Deck 15: Religion

Question 1

In many cultures, the first menstruation in women is seen as a powerful marker of womanhood and is frequently marked by ritual. In some cases, the young woman is separated from the larger social cohort and left in a state of isolation that may provide a time for reflection. According to anthropologist Victor Turner, what is this stage in the ritual process called?

A) liminality
B) profane
C) communitas
D) sacred

Answer 1

liminality

Question 2

Anthropological research illustrates that people make a religious tradition come alive in their own context through local expressions and adaptations. Which of the following is an example of this?

A) Eid al-Fitr is an important holiday celebrated in different ways by Muslims around the world.
B) Christians around the world read and study the Bible.
C) All religions engage in ritual activities that reinforce collective beliefs.
D) A person sacrifices his or her life for the sake of his or her religion.

Answer 2

Eid al-Fitr is an important holiday celebrated in different ways by Muslims around the world.

Question 3

Which of the following, according to Victor Turner, is the first stage of a rite of passage that involves the physical, psychological, or symbolic removal from the daily activities of the group?

A) individuation
B) separation
C) reaggregation
D) liminality

Answer 3

separation

Question 4

On what basis do people often make sense of the world, reach decisions, and organize their lives?

A) their religious beliefs
B) their society's social organization
C) their ability to falsify the religions of others
D) a theoretical understanding of religious practices

Question 5

The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and the rituals that pilgrims to this shrine participate in to venerate this long-deceased Muslim martyr. What is one of the characteristics of this particular example that demonstrates the local adaptation and flexibility of religious practice?

A) pilgrims come from a variety of different faiths, not just Muslim
B) the use of loban, a rock-like incense mined nearby
C) pilgrims often stay for a long period of time
D) pilgrims to this shrine all seek healing

Question 6

Anthropologists are primarily interested in what aspect of religion?

A) analyzing religion's ultimate truth or falsity
B) capturing religious expression and making it come alive for others
C) validating others' religious beliefs
D) documenting all shamanic and folk traditions

Question 7

The upheaval brought about by the Industrial Revolution led to profound changes in the nature of production and labor as well as the displacement of people as they sought out ways to make a living in the face of these changes. When French sociologist Emile Durkheim observed all of this, what did he call it?

A) habitus
B) communitas
C) anomie
D) alienation

Question 8

What is one of the primary reasons that the study of religion in anthropology is difficult?

A) Religion is no longer an important aspect of modern, secular societies.
B) The lack of variation in religious expression makes religion uninteresting to anthropologists.
C) There is a wide range of local religious expression.
D) The range of religions is so vast that it is not possible to study them effectively.

Question 9

The diversity of local religious expressions complicates anthropologists' efforts to develop:

A) a universal definition of spirituality.
B) an understanding of which religion is best for society.
C) a new, universal religion for the modern world.
D) a universal definition of religion.

Question 10

Anthropologists typically conduct fieldwork as participants, living in and coexisting with those they study. Why is it that anthropologists believe religion, as a set of beliefs about how the world ought to be, can also be successfully studied in this manner?

A) Religion can only be understood by participating in formal religious services.
B) Religion is also lived out in a community of people.
C) Participant observation can also reveal if a religion is true or false.
D) Religion is also useful as a theoretical understanding of daily life.

Question 11

Whether studying a small temple in a remote village or the most famous Catholic cathedral in Rome, anthropologists try to convey each religion's sense of moral order, dynamic public expressions, and:

A) truthfulness.
B) appeal in order to convert new followers.
C) connection to all the major world religions.
D) interactions with other systems of meaning and power.

Question 12

Emile Durkheim argued that which of the following was key to allowing a society to regenerate its sense of social solidarity?

A) ritual
B) sacrifice
C) worship
D) anomie

Question 13

Anthropologists typically examine which of the following in order to understand religion's meaning and significance in the life of a community of people?

A) theology and history
B) language and theology
C) theology and political systems
D) economy and theology

Question 14

Which of the following is an individual considered exceptionally close to God, who is then exalted after death?

A) priest
B) nun
C) saint
D) pope

Question 15

An anthropologist studying football in the United States might find that taboos, sacred objects, and ________ are in almost constant use.

