1. In the academic study of religion:
A. Emphasis is placed on determining the way in which people ought to live their lives.
B. The goal is to discover God’s will for humankind.
C. The focus is human-centered and includes analyses of what people believe and do.
D. The goal is to produce scholars who are atheistic or who deny the existence of God.
E. Both A and B.
2. The 1963 Supreme Court case Abington v. Schempp:
A. Stated that students in publicly funded schools could not be compelled to engage in prayer as a part of the school’s daily exercises.
B. Argued that a study of the history of the world’s religions is an integral part of public education.
C. Distinguished between religious education and education about religion.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
3. To state that the academic study of religion is anthropological in nature:
A. Means that it focuses on determining the will of God or gods, goddesses, spirits, ancestors in order to live life fully.
B. Centers the discipline within the broader field of theology.
C. Means that it includes human-centered approaches to understanding the beliefs, behaviors, and institutions deemed “religious.”
D. Means that it focuses on discovering what it means to be authentically human.
E. Both A and D.
4. A non-evaluative, comparative method in Religious Studies might:
A. Search for observable similarities and differences between religions.
B. Generate theories to explain similarities and differences between religions.
C. Bracket out and set aside normative judgments in an effort to understand more clearly identifiable similarities and differences between religions.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
5. The belief in an immanent Ultimate Reality that exists in all living things is known as:
A. Pantheism.
B. Polytheism.
C. Totemism.
D. Henotheism.
E. Monotheism.
6. With this type of definition, the author/investigator indicates in advance what she or he intends or means by the term/category “religion”:
A. Descriptive.
B. Functional.
C. Stipulative.
D. Legal.
E. Essential-intuitional.
7. Who wrote that “Religion would thus be the universal obsessional neurosis of humanity”?
A. E.B. Tylor.
B. J.G. Frazer.
C. Sigmund Freud.
D. William James.
E. Friedrich Max Müller.
8. According to J.G. Frazer “religion” represents a higher stage of thought than “magic” in human social evolution because:
A. Science cannot provide all the answers to life’s mysteries.
B. Religious explanations of the world are found to be more intellectually satisfactory than magical ones.
C. Religious rituals are built on the assumption that if the ritual is performed properly, its effects in the natural world must occur.
D. Magicians have a low status in “primitive” societies while priests are held in high regard.
E. “Magic” is a survival from the “primitive mind” unlike “religion” which fits in perfectly with the modern scientific worldview.
9. The concept of “academic/methodological agnosticism” refers to:
A. Believing in the truth of every religion that one studies.
B. Rejecting the possibility of truth in any religion that one studies.
C. Suspending the question of truth in order to understand more clearly certain beliefs and behaviors deemed “religious.”
D. Denying the possibility of religious knowledge.
E. Questioning the existence of God.
10. The “genetic fallacy”:
A. Asserts that religious people share a genetic predisposition towards “religious” behavior.
B. States that by explaining the origins of a religion, one understands its essential nature.
C. Is rejected by those who follow a “family resemblance” approach to the study of world religions.
D. Ignores general commonalities found among the religions in favor of describing specific “genetic” characteristics observed in a particular religion.
E. Asserts that non-religious people lack a genetic predisposition toward “religious” behavior.