Deck 1: Studying Western Religions

Question 1

The three levels of the world are earth, sky, and ________.

A) sea
B) underworld
C) mountains
D) mesas

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Many ancient cave dwellings depict hunting scenes with a dancing human figure representing a ________.

A) prehistoric hunter
B) shaman
C) tribal dancer
D) self-portrait of the artist

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Another name for witchdoctor is ________.

A) brahmin
B) rishi
C) magus
D) shaman

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Various hunting rituals show that people believed that the spirit of the killed animal or person ________.

A) seeks revenge
B) survives death
C) brings disease
D) brings compassion

Question 5

One way to deal with unfriendly spirits is to ________.

A) neglect them
B) exorcise them
C) frighten them
D) take flight

Question 6

One of the powerful reasons for human religion suggested by your textbook is ________.

A) fear of sin
B) fear of Satan
C) the idea of an afterlife
D) the joy of death

Question 7

The axis mundi is the symbolic link connecting ________.

A) heaven and hell
B) man and ghosts
C) earth and sky
D) man and god

Question 8

The Egyptian goddess Bast is commonly associated with a ________.

A) peacock
B) cat
C) owl
D) serpent

Question 9

The sacred bull mount of the god Shiva is named ________.

A) Nandi
B) Europa
C) Minotaur
D) Bast

Question 10

One of the activities that the Indo-Europeans did not engage in was ________.

A) hunting
B) riding horses
C) farming
D) waging war

Question 11

Everywhere the Indo-Europeans conquered, they set up ________.

A) a social system with four divisions
B) the subjugation of women
C) tent cities
D) principalities

Question 12

One of the social classes in India is the ________.

A) Catalhoyuk
B) Dyaus
C) Vestal
D) Vaishyas

Question 13

The priest class in India is called ________.

A) Druids
B) Brahmins
C) Shudras
D) Bronislaw

Question 14

In India, the four-level social system was given mythic status in ________.

A) the Rig Veda
B) Mt. Meru
C) the Purusha
D) Olympia

Question 15

Which of the following was not necessary in order to consult the Oracle of Delphi?

A) pay a fee
B) sacrifice a black goat
C) amputate a finger
D) climb a mountain

Question 16

Zoroastrianism played an integral role in the development of ________.

A) Monotheism
B) Polytheism
C) Atheism
D) Pantheism

Question 17

When did Zoroastrianism first emerge?

A) 5,000 years ago
B) 2,500 years ago
C) 1,000 years ago
D) 500 years ago

Question 18

Which groups played an integral role in the development of "mystery religions"?

A) Persian and Arabic
B) American and Canadian
C) Chinese and Japanese
D) Greek and Roman

Question 19

The myth of ____________ plays an important role in understanding the changes in the seasons

A) Oedipus
B) Apollo
C) Persephone
D) Pandora

Question 20

Which is the most recent sacred scriptural text?

A) Hindu Vedas
B) Jewish Torah
C) Zoroastrian Avesta
D) Christian Gospels

Question 21

In the ancient Greek cosmology, the primary elements that make up the world are ________.

A) wood, fire, ash, and earth
B) earth, air, fire, and water
C) sun, moon, stars, and the gods
D) iron, coal, gold, and marble

Question 22

A surah is associated with the ________.

A) Qur'an
B) Avesta
C) Vedas
D) Zohar

Question 23

It is believed that Moses received revelations from God on Mount _______.

A) Carmel
B) Sinai
C) Meru
D) Ararat

Question 24

The Indo-Europeans helped to ________ the notion of hereditary priesthood.

A) invent
B) condemn
C) spread
D) Modify

Question 25

One way the avatar is a saviour is that he saves ________.

A) the dying
B) the underworld
C) the world from evil
D) social norms

Question 26

When were the Gospels written?

A) Just after the Birth of Christ
B) Just after the Baptism of Christ
C) Two or Three Generations after the Death of Christ
D) After the Great Schism in 1054

Question 27

What type of approach to the study of religion does the American Academy of Religion take?

A) historical studies approach
B) textual studies approach
C) religious studies approach
D) gender studies approach

Question 28

The term fundamentalism was originally applied to _______.

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

Question 29

One of the earliest sets of scriptures we have is the ________.

A) Upanishads
B) sutras
C) gospels
D) Vedas

Question 30

The avatar wave gave Buddhism the story of _________.

A) Avalokiteshvara
B) Shakyamuni
C) Amitabha
D) Rama

Question 31

________ teaches that the Torah played a role in the creation.

A) The Gospel of John
B) The Lotus Sutra
C) The Qur'an
D) The Zohar

Question 32

The avatar wave gave Hinduism the story of _________.

A) Zoroaster
B) Shakyamuni
C) Krishna
D) Brahma

Question 33

Where did Joseph Smith receive the revelations that became the basis for Mormonism?

A) New York
B) California
C) Utah
D) North Dakota

Question 34

A Buddhist would place a ________ on top of a burial mound.

A) stupa
B) puja
C) mara
D) yad

Question 35

The Hindu goddess of speech is ________.

A) Logos
B) Vac
C) Indra
D) Zohar

Question 36

According to your text, religion pervades the human world enough that ________.