A) religion
B) anomie
C) the profane
D) ritual

Question 16

In 1931, anthropologist Audrey Richards documented the chisungu ritual, performed in Zambia. What is this women-only ritual that centers on menstruation and marriage an example of in anthropology?

A) a rite of passage
B) liminal engagement
C) sacredness
D) religious fervor

Question 17

In Japan, the second Monday of January is a national Coming of Age Day. Young people who have turned 20 years old in the past year wear traditional clothing, attend ceremonies in local government offices, and celebrate at parties afterwards. Coming of Age Day is an example of:

A) a pilgrimage.
B) imitative magic.
C) a religious practice.
D) a rite of passage.

Question 18

French sociologist Emile Durkheim developed the notion of a fundamental dichotomy between which of the following sets of ideas that has been used by anthropologists in examining religion?

A) forbidden and allowed
B) evil and holy
C) unclean and dirty
D) sacred and profane

Question 19

Catholic religious services often have the priest intoning the liturgy in Latin, and this helps to preserve the continuity of both the religion and the service. In Durkheim's view, what might this be considered a form of?

A) ritual
B) preservation of the sacred
C) rejection of the profane
D) anomie

Question 20

Which of the following is a person who sacrifices his or her life for the sake of his or her religion?

A) saint
B) martyr
C) pilgrim
D) dargah

Question 21

What did anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard, who worked among the Azande people, consider to be an integral part of their religious system?

A) ritual
B) magic
C) rites
D) ceremony

Question 22

According to Max Weber, the values of self-denial and self-discipline provided the ethic necessary for:

A) capitalist exploitation of the masses.
B) modernity to move forward.
C) capitalism to flourish.
D) the defeat of capitalistic enterprises.

Question 23

What do anthropologists call a part-time religious practitioner with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings?

A) medicine man
B) priest
C) magician
D) shaman

Question 24

The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and how people of many different faiths come to the shrine for healing rituals. The people traveling to the shrine are:

A) seeking conversion.
B) making a pilgrimage.
C) experiencing communitas.
D) experiencing liminality.

Question 25

Your college experience leads eventually to your graduation, a ritual process that ushers you into the "real world" where you are expected to find a job and be a productive member of the larger society. In the model of ritual that Victor Turner describes, what does this entirety of your experience, including the graduation ceremony itself, help to promote?

A) individuation
B) liminality
C) separation
D) communitas

Question 26

Karl Marx argued that which of the following played a key role in keeping the working poor from engaging in revolutionary social change that he believed was necessary to improve their situation?

A) religion
B) rites
C) rituals
D) pilgrimages

Question 27

Which of the following theories contends that religious practices have likely developed in response to very practical problems as people sought to adapt to the natural environment?

A) Marxism
B) cultural materialism
C) ritual theory
D) secularization theory

Question 28

When Max Weber envisioned an evolution of rationalization in religion, what did he suggest it might result in at the end?

A) rational religion based on legal codes of conduct
B) rational religion based on persuasive prophets
C) a purely secular society free of religion
D) logical religion based on acceptance of magic and shamanistic beliefs

Question 29

What term is used to identify Victor Turner's final stage of a rite of passage that involves the return of the individual to the everyday life of the community?

A) retrospective
B) reaction
C) reincorporation
D) relegitimization

Question 30

Which of the following individuals believed that ideas can be just as powerful as economics in shaping society?

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Max Weber
C) Karl Marx
D) Victor Turner

Question 31

Some followers of the Voodoo religion in Louisiana use figurines. They pin a person's picture or name to the figure, which represents that person's spirit, in order to bless them. How would an anthropologist most likely categorize this practice?

A) ritual
B) profane
C) magic
D) religious rite of passage

Question 32

German political philosopher Karl Marx called which of the following "the opiate of the masses"?

A) rituals
B) pilgrimage
C) religion
D) politics

Question 33

Most of us routinely trim our fingernails. The cuttings are tossed into the wastebasket and we don't usually give it much thought. Believers of ________ would take special precautions with their fingernail clippings, which could be used to cast a spell on them.

