Deck 23: Spirituality, Religion, and Shamanism

Question 1

A people's collection of gods and goddesses is called a(n):

A)mana.
B)collective.
C)pantheon.
D)fetish.
E)altar.

Answer 1

pantheon.

Question 2

A holistic spiritual worldview that is found in egalitarian societies and which permeates all daily activities is called:

A)positivistic.
B)spiritualistic.
C)naturalistic.
D)monistic.
E)dualistic.

Answer 2

naturalistic.

Question 3

A culturally prescribed avoidance is a(n):

A)prohibition.
B)taboo.
C)avoidance.
D)mana.
E)ritual law.

Answer 3

taboo.

Question 4

Ju/'hoansi healers possess the powerful healing force called n/um,which generally remains dormant in a healer until an effort is made to activate.Among the ways to activate n/um are all of the following except:

A)solo singing.
B)trance dance.
C)use of hallucinogens.
D)instrument playing.
E)medicinal curing ceremony.

Question 5

Chan monastics discussed in this chapter's Biocultural Connection are in the country of:

A)Cambodia.
B)India.
C)Taiwan.
D)Thailand.
E)Nepal.

Question 6

The Shamanic Complex is:

A)a psychological state in which the shaman is focused intensely on healing.
B)the household and apprentices,as well as shaman,involved in healing.
C)the market of magical and sorcery items that the patient must purchase for healing.
D)the interrelationship of the shaman,patient,and community.
E)a geographical area in which the shaman lives - believed to be a powerful symbolic field.

Question 7

A sacred narrative that explains the fundamentals of human existence is called a(n):

A)legend.
B)parable.
C)religious text.
D)ritual.
E)myth.

Question 8

All of the following constitute a definition of religion except:

A)a means by which people deal with things beyond their control.
B)a group of associated ceremonial practices.
C)a system by which people interpret aspects of the universe.
D)a sacred narrative that explains our origin.
E)an organized system of ideas.

Question 9

Which of the following is not a change that affects women who become a Chan monastic?

A)They devote themselves to their families unselfishly.
B)They begin to refer to each other as "brother."
C)They reduce their attachment to worldly things,such as music.
D)They eat sparsely and lose weight.
E)They shave their heads.

Question 10

If religious belief reflects the structure of society,in which types of society would you expect to find widespread belief in ancestral spirits?

A)Those in which descent groups play a major role in social organization
B)Those that have a disproportionately large number of old people
C)Those that have a disproportionately large number of young people
D)Those in which neolocal marital residence is the rule
E)Those with egocentric systems such as the kindred

Question 11

A full-time religious specialist formally recognized for his or her role in guiding the religious practices of others is called a(n):

A)shaman.
B)priest or priestess.
C)pastor.
D)spiritual guide.
E)preacher.

Question 12

Belief in__________________is found in societies in which women make a major contribution to the economy and are relatively equal to men in power and authority.

A)mana
B)gods
C)goddesses
D)fetishes
E)ancestral spirits

Question 13

The major difference between animism and animatism has to do with whether the supernatural force that occupies an entity is:

A)personal or impersonal and without identity.
B)natural or supernatural.
C)a god or an ancestral spirit.
D)a priest or a shaman.
E)an example of witchcraft or of divination.

Question 14

The widespread occurrence of shamanism and the remarkable similarities between shamanistic traditions wherever found are consequences of:

A)culture.
B)universal neurological inheritance.
C)similar ecclesiastical organization.
D)diffusion.
E)effects of hallucinatory drugs.

Question 15

Which of the following is least likely to be extensively involved in formal religious beliefs and activities?

A)Horticulturalists in a tropical rain forest environment
B)Members of food-foraging societies with limited scientific knowledge
C)Peasants in a feudal society
D)Members of lower classes in an urban-industrial society
E)Wealthy members of urban-industrial societies with advanced scientific knowledge

Question 16

Religion serves various functions in society,including each of the following except:

A)it unites people worldwide in a belief system
B)it unites people worldwide in a belief system.
C)it provides moral guidelines for personal conduct.
D)it provides an orderly view of the universe.
E)reinforces community values.

Question 17

From his work with Conibo shamans,Michael Harner argues that:

A)anthropologists have seriously underestimated the significance of the shamanistic experience on Amazonian Indian ideologies and practices.
B)anthropology understands shamanism quite well and has been able to contribute to its preservation worldwide.
C)the hallucinogenic drugs that the Conibo shamans use are extremely powerful and should not be generally available to the uninitiated.
D)shamanism should be used in daily American life because it would alleviate most of the psychosomatic illnesses that currently affect Americans.
E)we need urgent worldwide action to save the shamans because they are being targeted by poor economic policies globally.

