Deck 2: African Religions

Question 1

According to traditional African belief, illness, misfortune, and death

A)happen by accident.
B) are illusions that ultimately have no reality.
C) are signs that the High God is unhappy with one's moral decisions.
D) are likely caused by witchcraft or some kind of foul play.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Of the following, which animal is seen as connected with bodies of water and sometimes worshiped as a powerful spiritual force?

A) water buffalo
B) rhino
C) shark
D) snake

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Baha'i were brought to Africa in the nineteenth century by

A) missionaries.
B) lay people.
C) immigrants.
D) nuns and priests.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Who are believed to enforce social and moral codes in African religions?

A) ancestors
B) children
C) female gods
D) male gods

Question 5

What is one way to recognize the deities and ancestors in African traditions?

A) Wash hands before eating.
B) Pour out a bit of a drink.
C) Pray before eating.
D) Make an extra plate of food for an ancestor or god.

Question 6

The urban centers of North Africa were strongly influenced by this culture.

A) Italian
B) French
C) Japanese
D) Greek

Question 7

In African religions, the ceremony of naming is followed by showing the child to the

A) people of the tribe.
B) moon.
C) sun.
D) women of the tribe.

Question 8

What is one reason that Christianity experienced growth after the 1950s in Africa?

A) Christianity became more connected to European colonial regimes.
B) The Bible became widely available in African languages.
C) Christianity came to Africa with immigrants from the Middle East.
D) Christian missionaries came to Africa in record numbers.

Question 9

One of the most common leaders/specialists in African religions is the

A) high priest.
B) curer.
C) governor.
D) tribe leader.

Question 10

Lesser deities that often have special relationships with specific Yoruba villages are called orishas.
Olorun.
Nyambi.
Nuer.

Question 11

In Ethiopia, a branch of this religion exists among the Falasha people.

A) Catholicism
B) Muslim
C) Judaism
D) Hinduism

Question 12

While some African people practice circumcision at birth, most wait until

A) adulthood.
B) a child is six.
C) puberty.
D) a year passes.

Question 13

According to many African religions, the dead

A) gradually fade into nothingness.
B) retain an active interest in the living.
C) ascend to the heavenly place of light.
D) are reincarnated as animals or humans.

Question 14

Among the curers of the Acholi of Uganda, jok and ajwaka are terms for

A) the evil spirits and the healer.
B) the divination of the illness and the diviner.
C) the illness and the herbal remedy.
D) the curse and the blessing.

Question 15

If you were part of an African religious group and got in your car to take a drive, to whom would you pray before leaving?

A) Ehun
B) Kamonu
C) Ogun
D) Nyambi

Question 16

When a monarch dies, it is believed that the former king or queen

A) fully becomes a god.
B) goes to heaven.
C) does not enter the land of the ancestors but goes somewhere else.
D) will be reincarnated as a future ruler.

Question 17

According to the Yoruba creation story, the High God Olorun

A) created the world from a gourd.
B) provided direct assistance to the newly created human race.
C) tried unsuccessfully to delegate the task of creation.
D) destroyed the orishas and brought order to the world.

Question 18

She is one of the most important female orishas and is described as beautiful and powerful.

A) Kamonu
B) Mother Earth
C) Osun
D) Ajwaka

Question 19

Islam first came to Africa during

A) the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad.
B) the nineteenth century.
C) the twentieth century.
D) the first wave of European colonization.

Question 20

Which of the following best describes the view of African religions with respect to the role of the creator of the world?

A) The creator actively participates in human affairs.
B) The creator is appealed to for daily needs.
C) The creator is punisher of the wicked.
D) The creator withdrew from the world after creation.

Question 21

For what reason might an African religious tradition require a priesthood?

A) to maintain and control temples
B) to perform death rituals
C) to cast spells
D) to preach

Question 22

Which of the following characterizes African-initiated churches?

A) Christian churches that have their origins among European missionaries
B) Christian churches that have their origins among North American missionaries
C) Christian churches that proliferated at the end of World War II
D) Christian churches that have their origins among Africans

Question 23

Describe the role that sacrifice plays in African religions. Include at least two examples of when sacrifice is used.

Question 24

A situation in which one woman is the wife of several brothers is called

A) polygamy.
B) polygyny.
C) polyandry.
D) androgyny.

Question 25

If current trends in Africa continue, what is likely to happen?

A) Urbanization will cease.
B) The population will diminish.
C) Conversions to Christianity and Islam will increase.
D) Christianity, as practiced in Africa, will have fewer distinct African qualities.

Question 26

What was the result of the end of colonialism for Africa?

A) Africa was broken up into more than forty nations.
B) Africa became a haven for practitioners of sorcery.
C) Africa became a popular location for expatriate British people.
D) Tribal life became more entrenched.

Question 27

Explain the general African religious attitude toward ancestors and compare it to the general attitude toward the lesser spirits/gods and goddesses.

Question 28

Discuss African puberty rites of passage for both girls and boys.

Question 29

Explain the stereotypes that must be overcome to properly understand the complexity of African religion.

Question 30

Discuss the challenges posed to traditional African religions by Christianity and Islam, and explain some of the ways that Africans are responding to these religions.