A) contagious magic
B) saints
C) continuous magic
D) shamanism

Question 34

E. E. Evans-Pritchard conducted fieldwork among the Azande and rebuffed Max Weber's earlier assertion that science and modernization would lead to the decline of magic. What was a key element of magic highlighted by Evans-Pritchard's work?

A) Magic is irrational.
B) Magic is scientific.
C) Magic is ritualistic.
D) Magic is rational.

Question 35

Paul Stoller's participation in sorcery and magic in Niger afforded him a window into what aspect of both life and religion in that country?

A) the dangers of participation in systems we do not understand
B) how difficult it is to gain the trust of those we study
C) how easy it is to become irrational during long fieldwork
D) the deeply transformative nature of fieldwork

Question 36

Anthropologist Marvin Harris suggested that human culture is a response to the practical problems of earthly existence, arguing that society is shaped by:

A) material conditions.
B) ritual processes.
C) the relationships between religion and power.
D) religious beliefs.

Question 37

Which of the following is considered a type of magic that involves performances that imitate the desired result?

A) imitative magic
B) ritual magic
C) contagious magic
D) continuous magic

Question 38

Seo-yun is a mudang in South Korea. In her community, she acts as an intermediary between spirits or gods and the human world through rituals, songs, and ancestor worship. Which term best describes Seo-yun?

A) shaman
B) saint
C) martyr
D) communitas

Question 39

In order to examine the role of religion in community life in Niger, West Africa, anthropologist Paul Stoller apprenticed with which of the following religious specialists?

A) a priest
B) a witch doctor
C) a sorcerer
D) a witch

Question 40

In his work with the Azande people, E. E. Evans-Pritchard found that which of the following individuals are formally taught the knowledge of rituals and medicines and use that knowledge to thwart the work of a witch?

A) shamans
B) women
C) witch doctors
D) parents

Question 41

What did anthropologist George Gmelch note about baseball as an activity?

A) It was rife with Christian worship.
B) It was rife with skeptics.
C) It was rife with magic.
D) It was rife with religious tenets.

Question 42

According to Talal Asad, how did the cross, the Torah, and the cow gain their symbolic power?

A) through the actions and words of prophets
B) through their material value, which gave them spiritual value
C) through Western scholars seeking to define religion
D) through complex historical and social developments

Question 43

The text discusses a tiny courtyard in India where a Muslim healer named Amma meets dozens of patients daily. Amma's healing room crosses seemingly rigid gender boundaries, since she is a female healer in a position of spiritual leadership. What other seemingly rigid boundaries does Amma's healing room cross?

A) ethnic boundaries, since Amma is biracial
B) boundaries between science and religion, since Amara uses medicine to heal
C) age boundaries, since Amma was one of the youngest healers in India
D) religious boundaries, since followers of many religions come to see Amma

Question 44

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests that religion is essentially a system of ideas. What was this system of ideas surrounded by?

A) powerful symbols
B) powerful rituals
C) powerful rites
D) powerful beliefs

Question 45

A megachurch refers to a large, often evangelical or Protestant church that employs business practices, showmanship, rock music, and spectacle to attract congregations. Many megachurches televise their sermons, reaching audiences too far away to attend in person. These churches reveal how technology and marketing, as well as the larger force of ________ , are changing religion today.

A) democratization
B) globalization
C) proselytization
D) secularization

Question 46

What did anthropologist Mary Douglas conclude about the nature of some Jewish dietary codes after completing her work examining how purity and danger function in Western societies?

A) The codes are simply rituals designed to bolster the power held by rabbis.
B) The codes are purely practical and provide safety barriers to illness.
C) The codes reflect a desire for order in the midst of chaos.
D) The codes are no longer observed by most of those practicing Judaism today.

Question 47

George Gmelch discovered that baseball players who use a particular ritual, such as touching the bill of their cap every time they are up to bat, believe what about good magic?

A) Good magic is contagious.
B) Good magic is always consistent.
C) Good magic resides in sacred objects.
D) Good magic is highly effective.

Question 48

What has the Catholic Church in the Chiapas region of southern Mexico been accused of promoting?

