Deck 21: Modern Faith and Future Trends

Question 1

What is the author's interpretation of Christianity in Western Europe?

A) It has declined dramatically in the last century
B) It is currently on an upswing
C) It has remained steady
D) The author said that European Christianity is so fluid, it is impossible to know exactly the status of Christianity there

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In the 1950s mainstream Protestant denominations in the United States:

A) Began to decline
B) Surged in membership
C) Fell dramatically
D) Began to show signs of aging

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which Christian body is the most knowledgeable about its faith?

A) Roman Catholic
B) Evangelical
C) Mainstream Protestant
D) Pentecostal

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which Christian body is the least knowledgeable about its faith?

A) Roman Catholic
B) Evangelical
C) Mainstream Protestant
D) Pentecostal

Question 5

What correlation is there between knowledge of one's faith and one's religious denomination?

A) Knowledge is correlated to length and depth of the tradition
B) Knowledge is correlated to the number of religiously affiliated grade schools and their enrollments
C) Knowledge is correlated to resources allocated and demands made on members
D) Knowledge is directly correlated to whether that tradition has a clear statement of beliefs

Question 6

According to the Pew Research center, which religious association grew in the United States from 2007 to 2014?

A) Mainstream Protestant
B) Roman Catholic
C) Evangelical
D) The unaffiliated or nones

Question 7

The author notes success in Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity in Central and South America. What is not a reason he attributes to this success?

A) The sex-abuse crisis in Catholicism
B) The shortage of priests
C) Informal training of Evangelical and Pentecostal leaders
D) South American piety that is particularly invested in a highly active supernatural world

Question 8

In South America, how has Roman Catholicism changed in the last few decades?

A) It has become more liberal
B) It has become more conservative
C) The Charismatic Movement has grown dramatically
D) It has become less institutional

Question 9

Today, what percentage of the African population is Christian?

A) 13%
B) 23%
C) 33%
D) 53%

Question 10

How did the author characterize African Initiated Churches?

A) They are mainstream Protestant churches that have left affiliation with their Protestant communions worldwide
B) They are something of a union of traditional African beliefs and Pentecostalism
C) They were created as a public protest against racism
D) They are little more than the Yoruba religion with Christian names

Question 11

What accounts for Nigeria's explosion of Christianity?

A) Christianity became the state religion in 1982
B) Pentecostalism in African Initiated Churches
C) A massive influx of missionaries from South Africa
D) Nigeria has not exploded in numbers, but has gone down since 1963

Question 12

How Christian is the Democratic Republic of Congo?

A) It is not, but primarily Muslim
B) It is not. It was in the eighteenth century, but died out because of the slave trade
C) It is robustly Christian with about fifty percent of its population
D) It is massively Christian with about ninety-five percent of its population

Question 13

Who devised apartheid in South Africa?

A) English colonists
B) The Anglican Church
C) Dutch colonists
D) Roman catholic missionaries

Question 14

The genocide in Rwanda was a conflict between the Tutsi tribe and the Hutu tribe, each of which was Christian. What denominations do they represent?

A) Both are Catholic
B) Tutsi is Catholic and Hutu is Anglican
C) Tutsi is African Initiated Church and Hutu is Catholic
D) Tutsi is Anglican and Hutu is African Initiated Church

Question 15

When did Pentecostals enter South Korea?

A) 1880s
B) Right after the First World War
C) Right after the Second World War
D) In the late 1980s

Question 16

When did the Catholic bishops of Latin America take a public stance against the economic injustice in their land?

A) 1920s
B) 1950s
C) 1990s
D) The author claims they have yet to do this

Question 17

Why was Rome concerned with liberation theology?

A) Its principles seemed contrary to Catholic social teaching
B) Leaders such as Archbishop Romero were being killed
C) It was not a theology taught in pontifical universities
D) The gospel would become reduced to a Marxist-styled manifesto

Question 18

Which church first had full women leadership?

A) Presbyterian
B) Anglican
C) Salvation Army
D) United Church of Christ

Question 19

When did the Anglican Church in England first ordain a woman?

A) 1895
B) 1929
C) 1985
D) 2015

Question 20

Which of the following denominations does not ordain women bishops?

A) United Church of Christ
B) Roman Catholicism
C) Presbyterian U.S.A.
D) Episcopalian Church

Question 21

When did the World Council of Churches form?

A) 1878
B) 1948
C) 1979
D) 2013

Question 22

What is the ultimate agenda or hope for the World Council of Churches?

