Deck 16: Religion and Magic

Question 1

Beatrice Whiting suggests that sorcery or witchcraft will be found in societies that __________.

A) lack procedures or authorities to deal with crime
B) have a high degree of social inequality
C) have recently had a traumatic social upheaval
D) lack dependable access to vital resources

Answer 1

lack procedures or authorities to deal with crime

Question 2

When people are said to be anthropomorphizing the gods,they are __________.

A) attributing human motivations and characteristics to them
B) following the rituals without actually believing in the gods
C) revering deceased ancestors as if they were gods
D) worshiping them with the expectation of a future reward

Answer 2

attributing human motivations and characteristics to them

Question 3

In the ranked society of Palau,the gods __________.

A) are associated with different clans and are ranked like the clans
B) have little to do with human actions
C) are not thought to be permanent, but may die and be born again, like the clans themselves
D) are all considered of equal power

Answer 3

are associated with different clans and are ranked like the clans

Question 4

Monotheistic religions generally have beliefs in __________.

A) a supreme supernatural being together with lower-ranked supernatural beings
B) only one supernatural being
C) a dual existence for all living things
D) forces of nature, rather than anthropomorphized gods

Question 5

Why does Marvin Harris suggest that the Hindu belief in the sacred cow is adaptive?

A) It is economically wiser to use the labor and products of the cows than to eat them.
B) The cows carry a dangerous parasite that makes their meat unsafe for consumption.
C) Seeing the sacred cows every day serves as a reminder to follow the teachings of their faith.
D) Not everyone can afford to eat meat, so it reduces inequality if the cows are forbidden to everyone.

Question 6

What are the two largest world religions?

A) Christianity and Islam
B) Christianity and Judaism
C) Islam and Hinduism
D) Hinduism and Judaism

Question 7

Freud believed that early humans lived in groups,each of which was dominated by a __________.

A) tyrannical man who kept all the women for himself
B) a single female deity who was believed to be the mother of all humans
C) group of men who were religious leaders
D) king and queen who were believed to be the parents of all humans

Question 8

Who felt that religion helps people resolve their inner conflicts and attain maturity?

A) Carl Jung
B) Erich Fromm
C) Abraham Maslow
D) William James

Question 9

What type of religious ritual did Erika Bourguignon find present in 90 percent of the world's societies?

A) altered state of consciousness
B) fasting
C) sacrifices of food or money
D) prayer

Question 10

Beliefs about what is,or is not,a supernatural occurrence __________.

A) vary within a society over time
B) are shared by all individuals within a society
C) are fixed in a society and rarely, if ever, change
D) are relatively consistent across cultures

Question 11

Melford Spiro and Roy D'Andrade have suggested that the god-human relationship is a projection of the __________ relationship.

A) parent-child
B) husband-wife
C) human-nature
D) living-dead

Question 12

Why are anthropologists interested in religion?

A) They want to know why religion exists in all societies, despite its great variation.
B) Anthropologists believe that religion is old-fashioned, and should be abandoned.
C) Cross-cultural study is the only way to determine finally which belief system is correct.
D) They are looking for religious causes and remedies for social inequality.

Question 13

In nearly all cultures that believe in gods,the gods are believed to have __________.

A) created themselves
B) been born of a human mother
C) created the world
D) walked on earth

Question 14

Edward Tylor hypothesized that religion grew out of __________.

A) people's speculation about dreams, trances, and death
B) pure anxiety about death
C) animistic beliefs and practices
D) childhood anxieties and beliefs that were carried into adulthood

Question 15

How do Alice Kehoe and Dody Giletti explain the observation that,cross-culturally,women are more often believed to be possessed than are men?

A) Women are more likely than men to suffer from nutritional deficiencies.
B) Women are more susceptible to suggestion than men.
C) There are many more women than men in most religious communities.
D) In most cultures, supernatural beings or forces are believed to favor women over men.

Question 16

What do the Zuni believe happens to people after they die?

