Deck 13: Sociology of Religion

Question 1

Among the following groups,who is most likely to take up a "new religion"?

A)men
B)women
C)teenagers
D)tweens

Answer 1

B

Question 2

__________ is the combination of different forms of beliefs and practices.

A)Constructivism
B)Relativism
C)Syncretism
D)Theocracy

Answer 2

C

Question 3

We usually call political worldviews such as socialism __________.

A)secular callings
B)personal institutions
C)practical alternatives
D)ideologies

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Theodicy is an explanation of __________.

A)who achieves salvation
B)how immigrants adopt new religious traditions
C)how congregations form
D)why bad things happen to good people

Question 5

Which sociological figure defines religion as the way societies distinguish between the sacred and the profane?

A)Marx
B)Durkheim
C)Weber
D)Norris

Question 6

The biblical story of the Exodus (the escape of the Jews from slavery in Egypt)reflects what type of theology for traditionally black churches?

A)immigrant theology
B)liberation theology
C)preservation theology
D)prosperity theology

Question 7

How is communism most like a religion?

A)The Communist Manifesto is required reading.
B)The lives of Lenin and Marx are the subject of study and debate.
C)Communism is a politically powerful worldview.
D)The triumph of the working class is a mystical belief of communism.

Question 8

Who coined the term "paganism"?

A)Babylonians
B)Christians
C)Greeks
D)Romans

Question 9

The Chinese have long exhibited an approach to religion that __________.

A)is essentially irreligious,by Western standards
B)rejects past traditions
C)excludes Buddhist beliefs and practices
D)combines elements of different religions

Question 10

How is a sociologist most likely to define religion?

A)as a doctrine or set of doctrines
B)as the behaviours,beliefs,and commitments of a group or society
C)as a set of ideas that constitutes one's daily actions
D)as goals pursued with religious fervour

Question 11

Most religions seek to recruit,or proselytize,more members.Two notable exceptions to this rule are __________.

A)Buddhists and Hindus
B)Hindus and Jews
C)Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses
D)Jehovah's Witnesses and Sikhs

Question 12

The spread of the big five religions came about mostly through __________.

A)the expansion of farming and accelerated birth rates
B)missionaries and the printed word
C)missionaries and conquest
D)war and conquest

Question 13

Who said that "religion is the opiate of the masses"?

A)Durkheim
B)Engels
C)Marx
D)Rousseau

Question 14

__________ ascribe human characteristics to animals,plants,and inanimate objects,such as rocks and mountains.

A)Animists
B)Pagans
C)Scientologists
D)Spiritualists

Question 15

Sociologists theorize that one of the most important factors distributing people into congregations is __________.

A)age
B)personal piety
C)place of residence
D)family income

Question 16

According to the sociological definition of civil religion,the Canadian flag would be considered __________.

A)natural
B)communist
C)profane
D)sacred

Question 17

__________,who consider themselves as Christian,have crucial additional beliefs that make them distinct from other Christian faiths.

A)Roman Catholics and Spiritualists
B)Baptists and the Druze
C)Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientologists
D)Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons

Question 18

A religious __________ is an organized group with at least a few different doctrines that distinguish it from other such groups that are also adherents of the "same" religion.

A)branch
B)denomination
C)sect
D)tradition

Question 19

What do most sociologists agree is the most important reason that older people tend to be more religious than younger people?

A)Older people tend to fear death more than younger people.
B)Older people lack the rebelliousness of youth.
C)Older people were brought up in more religious times than younger people.
D)Older people started going to church at a later age than younger people.

Question 20

From a Durkheimian perspective,the primary social function of the religious social institution is the promotion of __________.

A)family life
B)the interpretation of religious matters
C)the omnipotence of God
D)social order

Question 21

Why do sociologists claim that "Sunday is the most segregated day of the week" in the United States?

