Deck 13: Religion

Question 1

French sociologist Emile Durkheim developed the notion of a fundamental dichotomy between which of the following sets of ideas that has been used by anthropologists in examining religion?

A) forbidden and allowed
B) sacred and holy
C) unclean and profane
D) sacred and profane

Answer 1

sacred and profane

Question 2

Anthropologists typically examine which of the following in order to understand religion's meaning and significance in the life of a community of people?

A) theology and history
B) language and theology
C) theology and political systems
D) economy and theology

Answer 2

theology and history

Question 3

Attention to local religious expressions complicates anthropologists' efforts to create

A) a universal definition of spirituality.
B) a universal definition of religious ideology.
C) a universal definition of religious practices.
D) a universal definition of religion.

Answer 3

a universal definition of religion.

Question 4

The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and the rituals that pilgrims to this shrine participate in to venerate this long-deceased Muslim martyr.One of the characteristics of this particular example that demonstrates the local adaptation and flexibility of religious practice is

A) pilgrims come from a variety of different faiths,not just Muslim.
B) the use of loban,a rock-like incense mined nearby.
C) pilgrims often stay for a long period of time.
D) pilgrims to this shrine all seek healing.

Question 5

One of the primary reasons that the study of religion in anthropology is difficult is because

A) there is no single,universal definition of religion that anthropologists can agree upon.
B) the variation in local expression complicates the verification of religious truth or falsity.
C) there is a wide range of local religious expression.
D) the range of religions is so vast that it is not possible to study them effectively.

Question 6

Which of the following is the first stage of rites of passage that involves the physical,psychological,or symbolic removal from the daily activities of the group,according to Victor Turner?

A) individuation
B) separation
C) reaggregation
D) liminality

Question 7

Anthropologists typically conduct fieldwork as participants,living in and coexisting with those they study.Religion,as a set of beliefs about how the world ought to be,can be successfully studied because it is also

A) easily understood as a practice by attending religious services.
B) lived out in a community of people.
C) understood as to its truth or falsity through participant observation.
D) useful as a theoretical understanding of daily life.

Question 8

Catholic religious services often have the priest intoning the liturgy in Latin,and this helps to preserve the continuity of both the religion and the service.In Durkheim's view,this would be a form of

A) ritual.
B) preservation of the sacred.
C) rejection of the profane.
D) anomie.

Question 9

Which of the following is a person who sacrifices his or her life for the sake of his or her religion?

A) saint
B) martyr
C) pilgrim
D) dargah

Question 10

What term might an anthropologist use to describe a game of football as it is played in the United States?

A) religion
B) anomie
C) profane
D) ritual

Question 11

French sociologist Emile Durkheim argued that which of the following was key to allowing a society to regenerate its sense of social solidarity?

A) ritual
B) sacrifice
C) worship
D) anomie

Question 12

In many cultures,the first menstruation in women is seen as a powerful marker of womanhood and is frequently marked by ritual.In some cases,the young woman is separated from the larger social cohort,left in a state of isolation that may provide a time for reflection.According to anthropologist Victor Turner,this stage in the ritual process is called

A) liminal.
B) profane.
C) communitas.
D) sacred.

Question 13

The upheaval brought about by the industrial revolution led to profound changes in the nature of production and labor,as well as the displacement of people as they sought out ways to make a living in the face of these changes.French sociologist Emile Durkheim observed all of this and recognized it as

A) habitus.
B) communitas.
C) anomie.
D) alienation.

Question 14

Anthropological research illustrates that people make a religious tradition come alive in their own context through local expressions and which of the following?

A) creative adaptations
B) strict adherence to scripture
C) universal beliefs
D) standardized rituals

Question 15

Which of the following is an individual considered exceptionally close to God,who is then exalted after death?

A) priest
B) nun
C) saint
D) pope

Question 16

Which of the following is among the nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers who deeply influenced anthropological theories of religion?

A) Arnold van Gennep
B) Karl Marx
C) Emile Durkheim
D) Max Weber

Question 17

People make sense of the world,reach decisions,and organize their lives on the basis of their

A) religious beliefs.
B) social organization.
C) ability to falsify the religions of others.
D) theoretical understanding of religious practices.

Question 18

In 1931,anthropologist Audrey Richards documented the chisungu ritual,performed in Zambia.This women-only ritual centers on menstruation and marriage and is an example of

A) rites of passage.
B) liminal engagement.
C) sacredness.
D) religious fervor.

Question 19

Anthropologists are primarily interested in

A) analyzing religion's ultimate truth or falsity.
B) capturing religious expression and making it come alive for others.
C) validating others' religious beliefs.
D) documenting all extant shamanic traditions.