A) They join their ancestors in a village at the bottom of a lake.
B) They are reincarnated as another person or an animal.
C) They go to heaven to be with family and friends.
D) They go to the underworld, which is inhabited by ghosts and spirits.

Question 17

The presumed victims of bewitchment in the Salem witchcraft scare had symptoms consistent with __________.

A) ergot poisoning
B) syphilis
C) schizophrenia
D) lead poisoning

Question 18

Into which two broad categories do anthropologists classify supernatural beings?

A) of human or nonhuman origin
B) temporary or permanent
C) good or evil
D) from the sky or from the ground

Question 19

What signs have archaeologists uncovered that suggest religious belief dates back to nearly 60,000 years ago?

A) grave goods
B) written texts
C) ancient songs
D) temple ruins

Question 20

Most social scientists today do not accept Freud's interpretation of the origins of religion; however,they agree with his idea that __________.

A) events in infancy have long-lasting effects on beliefs and practices in adult life
B) religion was originally built on a foundation of guilt and remorse
C) all religions incorporate some supreme, father-type supernatural figure
D) religions are innately misogynistic because of the universality of mother-infant conflict

Question 21

Which of these faiths shows the greatest interest in obtaining converts?

A) Islam
B) Judaism
C) Buddhism
D) Hinduism

Question 22

In which kinds of society are gods most likely to be viewed as aggressive and malevolent?

A) societies with punitive or hurtful childrearing practices
B) societies with hunting and gathering technologies
C) societies with external war
D) societies with nuclear-family households

Question 23

Most anthropologists believe religion to be __________.

A) adaptive
B) irrational
C) dying out
D) exaggerated

Question 24

What secular goal have anthropologists suggested as a reason for the existence of human sacrifice?

A) an attempt to terrorize people from other polities
B) a way to reduce overpopulation
C) to provide a deterrent for violent crime
D) to scare the citizens into obedience

Question 25

Which practice in Christianity represents the common ritual of eating a sacred meal?

A) communion
B) praying the rosary
C) baptism
D) penance

Question 26

Cargo cults generally occurred in Melanesian societies that had __________.

A) felt deprived of Western goods after decreasing contact
B) recently come into contact with Western powers
C) traditionally been at war with each other
D) never seen Western goods

Question 27

Conversion to one of the world religions has often been associated with __________.

A) colonialism
B) democracy
C) technology
D) industry

Question 28

In which type of society are the gods most likely to take an active interest in the moral behavior of humans?

A) a society with considerable wealth inequality
B) pastoral societies
C) a food-collecting society
D) an egalitarian society

Question 29

Which of these types of religious practitioner is most likely to be female?

A) medium
B) shaman
C) sorcerer
D) priest

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of a religious ritual?

A) a baby's baptism
B) high school graduation
C) pledging allegiance to the flag
D) brushing your teeth every morning

Question 31

One explanation of the witchcraft phenomenon in Salem,Massachusetts,in 1692 was that __________.

A) political and economic turmoil led to fear and a search for scapegoats
B) the men wanted the loose women of the community removed
C) many women were involved in a coven
D) the women who were accused were unfit mothers

Question 32

Which of the following is being performed when an individual compels the gods to act on his or her behalf?

A) magic
B) sorcery
C) witchcraft
D) divination

Question 33

If a society has only two types of religious practitioners,they are usually a shaman healer and a __________.

A) priest
B) medium
C) witch
D) sorcerer

Question 34

In most societies,someone who sees ghosts would most likely say they are visited by __________.

A) close relatives
B) unknown strangers
C) distant relatives
D) known animals

Question 35

Which concept in our own society is most similar to the idea of mana?

A) luck
B) purity
C) charity
D) wealth

Question 36

Sorcerers and witches of both sexes tend to have __________.

A) very low social and economic status in their societies
B) very high social and economic status in their societies
C) about the same status as a shaman might have
D) much more status than a shaman might have

Question 37

Which type of society is most likely to have a monotheistic religion?

