World Religions Midterm#2

Literally, the word religion means

Connect again.

A common element often found in religions is

feelings of wonder

the prophetic orientation in religion emphasizes

beliefs and moral codes

The early anthropologist who saw religions rooted in the belief in spirits and the worship of them was

James Frazer

Sigmund Freud, when analyzing the origin of religion, emphasized

the human need for psychological security

The desciple of Freud who ultimately rebelled against him

Carl Jung

Wilhelm Schmidt, an Austrian philologist, argued that humans originally believed in

one god.

Belief in many gods

poloytheism

Belief in one god

monotheism

A mystical orientation is characterized by

the seeking of a union with something greater than oneself

A sacramental orientation is characterized by

the belief that certain rituals and ceremonies help one achieve salvation

A universal religious symbol that is circular, or blends a circle and a square, is called a

mandala

The prophetic orientation is particularly strong in

Protestant Christianity

Pantheism is the belief that

all reality is divine

One religion that particularly values and makes use of silence is

Zen Buddhism

One name of an early female deity

Astarte

In religious studies, the word "myth" means

A story that is psychologically meaningful and may be either historically true or not

Literally, "philosophy" in Greek means

love of wisdom

A Dutch Reformed Church clergyman who left his religious calling for painting

Vincent Van Gogh

Among the many reasons for religions, they exist to help people

deal with the certainty of death

Literally, psychology means

study of the soul

What psychologist saw religion as a way for people to find their fulfillment as unique individuals, a process he called "individuation"?

Carl Jung

The approach that especially makes use of reason to find answers to religious questions is

philosophy

The conception of time that emphasizes a creation and a cosmic purpose is usually

Linear

That area of investigation that looks for and interprets religious evidence in ancient sites, buildings, and objects is

Archeology

Literally, "theology" means

study of the divine

The French thinker who recognized extraordinary structural similarities in stories told by tribal peoples of the Americas was

Claud Levi-Strauss

The French thinker who sought to go behind and beyond ordinary interpretations, to in essence "deconstruct" texts and other phenomena, was

Derrida

The analytical approach that carefully investigates individual elements in cultural phenomena, rejecting the quest for universal structures that might under-gird language or religions is

Post-structuralism

The analytical approach to language, religions, and mythology that searches for universal underlying frameworks is

structuralism

the analytical approach that studies written texts of religion and even non-written material as reflections of the cultural values and assumptions that produced them is

literary theory

The goddess Pele is associated with

volcanoes and fire

Which of the following has been of special value in the new appreciation for and understanding of indigenous religions?

the ready availability of cameras and recorders

The transmission of indigenous religions is made more difficult by the fact that teachings are often conveyed in ways that are

relatively impermanent

Biophilia refers to

a love of all forms of life

African tribal masks influenced the art of

Pablo Picasso

In a holistic culture

virtually every object and act may have religious meaning

compared with indigenous religions, today’s dominant religions are

much younger

Animism holds that

the life force exists in every part of the universe

In Hawaii, during the celebration of Makahiki

war and heavy work were forbidden

The concept of sacred space is evident in all of the following except

Lono

Many African religions tell how the High God created the world and then

abandoned it

Circumcision is a rite often associated with

entry into adulthood

The sacrifice of an animal may occur

in order to placate a spirit after a taboo has been broken

A libation involves

the pouring of a liquid on the ground as an offering

A special ability to know or even enter the spirit world is associated with

the shaman

Divination is employed to

read the past or look into the future

Dancers often wear masks

in order to become the spirit represented by the mask

Christmas, though a Christian holy day, began as a celebration of

the winter solstice

Indigenous religions today are especially threatened by

destruction of habitat

Maori religion is part of the cultural rebirth in

New Zealand

The calumet is a

pipe

Until recently, oral religions were looked at as

primitive and undeveloped

Sacred time tends to focus on the

distant past

Sacred space is often constituted by

a great mountain or tree

The vision quest in Native American religions

is frequently undergone during adolescence

Important times in the development of the indivdual are often marked in indigenous religions by ceremonies. These are commonly called

rites of passage

The belief that all elements of the world are inhabited by spirits or a spirit is called

animism

Indigenous religions

frequently make little or no distinction between a god and an ancestor

The Sioux term wakan means

holy, mysterious

The term Poro refers to

a secret initiation society for males

Taboos

often exist regarding sex, marriage, and birth

To "atone" means

to do something to show regret for wrongdoing

A kiva is

an underground chamber used in rituals

Traditional Pueblo peoples live in

multistoried villages

The word that means "liberation" is

moksha

The word Vedas is related to the English word

vision

A characteristic symbolic object associated with Krishnah, indicative of the attractive power of the divine, is a

flute

A mantra is a

short chant.

What animal is treated with special devotion and care by Hindus?

cow

The Vedic god of fire was

Agni

The oldest and most important of the Vedas is

Rig Veda

The Upanishads are

about 100 written works that discuss the nature of spiritual reality

When was the Bhagavad Gita written?