Question 20

One of the central tasks of anthropologists studying religion is to understand the religious sense of

A) truthfulness.
B) the strength of individual belief.
C) connection to all the major world religions.
D) moral order.

Question 21

Victor Turner proposed that all humans experience a rite of passage and that such rites might appear in a variety of different contexts,not just in coming-of-age changes.In a similar fashion,we can understand the emergence of a particular type of religious practitioner after they pass through a rite of passage.Such a practitioner emerges as a

A) shaman.
B) priest.
C) medicine man.
D) pilgrim.

Question 22

Paul Stoller's participation in sorcery and magic in Niger afforded him a window into

A) the dangers of participation in systems we do not understand.
B) how difficult it is to gain trust of those we study.
C) how easy it is to become irrational during long fieldwork.
D) the deeply transformative nature of fieldwork.

Question 23

Which of the following theories contends that religious practices have likely developed in response to very practical problems as people sought to adapt to the natural environment?

A) the opiate of the masses
B) cultural materialism
C) ritual processes
D) rites of passage

Question 24

Karl Marx argued that which of the following played a key role in keeping the working poor from engaging in revolutionary social change that he believed was necessary to improve their situation?

A) religion
B) rites
C) rituals
D) pilgrimages

Question 25

German political philosopher Karl Marx called which of the following "the opiate of the masses"?

A) rituals
B) pilgrimage
C) religion
D) rites of passage

Question 26

Your college experience leads eventually to your graduation,a ritual process that ushers you into the "real world" where you are expected to find a job and be a productive member of the larger society.In the model of ritual that Victor Turner describes,this entirety of your experience,including the graduation ceremony itself,helps to promote

A) individuation.
B) liminality.
C) separation.
D) communitas.

Question 27

Anthropologist E.E.Evans-Pritchard's work among the Azande people considered ________ to be an integral part of their religious system.

A) ritual
B) magic
C) rites
D) ceremony

Question 28

In his work with Azande people,E.E.Evans-Pritchard found which of the following individuals are formally taught the knowledge of rituals and medicines and use that knowledge to thwart the work of a witch?

A) shamans
B) witches
C) witch doctors
D) parents

Question 29

You likely have heard of the voodoo doll,a figurine in which the holder pokes pins into the body in an effort to induce pain or discomfort into the unfortunate "target." While this is a belief and practice that is specific to a particular culture,an anthropologist would likely analyze this as a type of

A) ritual.
B) liminality.
C) magic.
D) religious rite.

Question 30

The role of the shaman is generally associated with early seminomadic societies but is also found in which type of the following societies?

A) industrialized
B) seminomadic
C) technological
D) hunter-gatherer

Question 31

Which of the following is considered a type of magic that involves performances that imitate the desired result,such as manipulating a doll?

A) imitative magic
B) ritual magic
C) contagious magic
D) continuous magic

Question 32

A part-time religious practitioner with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings is referred to as a

A) medicine man.
B) rabbi.
C) magician.
D) shaman.

Question 33

Victor Turner's final stage of rites of passage that involves the return of the individual to the everyday life of the community is termed

A) retrospective.
B) reaction.
C) reincorporation.
D) relegitimization.

Question 34

Anthropologist Marvin Harris built upon Karl Marx's ideas,suggesting that what shapes the other components of a society are

A) material conditions.
B) ritual processes.
C) the relationships between religion and power.
D) religious beliefs.

Question 35

Most of us routinely trim our fingernails.The cuttings are tossed into the wastebasket and we don't usually give it much thought.If he were alive today,James Frazier might suggest that this is ignoring the possibility of

A) contagious magic.
B) poor hygiene practice.
C) continuous magic.
D) obsessive compulsive disorder.

Question 36

According to Max Weber,the values of self-denial and self-discipline provided the ethic necessary for

A) capitalist exploitation of the masses.
B) modernity to move forward.
C) capitalism to flourish.
D) the defeat of capitalistic enterprises.

Question 37

E.E.Evans-Pritchard conducted fieldwork among the Azande and rebuffed Weber's earlier assertion that science and modernization would lead to the decline of magic.A key part of Evans-Pritchard's work held that magic was in fact very

A) irrational.
B) scientific.
C) ritualistic.
D) rational.

Question 38

Which of the following individuals believed that ideas rather than economics can be equally powerful in shaping society?

