Deck 6: Religion As Meaning and the Canadian Context

Question 1

Apocalyptic beliefs are one sure sign of which of the following?

A) good religion
B) atheism
C) cultic behaviour
D) anomie

Answer 1

C

Question 2

"Little r" religion is best defined as the religion taught to me by my _______ .

A) professor
B) clergy
C) textbook
D) grandmother

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What type of contradiction most strongly compels people to join or establish a cult,according to Lorne Dawson and Steven Tipton?

A) ethical
B) economical
C) social
D) hierarchal

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The rise of religious fundamentalism in Canada and United States was primarily the result of what was viewed as a failure of the modernist state in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Question 5

The Canadian Immigration Act of 1952 was the first Act that did not allow for the "testing" of new immigrants based on race and national origin.

Question 6

Max Weber was the first to posit a direct relationship between the rise of capitalism in the West and Calvinism and Divine Providence.

Question 7

South Asians,Asians,and anyone considered "persons of colour" were not allowed to vote in Canadian elections until after 1946.

Question 8

After Christianity and Islam,which group is numerically the third largest in the world?

A) Hinduism
B) Judaism
C) Secularism
D) Buddhism

Question 9

According to Peter Berger,religion can be the catalyst for social change.For example,Buddhism and one other religion challenged the social and metaphysical hierarchies developed within the South Asian Vedic sacrificial culture 2000 years ago.What was this second religion?

A) Judaism
B) Bahá'í
C) Jainism
D) Sikhism

Question 10

One belief is that every existing entity is,in reality,only one Being and all other forms of reality are either modes,or appearances,of this Ultimate Reality.Which of the following terms is used to describe this belief?

A) pantheism
B) theism
C) spiritualism
D) polytheism

Question 11

Peter Berger contends that the phenomenal world,and how that world is perceived,understood,and acted upon by human beings,is actually a dialectical process that constantly "creates" and "re-creates" the world through a procedure of externalization,objectivation,and _________.

A) creativity
B) internalization
C) paternalization
D) cooperation

Question 12

By the end of the first 150 years of British rule in North America,a partial religio-political equilibrium between the dominant Protestant ruling class and Roman Catholicism was established.Which of the following was a watershed decade during which that equilibrium began to be challenged?

A) 1850s
B) 1860s
C) 1890s
D) 1900s

Question 13

Ten years after the passing of the Immigration Act of 1952,a newly elected MP for Hamilton West (P.C.Party)tabled new regulations to amend the Act.For the first time in Canadian history the amendment prohibited the use of race,religion,colour,and national origin as criteria for the selection of new immigrants to Canada providing "(1)they had a specific job waiting for them in Canada or were able to support themselves until they found employment, (2)they were not criminals or terrorists,and (3)they did not suffer from a disease that endangered public health." Who was that MP?

A) Joan Mitchell
B) John Diefenbaker
C) Ellen Fairclough
D) Peter Mansbridge

Question 14

While cults can intend to be liberating and life-affirming,and can provide an ordered and meaningful replacement for social disintegration and anomie,they can also do what to their members?

A) Stagnate
B) oppress
C) delude
D) assimilate

Question 15

Between the 1760s treaty-years and the 1800s,both the British Crown and its Protestant émigré population undertook a project to make Protestantism the official religion of Canada.The British largely succeeded in this venture-Upper Canadian and Maritime politics were to be dominated by Protestantism.Parts of which of the following regions,along with Lower Canada,were dominated by Roman Catholicism?

A) Newfoundland
B) Prince Edward Island
C) Labrador
D) Nova Scotia

Question 16

Both Jainism and Buddhism are recognized as two of the world's major religions.What distinguishes them from the other major religions?

A) They don't believe in a Creator God.
B) They don't believe in karma.
C) They don't believe in samsara.
D) They don't believe in a material universe.

Question 17

The "continuous journey" regulation of 1908 was only in effect until the end of World War I.

Question 18

Which of the following is the best term to describe a philosophical strategy that attempts to destabilize monolithic modernist concepts such as identity,historical progress,epistemic certainty,and the univocity of meaning?

A) empiricism
B) postmodernism
C) eclecticism
D) monotheism

Question 19

Most introductory texts suggest there are eight major world religions and a few major philosophies.However,the reality is there are many more distinct religions in the world today,each with its own rituals,practices,and distinct belief system.How many distinct religions are there in the world today?

A) 16
B) 600
C) 1600
D) 6000

Question 20

According to Peter Berger,culture is inherently volatile,unpredictable,and unstable.Which of the following does Berger say is a valid and ultimate response to this predicament?

A) the state
B) economics
C) religion
D) the military

Question 21

What is the definition of the term anomie?

Question 22

Although Canada officially encourages religious expression,should colleges and universities provide special areas on campus for religious prayer/ritual? Why or why not?

Question 23

All of the major world religions have the concept of a Creator God within their belief system.

Question 24

As you understand the process,describe and analyze how Peter Berger's theory of the sacred canopy operates within the human cultural project.Do you agree with his observations? Outline why or why not.

Question 25

For the most part,conflict in the first 250 years of the European presence in Canada was primarily fuelled by the religious and political hostility centred in Europe-the fighting between Roman Catholics (French,Spanish,and later the Irish)and Protestants (British and Dutch).

Question 26

Traditionally,many religions such as Roman Catholicism (Canon),Judaism (Halacha),and Islam (Shariah)have their own religious codes and sacred laws.The reality is that some of these codes,rituals,traditions and sacred laws might contravene Canadian law.In light of the principles governing religious freedom within Canada's Multiculturalism Act,discuss when the application of these religious codes,traditions,and sacred laws would be appropriate or inappropriate within the Canadian context.Provide as many examples as you can to support your positions.

Question 27

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having one religious tradition dominate a particular culture.What are the advantages and disadvantages of granting all religions equal status within a particular culture?

Question 28

What was the purpose of the amendment to the Immigration Act of 1906 that is known as the "continuous journey" regulation of 1908? How did it affect those wishing to come to Canada?

Question 29

For over twenty-five years Canada has officially recognized and supported the rights and freedoms of religious expression.This has raised an important question: Should Canada's legislative process involving such issues as abortion being performed in a publically funded healthcare system,support of gay marriage,the study of evolution in publically funded schools,etc.be influenced by religious doctrines? Describe what is meant by the principle of separation of church and state.How do you envisage this principle operating within Canada's legislative process?

Question 30

Karma is the accumulated sum of all actions in which one has participated,and the subsequent results of those actions that "bear fruit" in some future existence.

Question 31

Moksha is a term used in Hinduism and Jainism to mean the release from the cycles of reincarnation (samsara).

Question 32

Describe what is meant by "Big R" religion and "little r" religion.

Question 33

Describe what is meant by "religious cult," and identify some key factors that indicate something is a cult.

Question 34

A Danish newspaper produced cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet,Mohammad,and this raised some very serious issues (and,unfortunately,violence)around the world.The main issue was that according to the Muslim tradition,there are to be no graphic images made of the Prophet.Months following the Danish publication a Canadian publisher reprinted the offending cartoon images claiming the right to do so as part of a discussion on free speech.Living in our officially multicultural society in Canada,should we allow the publication of material that knowingly offends a particular religious group? Describe and defend your position on this subject.

Question 35

To essentialize religion is to reduce all religious belief to some single common essence or solitary universal definition.

Question 36

What is meant by the term religious fundamentalism?