Deck 19: Religion

Question 1

According to Emile Durkheim, the ordinary elements of everyday life are correctly considered to be

A) sacred.
B) profane.
C) religion.
D) ritual.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to Emile Durkheim, we would define things as profane when we understand them

A) in terms of the past.
B) as set apart as "forbidden."
C) in terms of ultimate meanings.
D) in terms of their everyday usefulness.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Faith is a way of knowing based on

A) scientific research.
B) human senses.
C) cultural common sense.
D) conviction or belief in things unseen.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Religion is a social institution that is best defined as involving

A) beliefs and practices concerning what is sacred.
B) ideas about good and evil.
C) a series of beliefs about creation.
D) norms about how to live.

Question 5

Which of the following is a correct criticism of the structural-functional approach to religion?

A) It ignores the effects of religion in everyday life.
B) It ignores how religion provides meaning in everyday life.
C) It ignores religion's ability to generate social conflict.
D) It ignores the positive consequences of religion for society.

Question 6

In his analysis of Protestantism and the rise of capitalism, Max Weber stated that Protestantism

A) held back the development of capitalism.
B) supported the status quo.
C) encouraged greater gender equality.
D) stressed duty and hard work, boosting economic production and fostering the rise of capitalism.

Question 7

Karl Marx believed that religion

A) focuses life on the present rather than the future.
B) supports social inequality.
C) treats existing society as secular.
D) threatens the power of the state.

Question 8

Which of the following concepts refers to the fusion of Christian principles with political activism, often Marxist in character?

A) evangelism
B) liberal Christianity
C) liberation theology
D) fundamentalism

Question 9

Following Max Weber's analysis of religion, we could say industrial capitalism is

A) disenchanted religion.
B) enchanted religion.
C) support for patriarchy.
D) the opium of the people.

Question 10

Guided by the symbolic-interaction approach, sociologists examine

A) how daily rituals blur the boundary between the sacred and profane.
B) how religion separates us from one another, leading to conflict.
C) the use of ritual and religious meaning to strengthen social ties such as marriage.
D) inequality between men and women, and how religion plays a part in that.

Question 11

Ritual is a matter of

A) formal, ceremonial behaviour.
B) who people socialize with.
C) beliefs about truth.
D) everyday practices repeated often.

Question 12

Who, of the following, would be most likely to say that, through religion, people deal with their own mortality by becoming essentially immortal?

A) Durkheim
B) Marx
C) Weber
D) Berger

Question 13

Which of the following concepts was used by Emile Durkheim to refer to an object in the natural world collectively defined as sacred?

A) totem
B) idol
C) profanity
D) symbol

Question 14

Supporters of liberation theology hope that this social movement will achieve which of the following goals?

A) keeping politics out of the church
B) helping people endure their suffering
C) encouraging personal growth
D) reducing social inequality and, especially, poverty

Question 15

Who, of the following, would be most likely to argue that religion can, and has, promoted social change?

A) Weber
B) Marx
C) Durkheim
D) Berger

Question 16

An analysis of how religion supports the interests of a society's elites would fall under which of the following theoretical approaches?

A) structural-functional approach
B) symbolic-interaction approach
C) social-conflict approach
D) social-exchange approach

Question 17

A religious organization that is well-integrated into the larger society is called a

A) church.
B) sect.
C) cult.
D) monastic order.

Question 18

The concept of "sacred" refers to what is

A) common to everyday life.
B) found in every culture.
C) seen as set apart from everyday life and extraordinary.
D) no longer found in today's world.

Question 19

Sociological analysis of religion is concerned with

A) understanding patterns of religious activity and their effect on society.
B) which religions are true and which are false.
C) the purpose of life.
D) discerning the will of God.

Question 20

Durkheim pointed to three functions of religion for society. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) fostering social cohesion
B) fostering social conflict
C) providing social control
D) providing meaning and purpose

Question 21

Which of the following is the oldest of the world religions discussed in the text?

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

Question 22

Animism is the belief that

A) God has a plan for the entire world.
B) everything in the world is a conscious, living force that is able to affect us.
C) nothing is sacred.
D) people can find little meaning in their everyday lives.

Question 23

A charismatic leader is most likely to be found in which of the following?

A) church
B) cult
C) denomination
D) state church

Question 24

Buddhists are the majority of people in which of the following countries?

A) India
B) Saudi Arabia
C) Japan
D) Canada

Question 25

Which of the following would you expect to be the least stable type of religious organization?

A) cult
B) church
C) denomination
D) state church

Question 26

A sect is a type of religious organization that

A) supports the political state.
B) is tightly linked to the larger society.
C) is highly structured, with a formally trained leader.
D) stands apart from the larger society.

Question 27

In Canada, Hutterites would be an example of a

A) state church.
B) cult.
C) sect.
D) denomination.

Question 28

Hinduism is closely linked to the culture of ____________.

A) China
B) Japan
C) Korea
D) India

Question 29

The priesthood, a specialized occupation in charge of a large religious organization, first developed in which type of societies?

A) hunting and gathering
B) horticultural
C) agrarian
D) industrial

Question 30

Which of the following concepts refers to a religious organization that is largely outside a society's cultural traditions?

A) church
B) sect
C) cult
D) denomination

Question 31

Which of the following typically forms as a breakaway group from some established religious organization?

