Deck 8: Current Issues in Western Traditions

Question 1

During Iran's 1979 "Islamic Revolution," citizens ________.

A) fought to defend religious values
B) embraced modernity
C) fought to reinstate the Shah as their political leader
D) claimed that God is dead

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In 1996, Osama Bin Laden ________.

A) attacked the British in Kenya
B) issued a fatwa
C) attacked the US in Saudi Arabia
D) attacked Russians in Afghanistan

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Samuel Huntington's book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order was about the new world clash between ________.

A) Vietnam and America
B) Russia and America
C) civilizations with different religious roots
D) communism and capitalism

Answer 3

C

Question 4

US President Ronald Reagan used the term "freedom fighters" to refer to ________.

A) Iranian civilians who risked their lives to defend religious values
B) Muslim volunteers who fought in Afghanistan for the country's liberation from the Soviet Union
C) Hindus who destroyed the Babri mosque in India and killed more than 2,000 people
D) leaders who sought to overthrow the Saudi government and remove US forces in Arabia

Question 5

Recently, Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka ________.

A) converted to Zen
B) met the Panchen Lama
C) were elected to public office
D) were ordained

Question 6

In most cases the resurgence of religious fervour has come from ________.

A) young believers
B) new converts
C) the ultraconservative
D) the ultraliberal

Question 7

Advocates of the inerrancy of the Bible are referred to as ________.

A) literalists
B) infallibilists
C) conversionists
D) fundamentalists

Question 8

Fundamentalism is a ________.

A) reaction against secularism and modernity
B) reaction only to gay culture
C) reaction to 1960s drug culture
D) promotion of Amish values

Question 9

Protestants use the term "fundamentalist" to refer to ________.

A) neo-pagans
B) their own views
C) more extreme views than their own
D) Roman Catholics who follow a Latin liturgy

Question 10

One challenge facing religious communities now is ________.

A) devil worship
B) biological technology
C) separation of Church and state
D) the monkey trial

Question 11

Central to the notion of human beings as sacred is the idea of ________.

A) the soul
B) sin
C) communion
D) death

Question 12

Muslims do not experience tension between religion and ________.

A) violence
B) adultery
C) science
D) secularism

Question 13

Compared to worldwide statistics, the abortion rate in Asia from 2010 to 2014 was ________.

A) approximately the same
B) higher
C) lower
D) non-existent

Question 14

Japanese Buddhist have a special memorial service for aborted fetuses called ________.

A) mizuko kuyo
B) zazen
C) nembutsu
D) obyo-yoyaku

Question 15

According to the Book of Genesis, God gave humans ________ over ________.

A) stewardship; sinners
B) protection; Satan
C) condemnation; Cain
D) dominion; the earth

Question 16

Lynn White argued that the traditional Christian interpretation of Genesis ________.

A) played a part in the degradation of the earth
B) advocates the rise of liberation theology
C) advocates large families
D) advocates crimes against Jews

Question 17

Hindus believe that animals ________.

A) have great karma
B) are for eating
C) are insentient
D) have souls

Question 18

Jainism and Buddhism emphasize ________.

A) a diet without beef
B) organic food
C) eating naturally cracked grains
D) non-violence

Question 19

Buddhism and Jainism denounce activities that ________.

A) promote Hinduism
B) generate profit
C) cause unnecessary harm
D) create polluting technology

Question 20

According to Bina Agarwal, ________ have the most at stake in the environmental arena.

A) rural women in India
B) urban women in India
C) rural women in the West
D) urban women in the West

Question 21

Sulak Sivaraksa argues that ________ is responsible for causing suffering to local people.

A) pollution
B) envy
C) greed
D) karma

Question 22

Some Buddhists think promoting cash crops also promotes ________.

A) exploitation of the poor
B) disputes over land
C) higher standards of living
D) environmental harm

Question 23

Instead of traditional business economics, E.F. Schumacher argued for ________.

A) Buddhist economics
B) Taoist economics
C) communism
D) socialism

Question 24

M.K. Gandhi advocated ________.

A) Buddhist economics
B) the redirection of natural resources to support cash crops
C) that a distinction be made between humans and other animals
D) small-scale, locally based technology

Question 25

In 2000, Los Angeles Muslim groups objected to an advertisement with a woman ________.

A) in full black robes
B) wearing a bikini
C) speaking verses of the Qur'an
D) appearing in a harem

Question 26

________ has not elected a female leader at the federal level.

A) Canada
B) India
C) Pakistan
D) Turkey

Question 27

A Muslim LGBTIQ support group called ________ affirms that all believers, whatever their sexual orientation, come "from the same clot of blood."

A) Min al-Alaq
B) Ulama
C) Jama'at-i Islami
D) Mujahidin

Question 28

In recent years, ________ has been divided because controversy over same-sex unions

A) Orthodox Judaism
B) the Roman Catholic Church
C) the Anglican Communion
D) Islam

Question 29

In 2011, ________ participated in the "It Gets Better" campaign for teens.

A) the Union for Reform Judaism
B) the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
C) the Westboro Baptist Church
D) the Anglican Network of Canada

Question 30

The Anglican Network of Canada does not ________.

A) bless same-sex marriages
B) pride itself on adhering to biblical tradition
C) recognize a Canadian bishop as their spiritual head
D) consider homosexuality a sin

Question 31

In Japan, Buddhist priests are ________.

A) very liberal
B) celibate
C) allowed to marry
D) warriors

Question 32

In general, Buddhist societies in Asia are ________.

A) socially liberal
B) culturally repressed
C) socially progressive
D) socially conservative

Question 33

In China, the term tongqi refers to ________.

A) gay-lesbian pride parades
B) gay men's wives
C) the crime of homosexuality
D) the mental illness of homosexuality

Question 34

According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, more than 60 per cent of LGBTIQ youth ________.