Question 18

Which of the following is not a major form of establishing spiritual lineage?

A)Apprenticeship personally to a religious leader,as among Sufis
B)Election by religious elders,as among Catholics
C)Following a new charismatic prophet,as among the Raelians
D)Seeking a divinely appointed individual through revelation,as among Tibetan Buddhists
E)Claiming biological descent from a common ancestor,as among Israelites

Question 19

Anthropology examines spirituality and religion in terms of the society's:

A)traditions.
B)expectations.
C)worldview.
D)belief systems.
E)sacred places.

Question 20

If a society has a taboo against eating pork and a member eats it mistakenly,what types of rituals might the person undergo to fix the transgression?

A)Rites of purification
B)Rites of intensification
C)Rites of passage
D)Magical rituals
E)Rites of rebellion

Question 21

If someone takes a handful of pebbles and scatters them in order to read the pattern or design as a prediction,it is called:

A)chiromancy.
B)scapulamancy.
C)pyromancy.
D)geomancy.
E)hydromancy.

Question 22

An explanation of misfortune based on the belief that certain individuals possess an innate,psychic power capable of causing harm,including sickness and death,is called:

A)sorcery.
B)witchcraft.
C)imitative magic.
D)contagious magic.
E)rites of intensification.

Question 23

Vodou is an example of what type of religion?

A)Mixed
B)Reactionary
C)Syncretic
D)Juxtaposed
E)Assimilated

Question 24

Mount Kailash is a sacred site for many religious traditions.In all of the following religious traditions it is a taboo to climb Mount Kailash except:

A)Jainism.
B)Buddhism.
C)Hinduism.
D)Islam.
E)Bönpo.

Question 25

Ideologically inspired violation of a sacred site on people believed to have evil beliefs is called:

A)solicitation.
B)desecration.
C)avoidance.
D)destruction.
E)restitution.

Question 26

All of the following are true about Islamic financing in the U.S.following the 2001 World Trade Center attack except:

A)U.S.Muslim home financing increased after 2001,as Muslims were eager to demonstrate their commitment to the American dream.
B)after 2001,U.S.Muslims withdrew a great deal of their monies from charities that might be misunderstood by others.
C)U.S.Muslims withdrew their monies to a great extent from the stock market and began investing in real estate.
D)Muslims in the U.S.stopped reporting their income to the Internal Revenue Service.
E)U.S.Muslims base many of their financial decisions on religious concepts.

Question 27

A process of cultural change in which a population tends toward a nonreligious worldview is called:

A)desecration.
B)reaction.
C)syncretism.
D)secularization.
E)revitalization.

Question 28

Chiromancy is divination based on the "reading" of:

A)palms.
B)shoulder blades.
C)tea leaves.
D)pebbles.
E)smoke patterns.

Question 29

All of the following statements about Haitian Vodou are correct except:

A)it emerged in Haiti following independence.
B)it is a creative blending of indigenous and foreign beliefs and practices.it is spreading today more widely.
C)it is spreading today more widely.
D)practitioners believe in spirit possession.
E)believers do not adhere to beliefs of any other religious tradition.

Question 30

Magic based on the assumption that things that are like each other somehow have a connection with each other and if you do something to one,it will affect the other,is called:

A)scientific.
B)imitative.
C)contagious.
D)rebellious.
E)witchcraft.

Question 31

All of the following statements about pilgrimages are correct except:

A)a pilgrimage is a sacred journey involving religious drama.
B)a pilgrimage demands personal sacrifices.
C)pilgrims usually wear special clothing,carry amulets,or perform prescribed rituals along the way.
D)pilgrims travel to sacred sites with expectations.
E)pilgrimages are practiced by Christians,Buddhists,and Hindus,but not Muslims.

Question 32

When an individual undergoes rituals to celebrate birth,puberty,and marriage,he or she is practicing:

A)rites of rebellion.
B)rites of passage.
C)rites of intensification.
D)rites of magic.
E)life stage rituals.

Question 33

After the death of a famous movie star,auctions may be held of his or her personal belongings.A few years ago,the sale of a popular actor's shirt almost caused a riot among teenage girls who were bidding for it.The assumption that owning,touching,or wearing a person's shirt somehow puts you in touch with him could be used as an example of:

A)internal magic.
B)symbolic magic.
C)imitative magic.
D)Witchcraft.
E)contagious magic.

Question 34

A rite of__________________serves to help groups get through crises such as drought or some other external threat to the survival of the group.

A)separation
B)purification
C)rebellion
D)passage
E)intensification

Question 35

Who is the Catholic "Black Madonna"?