A) the Latin language
B) birth control
C) revolution
D) poverty

Question 49

The author describes his own work in Chinatown and the appearance of a temple used by the Chinese religious communities there. People were observed praying at the altar and conducting themselves in a manner consistent with a religious site. What other function does the temple serve that is not religious?

A) human trafficking drop point
B) informal barter market
C) dance hall
D) information exchange

Question 50

Hindus venerate the cow (even when they create serious traffic hazards) in order to fully embrace the idea of ahimsa, the practice of nonviolence toward all living things. For a Hindu, then, the cow is much more than an animal with four legs. How is the cow vital in this religious system?

A) It is a symbol that allows them to avoid eating beef.
B) It is a symbol that makes their religious world real.
C) It is a symbol that anthropologists have created to understand Hinduism.
D) It is a symbol that represents God in their pantheon.

Question 51

The phenomenal sales of epic works of fiction such as Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien center on magic as a real force in society. In Tolkien's work, the object of interest is a ring that gives the wearer great power. What kind of magic is Tolkien using in his fiction in regard to this particular object?

A) continuous
B) ritualistic
C) imitative
D) contagious

Question 52

In the view of Talal Asad, religion has been defined by Western anthropology. What does "religion" then become?

A) an attempt at a universal definition
B) a fieldwork problem
C) an ethnocentrism problem
D) a Christian definition

Question 53

Which of the following locations is experiencing a significant increase in encounters between people of various religious faiths?

A) rural villages
B) remote villages
C) farming communities
D) cities

Question 54

Which of the factors listed is helping to rejuvenate Catholicism in the United States?

A) increased immigration from Catholic countries bringing new membership, worship styles, and social needs
B) immigration of wealthy individuals from otherwise impoverished Catholic countries bringing an infusion of funds to local churches
C) high rates of conversion to Catholicism from Islam, creating a hybrid worship style within the Church
D) high rates of lapsed middle-class Catholics returning to the Church, bringing a return to traditional Catholic values

Question 55

The Grateful Dead toured the country until the death of Jerry Garcia, the band's founder. They attracted a huge and devoted fan base, many of whom traveled long distances to see the band perform and partake of the hallucinogens commonly found at the concerts. What kind of religious practice might an anthropologist call such activity?

A) pilgrimage
B) shamanism
C) ritual
D) rites of passage

Question 56

What is a central argument that anthropologist Talal Asad presents about religion?

A) Universal definitions of religion can actually obscure local realities and, subsequently, local expressions of religion should be examined rather than universal ones.
B) Symbols used in religion acquire significance because they are made of valuable materials.
C) Through collective religious ritual, believers reaffirm and define for one another what is sacred and what is profane.
D) Symbols develop in a culture completely independent of historical and social developments.

Question 57

In her work in Korea, anthropologist Lauren Kendall studied forms of ritual. What did her analysis of shamanism and public shamanistic rituals note about these particular practices?

A) They represent a professionalization of Korean household religion.
B) They tend to demean Korean household religion.
C) They are a form of ancient ritual.
D) They are actively being suppressed by the Korean government.

Question 58

The text describes the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Swaziland, which has one of the highest rates of infection in the world. Aside from religious services, what does the presence of the church in Swaziland provide?

A) management of medical assets
B) birth control services
C) exoneration from the sins of the flesh
D) a list of all HIV-positive persons

Question 59

Which of the following social processes strongly affects the ways in which religion and religious practices are being stretched and shaped today?

A) immigration
B) technological innovation
C) neoliberalization
D) secularization

Question 60

The anthropologist's task when examining religion is to try to capture the vivid inner life, sense of moral order, dynamic public expressions, and interactions with other systems of meaning and power. Based on your own experiences, how does religion inform an individual's inner life, sense of moral order, dynamic public expressions, and interactions with other systems of meaning and power? How does religion inform these aspects on a cultural or social level? What is the underlying purpose of religion within a cultural group or society? What do anthropologists have to offer to the exploration and understanding of world religions?