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Max Weber
C) Karl Marx
D) Victor Turner

Question 39

Max Weber envisioned an inevitability of religion,one that culminated in

A) rational religion based on legal codes of conduct.
B) rational religion based on persuasive prophets.
C) a purely secular society free of religion.
D) rational religion based on acceptance of magic and shamanistic beliefs.

Question 40

The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and how people of many different faiths come to the shrine for healing rituals.The people who travel to the shrine are said to be

A) seeking conversion.
B) making a pilgrimage.
C) seeking communitas.
D) participating in a sacred ritual.

Question 41

Talal Asad makes the case that rather than religion being a system of symbols,it is better understood as a

A) collection of ideas.
B) simple collection of material objects not imbued with meaning.
C) creation of western scholars.
D) result of authorizing processes.

Question 42

Victor Turner was an influential anthropologist who studied various aspects of religion.Turner considered religious pilgrimage to be a unique form of religious ritual.What is a religious pilgrimage? What are three specific examples of religious pilgrimage and what do they entail? What stages of process do the pilgrimage examples you provided entail? What purposes do your examples serve a particular religion in general? What purposes does religious pilgrimage serve for the individual and his or her community?

Question 43

The recent appearance of the megachurch-large,often evangelical or Protestant churches that employ business practices,showmanship,rock music,and spectacle to attract congregations-reveals the influence not just of technology and marketing but of the larger force that often draws people to a particular country in order to have a better life.This larger force is

A) democratization.
B) globalization.
C) proselytization.
D) secularization.

Question 44

Anthropologist Talal Asad argues that

A) universal definitions of religion can actually obscure local realities and,subsequently,local expressions of religion should be examined rather than universal ones.
B) symbols used in religion acquire significance only for the actual material of which they are made and nothing more beyond that.
C) symbols used in religion acquire significance far beyond the actual material of which they are made and allow believers to feel that the religious world is truly real.
D) symbols develop in a culture completely independent of historical and social developments.

Question 45

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests that religion is essentially a system of ideas surrounding a set of powerful

A) symbols.
B) rituals.
C) rites.
D) beliefs.

Question 46

The Zapatista movement in Mexico helped lend credence to the idea of Liberation Theology,something that was initially supported by the Vatican.More recently,however,that support was withdrawn under Pope Benedict,who argued that the "church of the people" was antagonistic to the idea of a central Church authority such as is found in the Vatican.Today,Pope Francis,himself once a proponent of the theology,has moved the church toward a reconciliation of these conflicts.All of these illustrate the tension between

A) religion,power,and Latin America.
B) religion,meaning,and power.
C) the Vatican and poor countries,such as Mexico.
D) religious belief and social solidarity.

Question 47

Anthropologist Marvin Harris developed the theory of cultural materialism,which is built on Karl Marx's analysis of the way in which the material conditions of a society shape its other components.What is the basic premise of Harris's theory of cultural materialism,and how does it relate to religion? How can Harris's theory be applied to explain why cows are sacred in India? What is an example of a religious practice that people engage in within the United States that could be explained using the theory of cultural materialism? Do you think Harris's theory is useful in examining religion and religious practices? Why or why not?

Question 48

The anthropologist's task when examining religion is to try to capture the vivid inner life,sense of moral order,dynamic public expressions,and interactions with other systems of meaning and power.Based on your own experiences,how does religion inform an individual's inner life,sense of moral order,dynamic public expressions,and interactions with other systems of meaning and power? How does religion inform these aspects on a cultural or social level? What is the underlying purpose of religion within a cultural group or society? What do anthropologists have to offer to the exploration and understanding of world religions?

Question 49

French ethnographer and folklorist Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957)was the first to theorize a category of ritual called "rites of passage." What are rites of passage,and what is an example of a rite of passage in your own cultural experience? How are rites of passage related to rituals and religion? Are there rites of passage in cultural groups that are not tied to religion? Provide an example.How do rites of passage affect the individual,and how do they affect the cultural group as a whole?

Question 50

The role of the Catholic Church in the Zapatista Movement in the Chiapas region of southern Mexico illustrates a relationship in Mexico between religion and

A) language.
B) family.
C) revolution.
D) poverty.

Question 51

Catholicism is being rejuvenated in the United States as a result of

A) increased immigration from heavily Catholic countries bringing new membership,worship styles,social needs,and political engagements.
B) immigration of wealthy individuals from otherwise impoverished Catholic countries bringing an infusion of funds to local churches.
C) high rates of conversion to Catholicism from Islam.
D) high rates of lapsed middle-class Catholics returning to the church.

