern" for Jews, Christians, and Muslims? -divination -a moral life -Jesus -Nirvana -God

-God

Which scholar of religion says, "religion is solely the creation of the scholar's study.. religion has no existence apart from the academy"? -Howard Zinn -Paul Tillich -Karen Armstrong -Karl Marx -Jonathan Z Smith

-Jonathan Z Smith

Which historian of religion asserted that human being could be called homo religiosus? -Rudolf Otto -Mircea Eliade -Jonathan Z Smith -F Max Mullar -Ram Charan Sharma

-Mircea Eliade

Possessing or consuming peyote is illegal in the US, but native americans engage in a sacramental use of the peyote in the native American church. Which of these statements is true? -Native Americans do this illegally -Native Americans are exempt from this law -Native Americans do not need to follow the laws of the government -Native Americans pay heavy fines because of this -Native Americans only say they are using peyote sacramentally

-Native Americans are exempt from this law

What is one of the key features of religion? -Religion is a literacy category -Religion is a generic category -Religion is a forbidden category -Religion is a non-generic category -Religion is a foreign category

-Religion is a generic category

Who states that "the idea of the holy" stands behind all religions and religious experience? -B. White -Rudolf Otto -B. Tylor -Anne Taves -Max Weber

-Rudolf Otto

Why has the notion that religion is about belief in God become a stumbling block for those who wish to distinguish between religion and non-religion? -Not all religions have mystical experiences. -All religions believe in God -Some religions do not believe in God -All religions have sacred properties -There is no distinction between monotheism and polytheism

-Some religions do not believe in God

Where in the world did the term "Religion" originate? -Hawaii -the Far East -Antarctica -South Asia -The West (Europe and North America)

-The West (Europe and North America)

Which of the following religions denies that there is a God? -Hinduism -Roman Catholic Christianity -Judaism -Pure Land Buddhism -Theravada Buddhism

-Theravada Buddhism

If we insist on the common sense notion that religion is about the transcendent, the supernatural, or the sacred, then ______. -Islam is not a religion -Theravada Buddhism is not a religion -Confucianism is a religion -God is not the criterion for religion -Christianity is not a religion

-Theravada Buddhism is not a religion

What kind of perspectives do functional definitions of religion tend to take? -a theological view; religion is created as a cooperative enterprise between God and humans -a favorable view; religion is a positive, helpful force -an economic view; religion works to maintain a class hierarchy -an unfavorable view; religion is a negative, unhelpful force -a logical view; philosophers can prove god exists

-a favorable view; religion is a positive, helpful force

According to alfred north whitehead, religious institutions, rituals, texts, and religious codes behavior _____. -are the essence of religion -promote logical thought -are the cure to violent religious wars -are the trappings of religion -will help individuals act morally

-are the trappings of religion

Why have some people regarded Communism as a religion? -because Communists are willing to kill for their beliefs -because Communists are terrorists -because Communists have important texts, revere their leaders, and build their family and social life around participation in the movement -because Communists advocate for social justice through civil disobedience and non-violent protests. -because Communists pray to God daily for guidance

-because Communists have important texts, revere their leaders, and build their family and social life around participation in the movement

Those who emphasize the internal aspect of religion often speak in terms of____. -supernatural beings and religious institutions -belief and science -metaphysics -culture and faith -belief, faith, and direct experience

-belief, faith, and direct experience

Early religious studies schools saw the religion-like elements of small-scale tribal societies as _______. -belonging to the overall human phenomenon of relating to the divine or supernatural -an opportunity to narrow down the definition of the word religion -identical to those of christianity, islam, and buddhism -mere cultural traditions -a cultural device designed to keep the powerful in positions of power

-belonging to the overall human phenomenon of relating to the divine or supernatural

According to Jonathan Z Smith, religion ______. -can be defined in one universal way -cannot be defined at all -is the ultimate truth -cannot be clarified -can only be defined in many ways because of its complexity

-can only be defined in many ways because of its complexity

Because defining religion is a daunting task, we should _____. -focus on one aspect of religion -define religion very carefully and be willing to redefine it as necessary -conduct field research in religious settings -not try to define religion -stick to studying economics

-define religion very carefully and be willing to redefine it as necessary

Religious practices and organizations are guaranteed certain protections under US law. These protections____. -apply to those deemed "not religious" -prove that we live in a Christian nation -are secular and hostile toward religion -are only for those within the Church hierarchy -do not apply to those deemed "not religious"

-do not apply to those deemed "not religious"

Even though communists do not believe in God, they believe in ______. -divinity -equality among people -prophecy -the sacred -ministry

-equality among people

Which of the following phrases suggests that all religions share certain traits but do not all necessarily share one specific trait? -family feeling -family genetics -family traditions -family resemblance -family divinity

-family resemblance

The homo religiosus claim implies that, unlike non humans, we ____. -eat our own kind -cooperate with one another rather than compete -eat with knives and forks -avoid interaction with supernatural beings -find religious meaning in the universe, and attempt to interact with supernatural beings

