Deck 11: Religion

Question 1

A cosmology is:

A)a perspective of the planetary universe and the location of heaven.
B)a special symbol used for meditation.
C)a form of divination that is practiced by Rastafarians.
D)a type of religion found in foraging societies.
E)a framework for interpreting events and experiences.

Answer 1

a framework for interpreting events and experiences.

Question 2

The cargo cults in Melanesia:

A)developed because of a prophecy that the gods would bless villagers if they sacrificed material goods.
B)focused on acquiring the material possessions of Westerners through spiritual means.
C)were very much like the potlatch in Northwest North America.The villagers destroyed material gods to obtain status.
D)are a phenomenon of the 17th century.They no longer exist today,although they changed the political and social structure of Melanesia.
E)are very popular today as a means of obtaining wealth and power in this Christian society.

Answer 2

focused on acquiring the material possessions of Westerners through spiritual means.

Question 3

One of the strongest similarities between religion and art is the use of:

A)ritual.
B)symbolism.
C)myth.
D)colors.
E)priests.

Answer 3

symbolism.

Question 4

One example of institutionalized liminality is a:

A)religious hymnal.
B)church.
C)school.
D)divine monarch.
E)monastery.

Question 5

What is the primary purpose of a rite of intensification?

A)an enhanced feeling of social unity
B)a transition from one state to another
C)an act of rebellion and revolution
D)a form of institutionalization
E)the birth of a new religious order

Question 6

What are religious myths?

A)They are stories about events,people,and gods/spirits that members of a religion hold to be sacred and true.
B)They are untrue stories that are meant to entertain the people.
C)They are stories which instruct people on the origins of the world.
D)They are powerful and magical statements of the importance of religion.
E)They are fables that teach lessons to children.

Question 7

What are the three stages in rites of passage?

A)reincorporation,separation,divisiveness
B)transition,liminality,reincorporation
C)separation,liminality,redress
D)separation,liminality,reincorporation
E)revitalization,liminality,separation

Question 8

By what means do people enact their religion?

A)through ritual
B)through myths
C)through symbols
D)through shamans
E)through revitalization movements

Question 9

Why are symbols so powerful and evocative?

A)They are imbued with many different meanings,some of them contradictory.
B)They represent something that is tangible and real.
C)They are a means of distancing ourselves from the supernatural.
D)They are believed to contain magic and to be able to transform reality.
E)Symbols are not powerful.Signs,however,are powerful.

Question 10

When something good or tragic occurs and causes a temporary status of oneness and equality among all people affected,it is called:

A)egalitarianism.
B)communitas.
C)liminality.
D)syncretism.
E)unification.

Question 11

In the Hopi origin myth,what form of subsistence did the Hopi choose when they came to earth?

A)red wheat
B)blue corn
C)yellow corn
D)white rice
E)brown rice

Question 12

Which of the following is not a characteristic of all religions?

A)They include rituals and means of addressing the supernatural.
B)They involve sacred stories that members believe are important.
C)They involve the belief in a supreme deity.
D)They are subject to change over time.
E)They involve individuals who are particularly expert in the practice of religion.

Question 13

High gods,or gods who are creator gods,are found in approximately what percentage of societies?

A)10%
B)25%
C)50%
D)75%
E)100%

Question 14

The belief that all living and non-living objects are imbued with spirit is called:

A)animism.
B)animatism.
C)spirituality.
D)religion.
E)syncretism.

Question 15

In what kinds of rituals do we tend to find liminality?

A)rites of redress
B)rites of intensification
C)rites of passage
D)rites of recurrence
E)rites of renewal

Question 16

What part of the whale body do the Netsilik Inuit of Alaska "return to the water" after the whale is killed?

A)fins
B)eyes
C)tongue
D)water spout
E)tail

Question 17

To Buddhists,spinning special wheels is a form of:

A)sacrifice.
B)divination.
C)prayer.
D)magic.
E)myth.

Question 18

Malinowski argued that myth is:

A)a type of narrative ritual that is programmed by human biology.
B)an active force that functions to strengthen tradition.
C)a false story that is used to control people and manage anxiety.
D)a true story that details exactly what happened in a prior historical era.
E)a window to the soul of the believer.

Question 19

What is the relationship between religion and social order?

A)Religion always works to preserve the social order.
B)Religion always works to change the social order.
C)Religion is not associated with the social order.It is above this.
D)The social order determines religion.
E)Religion usually preserves the social order,but it can also change it.

Question 20

Rituals directed toward reinforcing the values and norms of the community and strengthening group identity and well-being are called:

A)rites of passage.
B)pilgrimage rites.
C)rites of renewal.
D)rites of intensification.
E)rites of rebellion.

Question 21

What distinguishes a shaman from a priest?

A)Priests,but not shamans,have the ability to work magic in religious rituals and cause ritual items to change their substance.
B)Shamans are part-time practitioners who mediate the worlds of the natural and supernatural.Priests are formally elected or appointed as full-time religious officers.
C)Priests have training and undergo an apprenticeship in order to serve a group of people.Shamans are untrained because they are thought to have a natural affinity to the supernatural.
D)Shamans are found in state societies and priests are found in foraging and egalitarian societies.
E)There are no differences between shamans and priests.Priests are classified as a type of shaman.