Question 52

Hindus venerate the cow (even when they create serious traffic hazards)in order to fully embrace the idea of ahimsa,the practice of nonviolence toward all living things.For a Hindu,then,the cow is much more than an animal with four legs,it is a vital

A) symbol that allows them to avoid eating beef.
B) symbol that makes their religious world real.
C) symbol that anthropologists have created to understand Hinduism.
D) symbol that represents God in their pantheon.

Question 53

In the view of Talal Asad,religion has been defined by western anthropology and is thus partially

A) an attempt at a universal definition.
B) a fieldwork problem.
C) an ethnocentric problem.
D) a Christian definition.

Question 54

Which of the following locations is particularly experiencing increasing encounters between people of various religious faiths and new strategies for cultivating and educating participants?

A) rural villages
B) remote villages
C) farming communities
D) cities

Question 55

Which of the following social processes is currently affecting the ways in which religion and religious practices are being stretched and shaped today?

A) immigration
B) technological innovation
C) neoliberalization
D) secularization

Question 56

A common belief in the United States is that walking under a ladder will bring bad luck.Many people dismiss this possibility,but as a belief,it is very like the results found by anthropologist George Gmelch's examination of the national pastime of baseball,an activity he found to be rife with

A) disbelief.
B) skeptics.
C) magic.
D) religious tenets.

Question 57

What did German political philosopher Karl Marx mean when he called religion "the opiate of the masses"? According to Marx,what purpose or purposes does religion serve in society? How is religion related to the economic reality and class struggle found within a society? Do you agree with Marx's arguments and ideas regarding the purpose of religion in society? Why or why not?

Question 58

In order to examine the role of religion in community life in Niger,West Africa,anthropologist Paul Stoller apprenticed with which of the following religious specialists?

A) women
B) a witch doctor
C) a sorcerer
D) a witch

Question 59

Anthropologist George Gmelch found that players who use a particular ritual,such as touching the bill of their cap every time they are up to bat,generally tend to believe that good magic is

A) contagious.
B) consistent.
C) ritualized.
D) highly effective.

Question 60

French sociologist Emile Durkheim argued that religion,particularly religious ritual,serves a crucial role in combating one's sense of anomie and in addressing larger social dynamics of alienation and dislocation.How did Durkheim define anomie,and what is a specific example of it in the world today? How does religious ritual help combat anomie? How does religious ritual address larger social dynamics of alienation and dislocation? How did these notions argued by Durkheim influence the anthropological approach to the study of religion?

Question 61

Religious revivals have been spreading across various areas of the world.In some countries,such as China,however,the government faces a dilemma.How might religion threaten a government? How would a religious revival act as an antagonistic force to an established government? What do you think are the underlying forces spurring the religious revival,what direction do you think it will take in the future,and what forces do you think will affect the future direction? Do you think religion will eventually die out in the future? Why or why not?

Question 62

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz examines the role of symbols in religion.He argues that each symbol has deep meaning and evokes powerful emotions and motivations in the religion's followers.What are two different examples of religious symbols used in the world today? What meaning do the symbols have for the religious followers? What emotions and motivations do the symbols evoke in followers and why? How do these symbols help followers make sense of their worlds? What purpose do these symbols likely serve regarding community life? Do you think symbols are imperative to religious beliefs and practices? Why or why not?

Question 63

The state of Chiapas in Mexico and the work of Charlene Floyd illustrate the relationship and tension between religion and power.What were the circumstances that led to the Zapatista uprising? Was it successful in its goals? Why was the Catholic church indicted as a co-conspirator in this rebellion? How does this particular example illustrate the connection between religion and other social systems of power?

Question 64

The forces of globalization are affecting religion generally and religious practices specifically.Provide three examples that illustrate how globalization is affecting religion and religious practices,and explain how.Conversely,how are the religions and practices in your three examples affecting globalization? How do your three examples also reveal the relationship between religion and other social systems of power? How will future forces likely affect the religion and practices of your three examples? How will future forces likely affect the general status of world religions and practices? Do you think religion will be less or more prominent in people's daily lives in the future? Why do you think this will be the case?

Question 65

In his research in Niger,West Africa,anthropologist Paul Stoller apprenticed with a local sorcerer as a means of exploring the role of religion in community life there.During his apprenticeship,Stoller's work came to an abrupt end and he fled back home to the United States.What did his research and experience demonstrate regarding the power of religion in people's everyday lives? What risks do anthropologists take by immersing themselves in others' religious belief systems and practices? Do you think it is possible to comprehend another group of people's religious beliefs and practices without accepting that they are real for believers? Why or why not? What does it mean for a religious belief or practice to be considered real,and who should determine whether or not it is real?