A)because there are strong patterns regarding the social backgrounds of people who identify with different religions,denominations,and congregations
B)because it is still legal for religious institutions to discriminate based on race
C)because religious institutions are not equally available to all Americans
D)because most people don't attend church on Sundays

Question 22

What did the author of this chapter conclude about the religiosity of Americans over the life course?

A)After people have children themselves,they tend to move to communities where churches are more important and to think that they should teach their children about religion.
B)In the oldest part of the life course,church and the support of religion become less important to Americans.
C)Americans in their twenties are slightly more religious than middle-age Americans.
D)Parents,schools,and churches invest in children's religiosity somewhat haphazardly.

Question 23

What is Hindutva?

A)an Indian political party that stresses religious pluralism
B)a political philosophy that asserts that India should be for Hindus
C)the birthplace of the mythical god Rama
D)a Hindu holy man

Question 24

Religiosity is greatest among female __________.

A)Christians
B)Muslims
C)Jews
D)Scientologists

Question 25

Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies the social function of religion?

A)Alex and her friends wear crucifixes every day,as a reminder of the importance of their faith.
B)Claire and her children take great comfort in their religious faith when they remember their father,who died six months ago.
C)Rajesh and his wife meticulously adhere to the tenets of their faith,practising all of its rituals.
D)Teresa and her friends place flowers at sites where people were killed by a tornado in their town and attend a candlelight vigil in honor of the victims.

Question 26

Applying what you know about religious choice and social status,which of the following persons is more likely than the others to be religious?

A)Jake,who has enjoyed a higher degree of worth relative to most people in his tight-knit community who have suffered during the economic downturn
B)Kay,who feels fortunate to have won the lottery several years ago and is happy to live in an upscale neighbourhood
C)Liz and her husband,who work 60 hours a week at jobs that require a fair amount of travel
D)Max,who has always been an independent person and is eager to venture out on his own but is also a little nervous about moving to a new city

Question 27

Which two factors are more relevant than the others when studying the relationship between age and religiosity?

A)educational level and occupation
B)generational differences between age cohorts and gender
C)residential pattern and ethnicity
D)socioeconomic status and race

Question 28

Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies the relationship between gender and religion?

A)Anna and Laila are of different faiths,but both women think of themselves as religious persons.Their husbands attend weekly services but don't talk too much about their faith.
B)Brad and Taj are of different faiths,but both men think of themselves as religious persons.Their wives attend weekly services but don't talk much about their faith.
C)Norah and her husband are both always eager to talk openly about their religious beliefs,but neither attends services regularly.
D)Ron and his wife both dislike openly discussing their religious beliefs,but both attend weekly services regularly.

Question 29

What are the main contributing factors to the increasing religiosity levels in parts of the world besides the United States,especially in the Middle East and Russia?

A)All countries with rising religiosity levels have state-mandated religions.
B)All countries with rising religiosity levels teach religion in the schools and universities.
C)Religious people and societies have more children than the irreligious;also,the influence of religion is rising among political and military forces.
D)Religiosity levels in other parts of the world are not really on the rise;they just appear to be rising because of growing secularization in the rest of the world.

Question 30

The fastest-growing religion in the United States is __________.

A)Catholicism
B)Protestantism
C)Mormonism
D)no religious preference

Question 31

Religion,education,family,and the media are all examples of __________.

A)social institutions
B)denominations
C)animisms
D)theologies

Question 32

In which of the following countries would you expect irreligion to be most popular?

A)the United States
B)Sudan
C)India
D)Korea

Question 33

Of the following people,who would be more likely than the others to be attracted to or to convert to a new religious movement?

A)Jorge,who dropped out of high school and works sporadically as a labourer
B)Lydia,who has never considered herself to be religious but who enjoyed studying world religions in college
C)Manny,who was born into a somewhat poor but very religious family
D)Sasha,who enjoys driving customers to and from religious services in his taxi but who has never completely understood what religion is all about

Question 34

Nailah is writing a research paper on the concept of religion as a social institution.She is interviewing religious leaders from a wide variety of faiths.What kinds of questions should she ask the leaders to help her address the topic?