Question 22

Which of the following statements is correct?

A)When religions fail to meet the needs of followers,people tend to turn away from all forms of leadership.
B)When religion does not meet the needs of its followers,prophets may come forth to create new religions.
C)If religion fails to meet the needs of its followers,it is common for the society to become secularized.
D)Religion always meets the needs of its followers;in fact,the state has relied on religion for centuries for stability.
E)Religion never meets the needs of its followers;most people are part of religion because it is tradition.

Question 23

A pilgrimage is classified as a sacrifice.

Question 24

Cuban Santeria is a mixture of:

A)African religions and Catholicism.
B)Catholicism,Protestantism,and African religions.
C)Islam,Buddhism,and African religions.
D)African religions,Catholicism,and French spiritualism.
E)African religions,Rastafarianism,and French spiritualism.

Question 25

The rise of fundamentalism raises all of the following questions for anthropologists except:

A)do various fundamentalist groups have anything they share in common?
B)is fundamentalism right or wrong?
C)have these groups emerged as a response to global or local forces?
D)is fundamentalism itself a source of social problems?
E)what can society do as a response to fundamentalist movements?

Question 26

What is the primary function of divination?

A)It provides people with confidence in their decisions.
B)It allows people to heal,as it is a supernatural force.
C)It provides an outlet for people to contact a supernatural force directly.
D)It is a way of praying and reducing anxiety within the social order.
E)It is a form of sacrifice ritual which makes people feel indebted to the deity.

Question 27

The Ghost Dance is a type of:

A)millenarian movement.
B)vitalistic movement.
C)messianic movement.
D)mythic movement.
E)nativistic movement.

Question 28

An autograph from a celebrity would be classified as:

A)contagious magic.
B)imitative magic.
C)sacrificial magic.
D)tangible magic.
E)proponent magic.

Question 29

The conscious manipulation of words and ritual objects with the intent of causing some kind of harm is called:

A)imitative magic.
B)contagious magic.
C)trance.
D)sorcery.
E)witchcraft.

Question 30

The Holiness Church would be classified as a:

A)nativistic movement.
B)vitalistic prophecy.
C)messianic movement.
D)millenarian movement.
E)trance movement.

Question 31

Which of the following are assets that a shaman brings to healing a patient?

A)The shaman uses rituals that present a coherent model of sickness and health.
B)The shaman addresses the patient's psychological state.
C)The shaman uses symbolism that resonates with the patient.
D)The shaman brings the culture's traditional pharmacopoeia.
E)All of these are assets of the shaman.

Question 32

Through what means do people attempt to mechanistically control supernatural forces?

A)divination
B)ritual
C)magic
D)trances
E)fundamentalism

Question 33

Although they are important to people as symbolic accounts,myths are not true.

Question 34

Why do state societies attempt to curtail the work of shamans?

A)It is not certified and may cause sickness in patients.
B)It takes business away from Western medical doctors.
C)The work of shamans is unhygienic and may cause more harm than good.
D)The shaman's spiritual authority may challenge the authority of the state.
E)State societies do not interfere with the work of shamans.

Question 35

Flipping coins and reading your horoscope are classified as:

A)rites of intensification.
B)rites of passage.
C)contagious magic.
D)imitative magic.
E)divination.

Question 36

Prophecy and the founding of new religions often occurs among the:

A)poor and oppressed.
B)middle class.
C)working class.
D)elites.
E)government bureaucrats.

Question 37

Prayer,magic,and sacrifice do work in certain situations.They can reduce anxiety and preserve lives.

Question 38

Anthropologists today are primarily searching for the origins of religion.

Question 39

All of the following are routinely classified as prayer except a(n):

A)invocation.
B)offering.
C)petition.
D)praise.
E)confession.

Question 40

Totemism is a rite of intensification.

Question 41

Define religion by describing each of its characteristics and giving examples of each.

Question 42

Distinguish between monotheism and polytheism.How are they sometimes alike?

Question 43

Distinguish between shamans and priests.How does the training for each differ? In what kinds of life experiences do you think these practitioners would be most helpful to their clients?

Question 44

Name the five common characteristics of religion cross-culturally.

Question 45

In what kinds of situations would you expect to find witchcraft accusations?

Question 46

How might baseball players use ideas about magic to enhance their game?

Question 47

Priests are not part of a bureaucracy.

Question 48

The "I Have a Dream" speech of Martin Luther King,Jr.is a good example of a ___________ prophecy.

Question 49

Shamans are used to divine the future.

Question 50

Analyze a rite of passage with which you are familiar,pointing out each of the three stages and how the individual and society become transformed through the ritual.

Question 51

Choose a religion with which you are familiar and describe how it conforms to each of the characteristics of religion that are mentioned in the definition used in your book.

Question 52

The battle at Little Big Horn effectively ended the Ghost Dance movement,although some small groups continued into the 20th century.

Question 53

Along with the rise in fundamentalism in Europe,there has also been a rise in secularism in Europe.

Question 54

In the U.S. ,there has been a rise in religious fundamentalism from the 1980s to today.How does the situation in the U.S.compare with the tendencies and characteristics that we see associated with fundamentalism in other cultures?

Question 55

Syncretism occurs when two or more religious traditions are merged.