A) reported that they felt unsafe at school
B) were assaulted at school
C) were physically harassed at school
D) have attempted suicide

Question 35

Muslim rule in northern India began with the ________.

A) establishment of the Delhi sultanate
B) missionaries
C) Indian jihad
D) Sufis

Question 36

That Buddhism, Christianity, and Islamic belief claim the allegiance of half of the world's populations reflects the ________.

A) success of missionaries
B) conflict of religions
C) weakness of people
D) melting together of religions

Question 37

Missionaries have been the most successful converting people from ________.

A) other major religions
B) atheism
C) different denominations
D) tribal societies

Question 38

________ is not a missionary religion.

A) Islam
B) Buddhism
C) Judaism
D) Christianity

Question 39

The early missionary spread of Theravada Buddhism is ________.

A) due to advanced technologies
B) due to migration
C) a historic fluke
D) due to King Ashoka

Question 40

Interfaith dialogue requires ________.

A) conversion
B) openness to other points of view
C) a desire to spread the truth
D) a fixed position

Question 41

The World Council of Churches was formed in ________.

A) 1960
B) 1984
C) 1920
D) 1948

Question 42

Karl Rahner uses the term ________ to refer to those who simply have never heard of Jesus Christ before, but still could be saved.

A) pre-Christians
B) anonymous Christians
C) hidden Christians
D) mystery Christians

Question 43

________ demands that religious traditions adapt to a world that is becoming ever more interconnected.

A) Globalism
B) Secularism
C) Pluralism
D) Traditionalism

Question 44

The term fundamentalism originated in ________.

A) the protestant denominations of the west coast of British Columbia
B) the United States in 1910
C) the American Orthodox Church
D) the Roman Catholic Church

Question 45

Fundamentalism is a reaction against ________.

A) interfaith dialogue
B) the values associated with secularism and modernity
C) the values of New Age religions
D) conservative values

Question 46

Fundamentalists reject the modern tendency to locate ultimate authority in ________.

A) human institutions
B) scripture
C) prayer-led mindfulness
D) God

Question 47

In 1925, high-school teacher John T. Scopes was brought to trial for violating ________.

A) a state law against teaching sexual equality in state-run classrooms
B) a state law against the teaching of evolution in state-run classrooms
C) the church's stance of biblical inerrancy
D) the church's stance against homosexuality

Question 48

Fundamentalists perceive a struggle between ________.

A) the church and other religions
B) the state and the church
C) good and evil forces in the world
D) the bible and higher criticism

Question 49

K.B. Hedgewar founded the National Volunteer Association in 1925 to promote ________.

A) good works in the churches
B) the idea of India as a Hindu nation
C) the All India Muslim league
D) Christian unity amongst protestant denominations

Question 50

Buddhism, Christianity and Islam ________.

A) were highly motivated to keep their traditions segregated
B) are ethnic religions
C) have been rejected by more than half the world's population
D) are universalist religions

Question 51

Secularism refers to ________.

A) the exclusion (in principle) of all religious groups, institutions, and identities from public support and public decision-making
B) state run institutions
C) the passing of laws that make religious practice illegal
D) equal support, acceptance, and participation in decision-making for multiple religious groups

Question 52

In a pluralistic society, religious groups forfeit their right to acceptance when ________.

A) recruits are instructed to sever all ties with their families
B) recruits are asked complete allegiance to a code of ethics
C) recruits are asked to give over all their money
D) they engage in coercion or illegal activities

Question 53

It is the interconnectedness of the world that ________.

A) prevents plurality of religious traditions
B) demands individualism
C) contributes to Pluralism
D) is the enemy of a pluralistic world

Question 54

Today, affirmations of religious truth are ________.

A) false
B) universal
C) perspectival
D) metaphorical

Question 55

Pluralism means the exclusion of religion from public decision-making.

Question 56

The Hindu Upanishads take the form of dialogues.

Question 57

The World Parliament of Religions was held in New York in 1910.

Question 58

Understanding Hinduism means accepting polytheism.

Question 59

Ronald Reagan used the term "freedom fighters" to refer to mujahidin in Afghanistan.

Question 60

In Sri Lanka, Hindu Tamils want to establish an independent homeland.

Question 61

Today, Tibetan Buddhists have renewed their struggles against the repressive national government.

Question 62

Thailand has a long tradition of trying to stop the practice of cross-dressing.

Question 63

One of the Hindu terms for "soul" is dehin.

Question 64

Pluralism simply requires tolerance.

Question 65

Religion has been a major factor in many of the events that have shaken the world since 1970.

Question 66

Min al-Alaq is a support group for Muslims who identify as LGBTIQ.

Question 67

By 1920, defenders of biblical inerrancy were being described as "fundamentalists."

Question 68

Central to the notion of the human being as sacred is the notion of the soul.

Question 69

Modern Muslims take great pride in the history of science and medicine associated with Islam.

Question 70

None of the Eastern religious traditions condemns abortion

Question 71

Like China, India has resorted to forced birth control.

Question 72

In sharp contrast to their Western counterparts, most Eastern religious traditions make a radical distinction between humans and nature.

Question 73

Among Jewish groups, the Union for Reform Judaism has been at the front of the struggle for LGBTIQ rights.

Question 74

Pluralism is the same thing as relativism, which can lead us to ignore profound differences.

Question 75

When the communist order of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union began to crumble, what was the impact on religion?

Question 76

How do fundamentalists perceive good and evil?

Question 77

What are the similarities between Hindu ideas of a soul and those of C.S. Lewis?

Question 78

What is the stance of Eastern religions on abortion?

Question 79

What can we, as scholars of religion, do when someone asks "Aren't all religions pretty much the same?"

Question 80

How did writing help missionaries?