Deck 5: Institutional Corruption: Mass Media and Religion

Question 1

Faith healer Peter Popoff used all of the following tactics in his schemes except:

A)bibles attached to balloons.
B)encouraging people to throw medications on stage.
C)holy shower caps.
D)faking injuries and healing himself.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Talcott Parsons referred to institutions as the ___________ of the society.

A)muscle
B)backbone
C)heart
D)brain

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Payola is:

A)a bribe to promote records over the air paid to disc jockeys and station managers.
B)the practice of not reporting payments to performers.
C)a bribe to movie reviewers.
D)a bribe to radio station owners.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Faith healer Peter Popoff was exposed when a skeptic got Popoff's wife on tape and he tried to cure a man of:

A)heart disease.
B)uterine cancer.
C)AIDS.
D)breast cancer.

Question 5

The fact that The Quiz Show Scandal occurred so early in the history of television may explain all of the modern media events except:

A)dramatized documentaries.
B)reality TV shows.
C)some televangelists.
D)fraudulent advertising.

Question 6

In a culture where money equals achievement, all of the following can occur except:

A)an atmosphere hospitable to white-collar crime.
B)superiority determined by competition.
C)the notion that the quest for financial success prevails over ethics.
D)dependence on faith-based institutions.

Question 7

As recently as ___________ Sony BMG Music and Warner Music Group reached settlements with the government for payola-like bribery.

A)2004
B)2006
C)2003
D)2005

Question 8

Henry Lyons tried to argue in his defense to criminal charges that:

A)his actions had been encouraged by church elders.
B)this is the way things were done in black churches.
C)he had been blackmailed by a former mistress into his actions.
D)his actions were necessary to protect church interests.

Question 9

In connection with "he Quiz Show Scandal most of those indicted and arrested were:

A)quiz show staffers.
B)program developers.
C)contestants.
D)media owners.

Question 10

Emile Durkheim regarded religion as the ___________ of society.

A)brain
B)conscience
C)heart
D)blood

Question 11

Dick Clark also testified before Congress in the payola scandal. He was never accused of wrongdoing, although all of the following were true except that:

A)he received 143 song copyrights as gifts.
B)he promoted Elvis Presley based on promise of future benefits.
C)singers involved with companies he owned got special places in his program.
D)said he may have promoted artists associated with his companies without realizing it.

Question 12

Henry Lyons, the president of the influential African American Protestant National Baptist Convention, was convicted of criminal wrongdoing for:

A)setting fire to his home for insurance proceeds.
B)stealing from his wife's family.
C)tricking corporations into paying for nonexistent membership lists.
D)tricking parishioners into contributing to the ministry.

Question 13

White-collar crimes that violate trust have the potential to create:

A)social disorganization.
B)cultural chaos.
C)widespread immorality.
D)institutional collapse.

Question 14

Who in the 1930s argued that money was the yardstick used to measure achievement?

A)Merton
B)Durkheim
C)Sutherland
D)Hirschi

Question 15

Jimmy Swaggart railed against Catholics, Jews, intellectuals, mental health professionals, liberals, gays, and other social scapegoats. He was dismissed from the Assemblies of God ministry when it was disclosed that:

A)he acknowledged a child conceived outside of marriage.
B)he disclosed obsession with prostitution and pornography.
C)he was a homosexual.
D)he admitted to an addiction to prescription drugs.

Question 16

Alan Freed, who testified before Congress and lost his job in connection with the payola scandal, rationalized the gifts he received by saying they were:

A)lobbying payments just like those received by politicians.
B)payments for extra services.
C)additional income he had been promised.
D)gifts between friends.

Question 17

The Quiz Show Scandal involved:

A)contestants who were not randomly selected but paid to appear.
B)contestants in a conspiracy with other contestants.
C)contestants given answers to questions.
D)contestants provided with fake identities.

Question 18

Print journalism scandals have included writers manufacturing books and stories for which there was little factual basis. These have included all of the following except:

A)a Pulitzer prize being awarded to a Washington Post reporter for a story on an 8-year-old heroin addict.
B)James Frey's autobiography A Million Little Pieces, about his life as a drug addict, alcoholic, and career criminal.
C)Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein's All the President's Men, about Nixon and Watergate.
D)The Autobiography of Howard Hughes by Clifford Irving.

Question 19

The mass media has been identified as among the most influential source for:

A)reliable information on world events.
B)social construction of reality.
C)escape from personal responsibility.
D)public opinion.

Question 20

In 1976, a New York grand jury indicted the former president of ___________ and another executive from the same company for engaging in payola.

A)CBS
B)Warner Brothers
C)Motown
D)Disney

Question 21

Which of the following charitable organizations has not been rocked by financial scandal?