-find religious meaning in the universe, and attempt to interact with supernatural beings

What types of religion talks less about what religion is and more about what is does? -functional -ontological -substantive -meritocratic -hermeneutical

-functional

Because religion is difficult to define, we should look _____ at sets of beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. -philosophically -sociologically -globally -locally -nationally

-globally

Which of the following considerations is most relevant in deciding whether or not a group is religious? -the group's use of sacred texts -each individual's affiliation with some type of religious organization -the group's attitude toward religious art -the character of each member -how clearly they can state what they believe

-how clearly they can state what they believe

Early religious studies scholars thought that the religions of small-scale tribal societies were _____. -inferior to the great world religions -superior to the great world religions -not really religious at all -supplemental to the great world religions -filled with helpful scriptures

-inferior to the great world religions

What does the category of religion do? -it makes the intolerable religious practices or major world religions understandable -it advocates for interfaith and ecumenical communities -it makes the intolerable religious practices of tribal religions understandable -it brings together disparate items that are perceived to have something in common -it compartmentalizes disparate items that have nothing in common.

-it brings together disparate items that are perceived to have something in common

What is the point of developing a generic category for religion? -it makes sense to put similar practices into a category to better understand them -it shows how different organisms function -it provides a single definition for all religions -it helps christian missionaries reach out to non-christians -it provides a way to understand human brain processes

-it makes sense to put similar practices into a category to better understand them

Primates and other non-human animals _____. -will eventually evolve to become homo religiosus -each have their own religion, tailor-made for their species -are homo religiosus -are atheists -may or may not have anything like religion in their personal and social lives

-may or may not have anything like religion in their personal and social lives

If you seek to identify religion by a single criterion, only feature that is present in all religions and only in religions, your definition can be described as _____. -pagan -monotheistic -monistic -dualistic -polythetic

-monotheistic

Religious scholars think that early humans ______. -did not practice religion -most likely practiced religion -were touted by God -most likely did not practice religion -could not think properly

-most likely practiced religion

What is the "ultimate concern" for buddhists? -a moral life -nirvana -jesus -god -divination

-nirvana

If you define religion by reference to a cluster of features that, when most of them are found together, lead you to believe that you are looking at a religion, your definition can be described as _____. -pagan -monotheistic -monistic -dualistic -polythetic

-polythetic

Many cultures do not have a word comparable to the English word ______. -tree -religion -woman -run -one

-religion

What is one of the most commonsense definitions of religion? -religion is about a belief in God -religion is about being a humanitarian -religion is about being a moral person -religion is about being spiritual -religion is about mystical experiences

-religion is about a belief in God

While religions appear to be nearly universal among human cultures, ________. -this is just wishful thinking -there are still a great many cultures with which we have not yet come in contact -this is not truly the case -religion is not found in East Asia -religion is not universal among individual human beings

-religion is not universal among individual human beings

What is an implicit assumption in all functional definitions of religion? -religious function - they are effective -religious function to make each individual happier -religious function when the elite control the poor -religious function through the use of symbols -religious function through a meritocracy

-religious function - they are effective

What would some scholars say is the root of religion? -self consciousness -athletics -Multiculturalism -the intervention of god in human affairs -family life

-self consciousness

One reason to compare religions is because the regularities we find in how humans think, feel, work, and live together in groups can tell us _____. -something about two our ancestors were and what they did -whether we can ever colonize other planets -something about who we are and who we can become as human beings -what we should expect in the afterlife -how religious prophecies all say the same thing

-something about who we are and who we can become as human beings

Scholar who stress belief in God as the essence of religion are using what type of definition or religion? -spontaneous definition -concrete definition -faithful definition -logical definition -substantive definition

-substantive definition

Functional definition of religion are concerned with ______. -the functions that religions fills in the lives of individuals and groups -the individualistic function of religion -the societal function of religion -the functional transcendence of religion -how to functionally move past religion

-the functions that religions fills in the lives of individuals and groups

Christian theologian Paul Tillich defines the focal point of any religion as one's ____. -ultimate concern -rational epistemology -God -sacred knowledge -universal belief

-ultimate concern

What is one danger that we confront when making religion a comparative category? -we crate a world with no economic classes -we participate in violent wars over holy lands -we become fascistic in our thinking -we sow the definition of religion with biases that will affect what we perceive about religion -we forget why we became religious studies scholars

-we sow the definition of religion with biases that will affect what we perceive about religion

Tommie Masyzawa argues that the term religion did not gain its present meaning until -the 17th and 18th centuries -the World Parliament of Religious meeting in Chicago -the founding of Christianity -the practice of yoga became common among americans -western scholars attempted to catalog world religions

-western scholars attempted to catalog world religions

Which of the following considerations is the most relevant in deciding whether or not an individual person is religious? -whether or not the individuals engage in religious behaviors -whether or not the individual has been baptized -how precisely the person can state his or her beliefs -what type of religious services he or she attends -the ability of the person to speak in tongues

-whether or not the individuals engage in religious behaviors