A) a society with hierarchical political systems
B) a society that is located near the equator
C) a relatively small society in which most members know each other well
D) a society in which children are harshly disciplined

Question 38

Shamans are usually __________ and __________.

A) part-time; male
B) part-time; female
C) full-time; female
D) full-time; male

Question 39

Using Durkheim's explanation of religion,what are Australian aborigines venerating when they worship totems?

A) their clans
B) their parents
C) Mother Nature
D) the natural laws of the universe

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of a revitalization movement?

A) the religious movement of Handsome Lake, which convinced the Seneca to stop drinking
B) the conversion of the Tikopian islanders to Christianity by missionaries
C) the witchcraft accusations of Salem, Massachusetts
D) the Lahu adaptation of the Buddha into a male-female couple

Question 41

Many anthropologists believe that religions are adaptive because they reduce the anxieties and uncertainties that afflict all peoples. With which scholar does this perspective best align?

A) Bronislaw Malinowski
B) Carl Jung
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Abraham Maslow

Question 42

What is the difference between sorcery and witchcraft?

A) Sorcery uses materials, objects, and medicines, while witchcraft uses thought and emotion alone.
B) Sorcery is performed by men, while witchcraft is performed by women.
C) Sorcery is usually malevolent, while witchcraft is usually performed for good.
D) Sorcery involves manipulation of the supernatural, while witchcraft manipulates natural forces.

Question 43

How is the characterization of supernatural beings and forces related to a culture's secular life? Give examples to support your generalization.

Question 44

People are most likely to believe that their ancestors play an active role in their lives in societies __________.

A) where descent groups are important decision-making groups
B) where mortality rates are high
C) with a pastoral or food-collecting economy and nuclear-family households
D) where many people live to an extremely old age

Question 45

What feature do fundamentalism movements in various religions have in common?

A) the quest for purity and traditional values in what is seen as an impure world
B) the shunning of modern elements, such as television, mobile phones, and the Internet
C) a belief that the end of the world is nearing, and that followers must prepare others for it
D) a willingness to participate in violence in order to convert new members to their faith

Question 46

Distinguish between the roles of shamans,priests,sorcerers,mediums,and witches. In what types of society would you expect to find each role?

Question 47

With what features are human sacrifices best associated?

A) full-time craft specialists, slavery, and the corvée
B) simple hunting and gathering economies
C) gods that do not concern themselves with human morality
D) high mortality in warfare

Question 48

What characteristic do ghosts and ancestor spirits share?

A) They are both of human origin.
B) They are both found in all known societies.
C) They are supernatural forces rather than beings.
D) They are both generally forces for good.

Question 49

Analyze the different explanations put forth to explain the universality of religion.

Question 50

How do morality-based religions and collective rituals influence a society?

A) They increase compassion and acts of kindness in groups of unrelated individuals.
B) They increase compassion and acts of kindness among kin groups.
C) They minimize antisocial behavior in groups of unrelated individuals.
D) They minimize antisocial behavior among kin groups.

Question 51

Which of these factors seems to predict widespread religious conversion?

A) rapid population loss, usually from introduced diseases
B) contact with enlightened members of the new religion
C) population growth and associated food shortages
D) sudden ideological or technological changes

Question 52

What is the difference between taboo and mana?

A) Things containing taboo cannot be touched.
B) Things containing taboo can be touched.
C) Taboo is an evil, hideous force quite able to destroy all people who touch it.
D) Taboo is a premeditated form of evil.

Question 53

What social forces drive a revitalization movement? Give an example of a revitalization movement and explain the social background surrounding the movement.

Question 54

What factor seems to predict whether or not a culture believes that actions in life will determine one's fate after death?

A) a period of delay between labor input and return of food
B) a complex stratified society in which leadership is caste-based
C) childrearing practices that focus on obedience and punishment
D) a low rate of political involvement by members of the society

Question 55

Outline the ways in which people interact with the supernatural.