400 BCE – 400 CE

The Bhagavad Gita is part of a long Indian epic poem called

Mahabharata

The price who is counseled by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is

Arjuna

The term "maya" may be translated as

illusion

Bhakti means

devotion to a god

To god Rama is frequently paired with

Sita

The Vedic god of storm and war was

Indra

The ideal of causing no harm to anything that can suffer is

Ahisma

The modern Indian who used nonviolent means to help lead India to independence in 1947 was

Mohandas Ghandhi

The religious practice of ordinary Hindus is primarily

devotion to deities

The law of moral cause-and-effect is called the law of

karma

A Hindu social class, sanctioned by religion, is called a

caste

A brahmin is a

priest

This god is associated with destruction and rebirth

Shiva

A major city of the pre-Vedic culture of the Indus River Valley was

Harappa

What deity is often shown with dark blue skin?

Krishna

A guru is a

religious teacher

In Hinduism, dharma refers to

one’s social duty

The absolute or divine reality is known as

Brahman

A sannyasin is a

wandering holy man

The city of India considered most sacred by the Hindus is

Benares (Varanasi)

In Hinduism, the dead body is disposed of by

cremation

The river that lies northwest of India is

Indus

Hinduism is the majority religion of

Nepal

Krishna is considered an incarnation of

Vishnu

Krishna is often portrayed holding a

flute

Transcendentalism is the name for

an American movement in literature that was influenced by Hinduism

Facts lending support to the Aryan invasion theory include

ancient Sanskrit’s relation to Greek and Latin

Archeological discoveries showing Harappa civilzation was not destroyed by outsiders led to

the development of the Aryan migration theory

The yoga path that involves striving to do all useful work unselfishly without a desire for reward is

karma

The yoga path focused on meditation is

raja

Siddhartha Gautama is the name of

the person who became known as the Buddha

Tradition holds that which relative of the Buddha died soon after the birth of the Buddha?

mother

Regarding his social class, the Buddha was

an aristocrat

The Buddha lived about this time

fifth century BCE

The Buddha was particularly troubled by the problem of

suffering and death

The Buddha was shocked into going on an a religious search by

the Four Passing Sights

The Buddha left home to begin his life of wandering at what age?

29

The Buddha died at what age?

80

The basic outlook on life, formulated by Buddhism, is contained in

the Four Noble Truths

One of the essential Buddhist teachings is

everything is changing

Regarding the common belief in a permanent soul, the Buddha seems to have taught that

there is none

Buddhism began in

India

Nirvana seems to come from a word that means

blow out

a major goal of Buddhism is

inner peace

The essential collection of sacred books of Buddhism is called

Tripitaka (Tipitaka)

Zen comes from a word that means

meditation

Tibetan Buddhism includes elements of

shamanism

The unconditioned state of reality that is the highest goal of Buddhism is called

nirvana

The dissatisfaction and sorrow that life brings is called

dukkha

Tibetan Buddhism

makes great use of ritual

The Chan/Zen virtues are, especially

intuition and naturalness

Concerning words, Zen stresses that words are

not adequate

What is most important in Zen is

enlightened awareness

The type of beauty that Zen particularly emphasizes is

simplicity

The name for the Buddhist community of monks and nuns is

sangha

To lessen suffering, the Buddha recommended

lessening desire

Buddhism focuses especially on

maintaining inner peace

The Buddha opposed

the caste system

In China, Buddhism was sometimes criticized because

monks and nuns had no children

Zen traces itself back to a legendary founder named

Bodhidharma

Enlightened awareness in Zen is called

satori

An essential practice in Zen is

manual labor

One of the most common Buddhist meditation techniques used in many schools is

a focus on breathing

One appeal of Buddhism for many Westerners is

the emphasis on self-reliance and insight

Jainism places great emphasis on

ahimsa

The Jain worldview holds that a Creator

does not exist

Jains allow and even recommend

gentle suicide after a long life of virtue

Jain monks differ from Buddhist monks in

allowing nakedness

Jainism sees reality as made up of

life (jiva) and nonlife (ajiva)

The name Mahavira literally means

hero or great man

Jainism seems to be most stongly concerned about

breaking the power of bondage to the physical world

Jains believe that perfected souls

disappear from the world and live at the top of the universe

Jain monasticism has split into how many branches

4

Jainism was a strong influence on

Gandhi

Regarding the ability of human beings to find the truth, Jainism

teaches that truth is relative to each person’s viewpoint

Most Jains practice the devotional activity called

puja

Like Buddhists, Jains value

nonattachment and nonharm

The religion of Sikhism first developed in

the Punjab region of India and Pakistan

The center of the Sikh religion is at

Amriisar

The turning point in Nanak’s life was a

prophetic call near a river

A Sikh temple is called a

gurdwara

Which religions accept the eating of animals?

Sikhism and Islam

The Khalsa was created to be

a protective social organization

One of the requirements of the Khalsa was

no alcohol

The Adi Granth is the

most important Sikh scripture

Some Sikhs want a

Sikh nation, separate from India

How many Sikh gurus were there before the human line of gurus ended?

10

Nanak’s name for God was

True Name

Nanak, like the Hindus, believed in

reincarnation and karma

The founder of Sikhism was

Nanak

What item worn by the Sikh Khalsa symbolizes strength?

steel bracelet

Uncut hair by the Khalsa and the last name Singh represent the symbolic characteristics of what animal?

lion

What item worn by the Sikh Khalsa represents alertness and readiness to fight?

special underwear

According to Sikh teaching, the primary guru is

God

Both Jainism and Sikhism strive to

have one’s spirit overcome physicality