What is Religion?

Quiz Review

Fall 1997

I. Multiple Guess

1. Tremmel argues that there are two primary sources for religion. They are

2. Folk stories can be distinguished from unusual experiences because they

3. A definition that seeks to describe religion in terms of what it does for people psychologically, socially or economically is what type of definition?

4. The theory that says that any explanation for a phenomenon that depends on the existence of supernatural forces (including the possibility of life beyond the grave) is inherently flawed and should therefore be rejected is called

5. Karl Marx argued that one of the primary functions of religion was to

6. Morning Glory and Otter abandoned their Christian upbringing in favor of

7. In Michener's novel The Source, archaeologists are excavating a site named

8. The Sociological definition of religion (Durkheim) is careful to exclude what practice that most other definitions would make a place for?

9. Emile Durkheim regarded all religion as a product of

10. In totemism, the community is believed to be connected with and protected by

11. Wilhelm Schmidt argues that the apparently ubiquitous presence of the concept of a "high god" in religions of "primitive" cultures suggests that the earliest form of religion was

12. Myth, as used in religious studies, refers to

13. Type 3 (violation of the laws of nature) miracle reports might be explained in which of the following ways?

14. In the story "Of Death and Life," the character Urbaal

15. Archaeologists have found figurines, little statues of gods or goddesses

16. Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas argues from the frequency of archeological finds of little female clay figurines, often resembling the following, that
    a) fertility has been an important part of all cultures. These figures may have been amulets intended increase fecundity.
    b) the earliest form of religion was not male dominated but was rather the worship of a single female Goddess, mediated by female priestesses.
    c) their male counterparts were surely much bigger and more impressive, but since they were always made of wood, none have survived.
    d) stone age men were attracted to well rounded women.

17. 'Numinous experience' refers to

18. A story about where things come from is called a(n)

19. According to Freud, 'God' is to a great extent our personification of that part of our psychological makeup that is always pushing us to do what we think our parents would like us to do. He called that part of our psychological makeup the

20. The term 'metatechnology' encompasses

21. Taboo refers to

22. The theory that religion has its origins in the erroneous interpretation of dreams as reality is associated with

23. Either the origins or the perpetuation of religion is seen as associated with individual's perception of some sort fundamental of spiritual power in the theories of

24. Marija Gimbutas argues that primitive Goddess worship gave way to male dominated polytheism when

25. According to the evolutionary theory of religion (teleism) the earliest or most primitive form of religion is

26. Proponents of archaism, on the other hand, claim that all religions begin with

27. For both teleism and archaism, monolatry is on the development path (one way or the other) between

28. The following diagram is an overview of which model for the history of religions?
    a) the archaistic model.
    b) the evolutionary theory.
    c) the goddess theory.
    d) All of the above.
    e) None of the above.

29. A generic name, in Hinduism, for the divine source of all reality is

30. In some religious systems statues of sacred figures (gods, goddess, sacred heroes, saints, etc.) are used as features of the sacred space (church, temple) or in conjunction with sacred ritual. The objects themselves are viewed as

31. The Babylonian creation story, called the Enuma Elish, may be an example of how cultures use mythology to keep track of

32. This being the case, the figure of Tiamat (evil goddess whom Marduk must defeat in order to save the gods and obtain supremacy) may lend some support to the theories put forth by

33. The term 'propitiation' refers to

34. The redirection of sacrifice into other areas (giving, etc.), particularly the idea of self-imposed suffering as sacrifice may have contributed to the popularity of ____________, especially in Christianity.

35. William Tremmel (in Religion: What is It? ) argues that the primary defining feature of what he calls 'consummate religion' is

36. In "Of Death and Life," Urbaal buys a new figurine of Astarte because

37. Carl Jung argued that myths come from some sort of genetically transmitted communal memory. He called this memory the

38. Perennialists argue that all religions contain a vision of the same core truth. The one feature of religions that they believe to be the clearest window into that common core is

39. In Hinduism, the concept of salvation, called moksha, involves

40. The system of belief that posits that there is a never ending cycle of birth/death/rebirth from which it is either not possible or very difficult to escape is called

41. In that same system, the feature of the universe that keeps people under the control of this cycle is called

42. In Hinduism, the god responsible for the creation of the universe is

43. The Hindu goddess associated with the destruction of the world is

44. Historically, Buddhism grew out of

45. The most ancient form of Hindu scriptures are called

46. Krishna is said to have been an avatar (incarnation) of

47. The Hindu God who has as his/her symbol a combination of a vulva and an erect penis (yoni and lingam) is

48. Krishna's conversation with Arjuna is the center piece of the Bhagavad Gita. In it, Krishna advises Arjuna

49. Images like this one (this one happens to be of the Kali/yoni variety) are often used as tools in Buddhist and Hindu meditation practices. It is called a
    a) dharma.
    b) mandala.
    c) mantra.
    d) yantra.

50. The founder of Buddhism was named

51. The Reformation took spiritual authority away from the Church and deposited it in the hands of

52. In shamanistic societies, if an individual begins to experience psychological states associated with the role of the shaman and fails to apprentice herself to a specialist, the result will be

53. The best overall definition for the word "prophet" is

54. David Hume's main contribution to Enlightenment intellectual thought was

55. The "tapestry theory" attempts to undermine which proposition in the basic paradox of evil?

56. "Mediumship" refers to

57. The psychological state generally associated with prophecy in Pentecostal and Charismatic assemblies is

58. In Black Elk Speaks, when the community ritually re-enacts Black Elk's vision, they are

59. Anselm put forward a proof for the existence of God as a perfect being that a) we can imagine such a thing, but b) our imagining such a thing falls short of perfection, therefore c) it must exist to be truly perfect. This proof is usually known as the

60. A common (although not universal) feature of mystics' descriptions of their experiences is

61. On a scale of psychological states ranging from most dissociative (abnormal) to most consistent with 'normal' states, divination falls

62. The only effective proof of the existence of God is

63. In ancient Mesopotamian religion, priestesses of the goddess served as sexual partners to members of the community seeking divine favor. The principle underlying this is:

64. In kama yoga the (male) practitioner learns to control his physical body by (among other things):

II. Briefly identify or describe

'old hag' experiences

parsimony view of near death experiences

ritual

numinous experience

4 Noble Truths

Mysticism

Indo-European invasion

Kama yoga / tantra

Bodhisattva

Theravada

Lao Tsu

Shinto

Orthopraxy

Mikva

Last Modified 12/14/97
by Alan Humm