A)She is a brown or dark-skinned wooden statue or painted image representing Saint Mary.
B)She is a manifestation of Saint Mary who appeared in Africa in the late 1800s.
C)It is a statue of the Virgin Mary that is used for sorcery and witchcraft.
D)It is an ethnocentric term that non-Catholics use to refer to the Marianist focus of the Catholic Church.
E)She is a faith healer in Ghana who rose up in the late 1970s and now leads a revitalization movement within the Catholic Church.

Question 36

The initiation rites for male Australian aborigines include a stage when they are isolated from the rest of society and undergo a cram course in tribal lore;the trauma associated with their ordeal is part of a teaching method that ensures that they will remember what they are taught.This particular stage in the puberty ceremony would be referred to as the stage of__________________by Arnold Van Gennep.

A)initiation
B)intensification
C)separation
D)transition
E)incorporation

Question 37

Scapulamancy,pyromancy,chiromancy,and necromancy are all examples of:

A)fortumancy.
B)rites of passage.
C)divination.
D)witchcraft.
E)sorcery.

Question 38

Islamic banking and finance are based on the religious principle of:

A)riba (making equity profit).
B)lariba (not making asset-based profit).
C)loa (lending by caste hierarchy).
D)mana (magical contagion).
E)kailash (prohibition on trading).

Question 39

Which of the following statements about revitalization movements is incorrect?

A)The purpose of revitalization movements is to reform society.
B)Revitalization movements always fail because they require too much change to be tolerated.
C)All known major religions,including Judaism,Christianity,and Islam,began as revitalization movements.
D)Revitalization movements may be completely unrealistic.
E)Revitalization movements may be adaptive and give rise to long-lasting religions.

Question 40

Religion,magic,and witchcraft are all similar in which of the following ways?

A)They all disappear once modern education and scientific training expand.
B)They all share the common goal of improving social relationships within a community.
C)They are all associated with morose nonconformists who try to destroy society.
D)They provide explanation of events and are mechanisms of social control.
E)They are all morally neutral.

Question 41

Deceased ancestors have no importance in the patrilineal society of traditional China.

Question 42

Twenty-five percent of the world's population identifies itself as "non-religious."

Question 43

People often turn to pilgrimages in the hope of reaching a specific goal,such as the healing of physical,emotional,or social ills.

Question 44

The shaman has a relationship with the patient and the community.

Question 45

After a devastating tornado,a church met to pray for strength and unity during the crisis.This is an example of a rite of purification.

Question 46

One of the largest desecrations of religious sites occurred during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s in China.

Question 47

Animatism is the belief that nature is animated by distinct spirits.

Question 48

The African continent is 25% Christian.

Question 49

One of the largest pilgrimages in the world is the hajj,a Hindu pilgrimage to a sacred temple.

Question 50

All religions anthropomorphize the supernatural components of their pantheon.

Question 51

Muslim beliefs have an effect on Islamic banking.

Question 52

The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader of the Muslim Sufis.

Question 53

Some societies have more taboos than others.

Question 54

Witchcraft accusations serve as a mechanism of social control.

Question 55

Religion and spirituality are the same thing to anthropologists.

Question 56

The Ju/'hoansi believe that illness is caused by invisible arrows shot by spirits.

Question 57

The belief in ancestral spirits is associated with a dualistic approach of body/matter versus mind/soul.

Question 58

Among food foragers,religion tends to be inseparable from daily life.

Question 59

A sick person who is given a medical explanation for his disease (for example,that he has tuberculosis)may still prefer to explain his illness as the result of witchcraft because it explains why he,and not someone else,got the disease.

Question 60

Drumming can be used to attain a shamanic state of consciousness.

Question 61

Who are the Navajo skin-walkers?

Question 62

How does healing occur among the Ju/'hoansi?

Question 63

Distinguish between animism and animatism.

Question 64

Distinguish between imitative and contagious magic,giving examples of each.

Question 65

What is a worldview,and how does it relate to the anthropological study of religion?

Question 66

How are girls initiated into Mende society?

Question 67

What are the cultural purposes of religion and spirituality?

Question 68

Give four examples of divination.

Question 69

How is pilgrimage "devotion in motion"?

Question 70

What does it mean to be an "Islamic financier"?

Question 71

What are the three categories of supernatural beings?

Question 72

Distinguish between religion and spirituality.

Question 73

Describe the work of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

Question 74

What is syncretism? Describe a syncretic religion.

Question 75

Give an example of a pantheon.

Question 76

What is a revitalization movement? Give examples of contemporary revitalization movements.

Question 77

How can karma "change your sex"? Discuss the example of the Chan monastics.

Question 78

What is mana,and how is it used religiously?

Question 79

Distinguish between priests and shamans.

Question 80

What are the three stages in a rite of passage,as defined by Van Gennep?