A)American Cancer Society
B)March of Dimes
C)Texas Fraternal Order of Police
D)United Way

Question 22

Many successful televangelists have been ordered to pay significant fines to the IRS and have lost tax-exempt status.

Question 23

What did California evangelist Tony Alamo not do?

A)Built a $5 million home with church funds
B)Failed to file tax returns
C)Married 8 women, some of whom were already married
D)Married a 15-year-old

Question 24

Emile Durkheim believed that religion is society's consciousness of itself.

Question 25

Which of the following televangelists avoids appeals for money?

A)Jerry Falwell
B)Billy Graham
C)Robert Schuller
D)Oral Roberts

Question 26

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's PTL organization collapsed because of Bakker's:

A)having lawsuits against PTL for wrongdoing.
B)outrageous personal expenses.
C)funds diverted to pay personal gambling expenses.
D)risky investments.

Question 27

Payola is the practice of not reporting payments to performers.

Question 28

Less direct consequences of unscrupulous televangelists have included all of the following except:

A)weakening of organized religion.
B)increasing the number of converts, but contributions declined.
C)the decline of teleministries in general.
D)damaging even the legitimate electronic ministries.

Question 29

Religious affinity scams involve investment schemes disguised as church memberships to get tax benefits.

Question 30

The mass media has been identified as among the least influential sources for the "social construction of reality."

Question 31

Abraham Kennard ran a Ponzi that targeted a tight network of Catholic Priests.

Question 32

The Quiz Show Scandal involved contestants who were in a conspiracy with other contestants.

Question 33

What provisions of the United States Constitution has made authorities very hesitant to pursue schemes and scams with a faith-based initiative?

A)Necessary and proper clause
B)First Amendment
C)Supremacy clause
D)Tenth Amendment

Question 34

Religion is one of the most fundamental cultural institutions.

Question 35

Which is a possible solution to corruption in the world of religion is?

A)Additional government reporting
B)Limiting pleas for money
C)Longer jail sentences for wrongdoers
D)Outside board of directors

Question 36

Religious affinity scams involve:

A)investment schemes pitched to fellow churchgoers.
B)fake preachers with no credentials.
C)nonexistent churches.
D)investment schemes disguised as church memberships to get tax benefits.

Question 37

White-collar crime mirrors American culture, with its strong emphasis on achievement and what has been termed the "fetishism of money."

Question 38

In his Ponzi scheme, what did Abraham Kennard use to lure his victims?

A)Loans to corporations headed by African Americans
B)Investment opportunities for blacks investment bankers
C)Promise of grants to black preachers
D)Insurance coverage for members of black churches

Question 39

With the use of technology and family members, Peter Popoff was able to identify likely victims and design cures accordingly.

Question 40

The government has been reluctant to involve itself in the policing of religious commerce because for the First Amendment's protection regarding the free exercise of religion.

Question 41

Social ________________ is usually seen by sociologists as a synthesis of culture and institutional structure.

Question 42

To thwart embezzlement, parishes and dioceses clearly need to be more ________________.

Question 43

Religious affinity fraud seems especially insidious because it exploits the trust, friendship, and cohesiveness that exist in people sharing a common spiritual ________________.

Question 44

Faith healing is probably as ________________ as religion itself.

Question 45

Evaluate and discuss why the government is so reluctant to become involved in the enforcement of religious fraud. Do you think there are reasons the government has become even more reluctant?

Question 46

Unlike other televangelists, Billy Graham ________________ appeals for money.

Question 47

The conduct of religious entrepreneurs such as Tony Alamo would seem to cast doubt on the efficacy of any self-regulating code of ethics.

Question 48

How extensive is the mass media's influence on the social construction of reality? Why?

Question 49

________________ is the most dominant and pervasive of all modern mass media.

Question 50

The government has been reluctant to involve itself in the policing of religious commerce because of the ________________ Amendment.

Question 51

In 1976, a New York grand jury indicted the former president of ________________ and another executive from the same company for engaging in payola.

Question 52

A Florida organization that solicits donations for more than 75 actual charities has been accused of keeping up to 90% of the donations it collects.

Question 53

Examine the Quiz Show Scandal and the music industry's use of Payola to promote new songs. What happened? Who was punished? Who was not punished?

Question 54

Talcott Parsons referred to institutions as the ________________ of society.

Question 55

The United Way one of the only charitable organizations that has not been rocked by financial scandal.

Question 56

Discuss and provide examples of religious affinity scams. How do these schemes work?

Question 57

Identify possible solutions of the problem of religious fraud.

Question 58

________________ broadcasting has been part of American culture since the invention of electronic media.

Question 59

A more stringent alternative to religious corruption would be longer jail sentences for wrongdoers.

Question 60

Examine the reasons that self-regulation has not been effective in minimizing or eliminating religious fraud. Discuss the reasons and incorporate solutions into your answers.