Question 61

What did German political philosopher Karl Marx mean when he called religion "the opiate of the masses"? According to Marx, what purpose or purposes does religion serve in society? How is religion related to the economic reality and class struggle found within a society? Do you agree with Marx's arguments and ideas regarding the purpose of religion in society? Why or why not?

Question 62

In his research in Niger, West Africa, anthropologist Paul Stoller apprenticed with a local sorcerer as a means of exploring the role of religion in community life there. During his apprenticeship, Stoller's work came to an abrupt end and he fled back home to the United States. What did his research and experience demonstrate regarding the power of religion in people's everyday lives? What risks do anthropologists take by immersing themselves in others' religious belief systems and practices? Do you think it is possible to comprehend another group of people's religious beliefs and practices without accepting that they are real for believers? Why or why not? What does it mean for a religious belief or practice to be considered real, and who should determine whether or not it is real?

Question 63

The forces of globalization are affecting religion and religious practices. Provide three examples that illustrate how globalization is affecting religion and religious practices, and explain how. Conversely, are the religions and practices in your three examples affecting globalization, and if so, how? How do your three examples also reveal the relationship between religion and other social systems of power? How will future forces likely affect the religion and practices of your three examples? How will future forces likely affect the general status of world religions and practices? Do you think religion will be less or more prominent in people's daily lives in the future? Why do you think this will be the case?

Question 64

Anthropologist Marvin Harris (1927-2001) developed the theory of cultural materialism, which is built on Karl Marx's analysis of the way in which the material conditions of a society shape its other components. What is the basic premise of Harris's theory of cultural materialism, and how does it relate to religion? How can Harris's theory be applied to explain why cows are sacred in India? What is an example of a religious practice that people engage in within the United States that could be explained using the theory of cultural materialism? Do you think Harris's theory is useful in examining religion and religious practices? Why or why not?

Question 65

French sociologist Emile Durkheim argued that religion, particularly religious ritual, serves a crucial role in combating one's sense of anomie and in addressing larger social dynamics of alienation and dislocation. How did Durkheim define anomie, and what is a specific example of it in the world today? How does religious ritual help combat anomie? How does religious ritual address larger social dynamics of alienation and dislocation? How did these notions argued by Durkheim influence the anthropological approach to the study of religion?

Question 66

The state of Chiapas in Mexico and the work of Charlene Floyd illustrate the relationship and tension between religion and power. What were the circumstances that led to the Zapatista uprising? Was it successful in its goals? Why was the Catholic Church indicted as a coconspirator in this rebellion? How does this particular example illustrate the connection between religion and other social systems of power?

Question 67

Anthropologist Victor Turner (1920-1983) considered religious pilgrimage to be a unique form of religious ritual. What is a religious pilgrimage? What are three specific examples of religious pilgrimage and what do they entail? What stages of process do the pilgrimage examples you provided entail? What purposes does religious pilgrimage serve for the individual and his or her community?

Question 68

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz examines the role of symbols in religion. He argues that each symbol has deep meaning and evokes powerful emotions and motivations in the religion's followers. What are two different examples of religious symbols used in the world today? What meaning do the symbols have for the religious followers? What emotions and motivations do the symbols evoke in followers and why? How do these symbols help followers make sense of their worlds? What purpose do these symbols likely serve regarding community life? Do you think symbols are imperative to religious beliefs and practices? Why or why not? What are some of the problems posed by Geertz's approach to religion?

Question 69

French ethnographer and folklorist Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957) was the first to theorize a category of ritual called "rites of passage." What are rites of passage, and what is an example of a rite of passage in your own cultural experience? How are rites of passage related to rituals and religion? Are there rites of passage in cultural groups that are not tied to religion? Provide an example. How do rites of passage affect the individual, and how do they affect the cultural group as a whole?

Question 70

Religious revivals have been spreading across various areas of the world. In some countries, such as China, however, the government faces a dilemma. How might religion threaten a government? How would a religious revival act as an antagonistic force to an established government? What kinds of strategies has the Chinese government seemed to use in order to avoid religion as a threat and still allow it to be practiced? What do you think are the underlying forces spurring the religious revival, what direction do you think it will take in the future, and what forces do you think will affect the future direction? Do you think religion will eventually die out in the future? Why or why not?