A) it has become meaningless
B) people are indirectly affected by it regardless of whether it plays a direct role in their lives
C) everyone is religious, whether they like it or not
D) its prevalence alone shows the nature of the divine

Question 37

According to your text, people study religion ________.

A) to look at their own beliefs from a different perspective
B) to know more about their own traditions
C) to protect themselves from conversion
D) all of the above

Question 38

Insiders to a religion may be disturbed when outsiders ________.

A) offer false teachings
B) kill their gods
C) offer true teachings
D) challenge their beliefs

Question 39

"Insider-outsider" matters are complex because there are ________.

A) false prophets
B) many kinds of insiders
C) actually no such matters
D) actually no outsiders

Question 40

One concept shared by all human cultures and fundamental to religion is ________.

A) competing heavenly jurisdictions
B) a porous separation between this and the spirit world
C) sacred places
D) natural elements warring with humans

Question 41

The place above the clouds was typically the home of the deity which was invariably ________.

A) omnipotent
B) female
C) pacifist
D) male

Question 42

Great rivers and waterfalls are often regarded as ________.

A) gathering places
B) places of danger
C) beyond human control
D) sacred

Question 43

A long-standing tendency has been to attribute _______ to animals.

A) memory
B) charitable thoughts
C) spirits
D) emotions

Question 44

The festival of Hallowe'en reflects a belief in ________ returning to earth once a year.

A) gods
B) dead witches
C) souls
D) gods of the underworld

Question 45

The only dimension essential to religion is ________.

A) imaginative
B) emotional
C) intellectual
D) all of the above

Question 46

Early humans believed that the spirits of animals needed to be ________.

A) watered
B) fed
C) appeased
D) monitored

Question 47

"Indo-European" is a term referring to ________.

A) an Asian style of western temple architecture
B) an ethnic group
C) a religion
D) a cultural system

Question 48

Zoroaster was a prophet who lived more than 2,500 years ago in the area of ________.

A) eastern Himalayas
B) eastern Europe
C) eastern Iran or Afghanistan
D) Southeast Asia

Question 49

Mystery religions became so influential and popular during the Roman period that they posed a threat to the ________.

A) stability of the Roman empire
B) lives of government officials
C) official Roman religion and priesthood
D) emperor

Question 50

Many scholars have suggested that some of the mystery religions directly influenced the development of ________.

A) Jewish sectarianism
B) Roman religious militants
C) Christianity
D) secret societies

Question 51

During the Babylonian exile, the experts in Jewish law were referred to as ________.

A) Levites
B) Sadducees
C) priests
D) rabbis

Question 52

Christians commonly refer to scriptures as the ________.

A) book
B) word
C) word of Jesus
D) word of God

Question 53

The term "fundamentalism" was first coined ________.

A) in the beginning of the twentieth century
B) during the Reformation
C) in the latter part of the twentieth century
D) during the Enlightenment

Question 54

A functional definition for religion might be that it ________.

A) is a way of promoting ideologically-based class structures
B) is a way of controlling human libido
C) is a way of developing deferential behaviour
D) is a way of creating community

Question 55

When giving dates it is preferable to use CE which means ________.

A) Christ Era
B) Common Era
C) Columbian Era
D) Christian Era

Question 56

When giving dates it is preferable to use BCE which means ________.

A) Before the Christ Era
B) Before the Common Era
C) Before the Columbian Era
D) Before the Christian Era

Question 57

The surahs of the Qur'an are believed to be the sacred words of God revealed to the prophet Muhammad by an angel.

Question 58

One thing a shaman does is appease animal spirits.

Question 59

Stonehenge is an ancient burial site.

Question 60

Obon is a religious food offering.

Question 61

The altar on top of the ancient city of Petra is an example of a "high place."

Question 62

"Avatar" is a word that comes from the Sanskrit for "blue-skinned humanoid."

Question 63

One of the gods associated with the virility of the bull is Dionysus.

Question 64

One of the four elements in the ancient Greek cosmology is earth.

Question 65

The earliest scriptures we have are the Jewish scriptures of the Zohar.

Question 66

One concept shared by all cultures is a belief in some sort of life after death.

Question 67

One meaning for "sacred" is "set aside."

Question 68

Ancient cultures around the world did not favour high places as burial sites.

Question 69

One of the meanings for the Greek word for "prophet" is someone who speaks on behalf of a deity.

Question 70

The avatar is a deity in a truly human form.

Question 71

The gospels were not written until two or three generations after the death of Jesus.

Question 72

In Christianity, Jesus can be considered as a sort of avatar.

Question 73

Christian, Jewish, and Muslim mystics believed they could describe their relationship with the deity.

Question 74

What are three basic characteristics of religion from ancient times? Use examples to illustrate your answer.

Question 75

What did Bronislaw Malinowski learn about dangerous endeavours and ritual?

Question 76

Ancient people preferred high places for burial sites. What did they do if there were no high places?

Question 77

How did the concept of "sky father" unite the Indo-Europeans?

Question 78

Describe the central myth in the Eleusinian mystery tradition.

Question 79

Where do "insiders" get their religious knowledge?

Question 80

What are some of the problems with dividing religions into Eastern and Western religions?