A) sect
B) church
C) cult
D) state church

Question 32

Polytheism refers to

A) acceptance of many religions as true.
B) belief that all things in the world are sacred.
C) belief in many gods.
D) openness to new religious experience.

Question 33

A majority of people in which global region are Muslims?

A) North America
B) South America
C) the Middle East
D) Asia

Question 34

The concept "karma" refers to

A) the Christian belief in salvation.
B) the Hindu belief in the progress of the human soul.
C) the Muslim desire to do God's will.
D) the first five books of the Jewish Bible.

Question 35

The world's largest concentration of Jews (over 5 million) is found in

A) Europe.
B) North America.
C) Africa.
D) Asia.

Question 36

Animism is closely associated with which of the following societies?

A) industrial
B) European
C) Native American
D) agrarian

Question 37

Over the course of its history, the Roman Catholic Church has existed in various forms, EXCEPT as a

A) state church.
B) church.
C) denomination.
D) cult.

Question 38

Christianity is one example of which of the following types of religions?

A) monotheism
B) polytheism
C) animism
D) atheism

Question 39

Which of the following religious organizations did NOT begin as a cult?

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

Question 40

As the official Church of England, the Anglican Church, is correctly described as which of the following?

A) sect
B) state church
C) cult
D) denomination

Question 41

The founder of Buddhism was which of the following people?

A) Siddhartha Gautama
B) Muhammad
C) Confucius
D) Moses

Question 42

Often a religion stands out in specific countries or geographic regions. Which of the following does not follow this pattern?

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

Question 43

Which of the following statements is NOT a trait of religious fundamentalism?

A) endorsing conservative political goals
B) seeking the personal experience of God's presence
C) interpreting religious texts literally
D) accepting religious pluralism

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT one of the five core values of New Age seekers?

A) Seekers believe in a spirit world.
B) Seekers do not believe in a higher power.
C) Seekers believe we are all connected.
D) Seekers pursue transcendence.

Question 45

Emile Durkheim claimed that, in religious life, people celebrate the awesome power of their society.

Question 46

Reginald Bibby notes that, in Canada, weekly attendance at religious services dropped from 60% in 1945 to ________ % in 1995.

A) 5
B) 18
C) 25
D) 40

Question 47

Faith refers to what we know to be true based on what our five senses tell us.

Question 48

A totem is any object defined by members of a society as profane.

Question 49

The concept "sacred" refers to the familiar, everyday elements of life.

Question 50

Of the following, which religious group has the highest percentage of immigrants in Canada?

A) Roman Catholics
B) Jews
C) Lutherans
D) Anglicans

Question 51

The majority of people who watch religious programs on television are also

A) fundamentalists.
B) New Age seekers.
C) looking for God online.
D) regular churchgoers.

Question 52

In Canada, more people are ____________ than any other religion.

A) Roman Catholic
B) Jewish
C) Protestant
D) Muslim

Question 53

In general, compared to Eastern religions, Western religions

A) are deity-based.
B) operate by more ethical codes of conduct.
C) are less clear about what is sacred and what is profane.
D) make less sense overall.

Question 54

On national surveys, about what share of people in Canada claim to believe in God?

A) 26 percent
B) 46 percent
C) 66 percent
D) 84 percent

Question 55

Religion is a social institution involving beliefs and practices based on what is sacred.

Question 56

Ritual refers to activity in which the sacred is embodied into ceremonial behaviour.

Question 57

Secularization refers to which of the following?

A) the historical importance of religion in people's lives
B) the historical increase in the importance of the sacred
C) the historical decline in the importance of the sacred
D) the historical concern of the church with social change

Question 58

The same elements of life are defined as sacred throughout the world.

Question 59

The claim that Canada is a post-denomination society is based on a movement

A) away from religion.
B) supporting spiritualism but away from established denominations.
C) toward greater church attendance.
D) favouring rigid conformity to church doctrine.

Question 60

Confucianism is closely linked to the traditional culture of

A) India.
B) China.
C) Japan.
D) Iran.

Question 61

Members of a sect accept the surrounding society as good.

Question 62

Christianity is one religion that has never experienced internal divisions.

Question 63

Animism refers to the belief that God is an active force in the world.

Question 64

Karl Marx investigated the positive functions of religion for social life.

Question 65

Churches place greater importance on the personal experience of conversion than sects do.

Question 66

State churches are found in societies that hold to the "separation of church and state."

Question 67

Both Christianity and Islam are monotheistic.

Question 68

All world religions define women as more morally worthy than men.

Question 69

Max Weber linked the rise of industrial capitalism to Calvinist religious doctrine.

Question 70

One of the functions of religion for society is to operate as a system of social control.

Question 71

In global perspective, most Muslims are not Arabs.

Question 72

Polytheism refers to accepting many religions as true.

Question 73

A cult is a religious organization that is well outside of a society's cultural traditions.

Question 74

Hinduism is closely linked to the culture of India.

Question 75

A church is a type of social organization that is well-integrated into the larger society.

Question 76

Judaism has the most followers of all world religions.

Question 77

To Muslims, Muhammad was not a divine being but Allah's messenger.

Question 78

The symbolic-interaction approach treats religion as socially constructed meaning that provides greater certainty and security for our lives.

Question 79

Charisma is a personal quality that lets someone draw others as followers.

Question 80

Members of denominations typically accept religious pluralism.