Deck 5: Religious Culture

Question 1

How is religious fundamentalism described in the text?

A) Observing the faith of the founding fathers
B) Pluralistic
C) Salvation-based
D) Strict maintenance of traditional orthodox beliefs
E) Evangelical teaching

Answer 1

D
Explanation: These absolutist beliefs are based on the Bible as the authoritative word of God.

Question 2

What religion was practiced by the "Pilgrims"?

A) Catholicism
B) Protestantism
C) Baptist
D) Atheism
E) Quakerism

Answer 2

B
Explanation: They were separatists who had left the Church of England.

Question 3

What was the religion of the early missionaries in what is now the United States?

A) Puritan
B) Protestant
C) Catholic
D) Lutheran
E) Baptist

Answer 3

C
Explanation: Having been sent from Spain, Portugal and France

Question 4

The "Great Awakening" of the 1730s was...

A) Evangelical
B) Revivalist
C) Divisive
D) A reaction to formalistic religious practices
E) Encouraging to conversions

Question 5

With what developments do you associate the period from 1830 to 1860?

A) Religious harmony
B) The rise of new sects
C) Protestant consolidation
D) Roman Catholic Revival
E) Religious schism and conflict

Question 6

Which American President was Catholic?

A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Richard Nixon
C) John F. Kennedy
D) Joe Biden
E) None of them

Question 7

What reasons are given for the growth of some eastern religions in recent times?

A) Search for spiritual growth
B) Dissatisfaction with traditional religions
C) Radicalism
D) Ethnic identity
E) Immigration

Question 8

What % of Americans regard themselves as Christians?

A) 15 percent
B) 26 percent
C) 38 percent
D) 49 percent
E) 70 percent

Question 9

Which single denomination religion is the largest in the United States today?

A) Judaism
B) Islam
C) Roman Catholicism
D) Church of Latter Day Saints
E) Protestantism

Question 10

How many Americans describe themselves as "unaffiliated"?

A) 10 million
B) 24 million
C) 26 million
D) 56 million
E) 45 million

Question 11

What percentage of Americans think that Islam is incompatible with American religious standards?

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 53 percent
E) 47 percent

Question 12

How would you describe church-state relations in the US?

A) Very close
B) Public schools can teach about religion but they cannot promote it
C) They depend on the individual state in which they are located
D) The federal government provides size-related grants to the churches
E) Churches are totally self-supporting

Question 13

Which of the following is associated with creationism?

A) Survival of the fittest
B) Evolution
C) God-directed creation
D) Charles Darwin
E) Atheism

Question 14

Which of the following is not a Christian sect?

A) Church of the Latter Day Saints
B) Judaism
C) Quakers
D) Catholics
E) Puritans

Question 15

How is the diversity of contemporary denominations reflected in, and due to, American religious history?

Question 16

Briefly analyze the growth and present position of one of America's main faiths: Protestantism, Catholicism or Judaism.

Question 17

How likely is it that an atheist could be elected president of the United States? Defend your views by reference both to historical data and to contemporary polls.

Question 18

Attempt a comparative study of the wealth of two American minority religions.