1.

The term basic religion generally applies to:

A. Religions that are ultimately concerned with release from the cycle of life, death, and rebirth
B. Religions that believe in the divine judgment of the world
C. Missionary religions, such as Christianity and Islam
D. Religions of contemporary people whose religious ideas are not preserved in written form
2. In Western cultures, religion is typically defined in terms of:
A. Collective and social identities on the basis of spiritual criteria
B. Set of beliefs having to do with a god or gods, through which people are taught a moral system
C. The number of followers it has
D. The way people deliver themselves from their plight without the help of a god or gods
3. Social scientists began to propose a number of different theories about the origins of
religion during the ________________.
A. Middle Ages
B. Eighteenth century
C. Neolithic Age
D. Nineteenth century
4. Mana, a Melanesian term considered by some to be the basis of religion, is defined as:
A. An unseen force believed to inhabit extraordinary persons, objects, or phenomena
B. The recognition of a special relationship between a human and a species of animals, plants, or
inanimate objects
C. The veneration and use of natural or prepared material objects with special potency for the
purpose of averting evil or attaining powers
D. A way of dealing with the spirit world through an individual recognized as spirit-possessed and
gifted in dealing with supernatural forces
5. Using the list provided, which of the following shows the correct pairing of a scholar with
his theory about the origin of religion?
I. Wilhelm Schmidt—Original monotheism
II. Ludwig Feuerbach—A projection of human needs
III. Sir James George Frazer—Nature worship
IV. Edward Burnett Taylor—Animism
A. I, II, and III
B. II, III, and IV
C. I, II, and IV
D. I, II, III, and IV
6. Which of the following is NOT one of the three basic types of religious violence?
A. Acts of violence that are inherently religious
B. Acts intended as punishment for people believed to be evil
C. Violence directed toward government leaders
D. Violent clashes between religious communities
7. Commonly found in indigenous religions of Native North America, South America, and
Africa, the belief that trees, rocks, rivers, plants, and animals are spiritually alive is known as
_____________.
A. Creationism
B. Animism
C. Traducianism
D. Speciesism
8. Native North American religions can best be described as all of the following EXCEPT
__________________.
A. Polytheistic
B. Monistic
C. Monotheistic
D. Monastic
9. Among the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico, human sacrifice was:
A. Forbidden by the gods of the hunt
B. Performed only in times of drought
C. Routine and extremely important to the cultures
D. Considered an abomination against the sanctity of human life
10. In many indigenous African religions, including the Yoruba of West Africa, the High God
appears as a creator who:
A. Withdrew from active participation in the world after creating it
B. Demanded yearly human sacrifices in his honor
C. Punished those who betrayed him by cursing their children
D. Lived on earth in human form before ascending to the heavens