A)questions to find out what has changed in terms of how people practise their faith over the last few decades
B)questions to find out what has changed in terms of theology over the last few decades
C)questions to find out how people incorporate religious beliefs into their everyday lives and community organizations
D)questions to find out how people rely on their faith in times of crisis

Question 35

Dahlia lives in Texas with her family.Every Sunday they attend church with thousands of other people.Which of the following concepts best describes this religious practice?

A)megachurch
B)animism
C)liberation theology
D)atheist

Question 36

To measure how religious someone is a social scientist would look for ways to assess __________.

A)religiosity
B)socioeconomic status
C)congregational affiliation
D)atheism

Question 37

Which of the following statements best answers the question of why the United States is more religious than other developed nations?

A)Other developed nations are more technologically and scientifically advanced than the United States.
B)Other developed nations' political parties claim no religious affiliation.
C)The United States is home to many diverse and competing ethnicities and religions and lacks a strong educational and welfare system.
D)The United States was founded on the strong religious belief system of its founders.

Question 38

Why is it often difficult to distinguish between a purely religious conflict and a conflict mired in ethnic or class issues?

A)Even when religious factions clash,underlying issues such as power and land rights are often equally involved.
B)Few people can clearly identify the differences between religions,let alone identify outside factors.
C)Historians often misrepresent the true reasons behind global conflicts.
D)Most religions do not want to be identified as being involved in conflicts.

Question 39

Of the following,what is the most popular denomination in America today?

A)Baptist
B)Congregationalists
C)Mormon
D)Presbyterian

Question 40

Which of the following racial or ethnic groups is most closely associated with liberation theology?

A)African Americans
B)Korean Americans
C)Japanese Americans
D)Mexican Americans

Question 41

Callie is conducting a survey of religiosity and religious affiliation among men in different countries.In which of the following countries is Callie most likely to get many respondents who either do not want to take her survey or will choose not to identify what religion they are?

A)Britain
B)the United States
C)Brazil
D)Israel

Question 42

Increased or sustained __________ in countries outside the United States can be partially explained by a country's desire to reaffirm national pride and identity.

A)religiosity
B)evangelism
C)religious conversion
D)irreligion

Question 43

Ancient Greek and Roman mythology would be categorized as what type of religion?

A)polytheistic
B)Christian
C)atheist
D)animistic

Question 44

Social scientists have concluded that religiosity is most closely associated with which two social variables?

A)gender and age
B)age and denomination
C)income and employment status
D)political affiliation and marital status

Question 45

Explain what is meant by civil religion.

Question 46

Ethnic or class conflict is often confused with __________.

A)religious conflict
B)liberation ideology
C)atheism
D)animism

Question 47

Someone who believes in salvation through personal religious conversion is considered __________.

A)evangelical
B)Catholic
C)atheist
D)Jewish

Question 48

Episcopalians,Congregationalists,Baptists,and Presbyterians are all examples of __________.

A)Christian denominations
B)Mormon congregations
C)pluralistic religions
D)megachurches

Question 49

Kevin is currently unhappy being a practising Baptist.He is considering converting to another religious group.Given what we know about religious conversation among Americans,which of the following groups is Kevin most likely to move into?

A)Congregationalist
B)Catholic
C)Mormon
D)Jewish

Question 50

Why are North American churches so segregated?

Question 51

In general,__________ tend to be more religious and more likely to join new religious movements.

A)women
B)men
C)children
D)elders

Question 52

Analyze Durkheim's arguments about religion as a crucial social function for people and society.

Question 53

Why are religious issues like abortion,homosexuality,public support for religious education,and prayer in schools often central issues in American politics?

Question 54

What is the relationship between conventionality and the religiosity of women?

Question 55

Growth among practising Catholics in the United States is largely attributed to what?

A)immigration
B)the aging population
C)secularization
D)an unbalanced gender ratio in the population