A) To reunite Christianity into a single Body of Christ
B) To live out Christian unity more fully, particularly regarding care for the earth and its peoples
C) To join the United Nations as a collective Body of Christ and a living witness to the unity of humanity
D) To join all Protestant churches together as a single body

Question 23

Which theology of religion believes that no religion can have an ultimate expression of religious faith?

A) Exclusivism
B) Inclusivism
C) Pluralism
D) Universalism

Question 24

As a theology of religion, what does mutualism pose?

A) That religions are so unique, they cannot be adequately compared
B) That religions ought to seek ways of getting along
C) That religions need each other in that they provide insights into the divine that can be useful to other religions
D) That no religion should try to dominate any other religion

Question 25

Which theology of religion do the vast majority of Christians and Christian scholars hold?

A) Exclusivism
B) Inclusivism
C) Pluralism
D) Universalism

Question 26

What does comparative theology attempt?

A) A universal theological position that includes all the religions
B) A Christian theology that compares various different denominational positions to try to understand the essence of the faith
C) A secular position that attempts to see what all religions have in common
D) New approaches to one's theology by reflecting on insights from other traditions

Question 27

In terms of sheer numbers, what does the author say about the future of Christianity?

A) It will become increasingly a southern hemisphere religion
B) Statistically, more Asians will be Christian than Europeans
C) Statistically, the percentage of Christian conversions will be in Southeast Asia
D) The Christian percentage in the United States will remain dominant at least for the next hundred years

Question 28

What does the author think about the impact mainstream Protestant churches will have in the United States over the next century?

A) He believes their voice will be vital, as it is currently growing
B) He believes their numbers and influence will continue to ebb
C) He believes they will dominate the conversation about same-sex unions not only in their churches but also in society as a whole
D) He believes the religious situation in the United States is so fluid that it is impossible to know

Question 29

Does the author think that secularism will be a problem for the church outside of Western culture?

A) Yes, and he notes the pace of technology will facilitate this
B) Yes, he thinks the fact of global trade will facilitate this
C) No, he thinks this is a Western cultural issue
D) No, he cites the massive conversions of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism as counter facts

Question 30

What is the author's take on cyber-faith?

A) He thinks it will provide something of a world church
B) He thinks it is the most promising reason to hope for the future
C) He thinks it is exciting, but hastens to warn that the Internet also includes information that is unchecked and often false
D) He thinks it cannot provide the life of the faith

Question 31

Mainstream Protestantism is in a statistical decline in the United States.

Question 32

Evangelical Christianity has grown by five percent from 2007 to 2014.

Question 33

Today about half of the population of the African continent is Christian.

Question 34

The most populous Christian country in Africa is South Africa.

Question 35

In the twentieth century, Rwanda dedicated its country to Christ the King.

Question 36

Korean Christianity is flourishing so well it sends out missions to other countries.

Question 37

Black theology preceded liberation theology by 200 years.

Question 38

The Latin American Bishops Conference (CELAM) has repudiated liberation theology for the last sixty years.

Question 39

Today, about half of the ordinations in the Episcopalian Church are women.

Question 40

Pope John Paul II believed that Christian unity was one of the highest imperatives of the gospel.

Question 41

In terms of a theology of religions, the Roman Catholic Church embraces exclusivism.

Question 42

According to the author, the theology of religion of mutualism is taken up by virtually no one outside of academics.

Question 43

The Vatican supports interreligious dialogue of religious experience.

Question 44

The author believes that those denominations that have decided to liberalize will in the future become more conservative to preserve membership.

Question 45

The author believes that those churches which support same-sex unions will grow as society continues to accept same-sex unions.

Question 46

Christianity is waning in Europe and weakening in North America, but it is increasing in Africa and Asia. Do you think this trend will continue? What are the implications of the future of Christianity?

Question 47

Which theology of religion sounds most reasonable to you theologically? Defend your answer.

Question 48

Do you think it is valuable for one religion to consult other religions to rethink its own beliefs? Explain your answer.

Question 49

The author describes liberation theology, feminist theology, and black theology. In each of these theologies, there is a clear intent to provide theological underpinnings for cultural reform. Do you think Christianity should be invested in this? Why or why not?

Question 50

What impact do you see the Internet having on the future of Christianity? Do you see "cyber-faith" as something that cheapens communion or creates connections? Elaborate on your answer.