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DSST Introduction To World Religions

Subjects : dsst, culture

Instructions:

Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.

1. The two most important works of Taoism are the 'Tao Te Ching' and the...

2. What belief systems are neither monotheistic nor polytheistic?
Jainism
The early followers of Jesus still considered themselves Jews.
Buddhism; Confucianism; Taoism
The growing materialism of Islam around the 800s

3. Meditation is NOT an important part of the practice of...
Indigenous religions of South America
The replacement of a traditional language with a vernacular language.
It has aspects of African religions as well as Islam; Voodoo has elements of Roman Catholicism - not Islam - mixed with traditional African religions.
Salvation is achieved through faith and good works

4. Torah
Both the Pentateuch and all oral and written teachings of Judaism
It was absorbed into Hinduism. Over time - Hinduism adopted some of the concepts of Buddhism and Buddha became one of many Hindu gods.
Invasion of the Holy Land by the Crusaders
Offered a spiritual approach to life

5. One sect of Zen Buddhism believes that enlightenment comes through...
Sudden illumination; The Renzai - or Intuitive - school of Zen Buddhism believes that rational thought will not bring illumination. One must think anti-rationally and go behind reason before enlightenment will come - and then it will come suddenly in
God's goodness can heal illness as well as sin
Christianity
A messiah

6. The Eastern Orthodox rites differ from Roman Catholicism in their...
Lack of hierarchical structure; Unlike the Roman Catholic Church that has the pope at its head - Eastern Orthodox churches are ruled by a network of patriarchs.
Right Views
The recognition of Jesus as the messiah of Israel and the savior of all peoples
Celebrates Muhammad's birthday

7. Taoism and Buddhism are similar in that both teach that...
Pentecostals believe that they receive special powers from God.; One special power is the ability to 'speak in tongues.'; Pentecostals believe that they receive special powers from God and one of those powers is the ability to speak in tongues.
Reconcile Aristotle's work with their religions.
Things like ambition - wealth - and power keep people from their real purpose in life
Has no set list of beliefs that followers must accept

8. Council called to modernize the Roman Catholic Church.
Enter the state of nirvana - or enlightenment
Invasion of the Holy Land by the Crusaders
Improve the lives of the poor through political activism
Sencond Vatican Council

9. Shamans serve as...
Angels - heaven - and hell
Does not include worship of spirits or divine beings
The role of its clergy; Shi'a has a clerical hierarchy.
Guides to the spirit world. Shamans functioned - and still function - in religions based on nature and spirit worship.

10. Which of the following Buddhist sects is credited with instilling the idea of nationalism among the Japanese?
Ahura Mazda
Humaneness
Respect that one person shows another; 'Li' is defined as correct behavior - or etiquette - between individuals.
Nichiren

11. While Westerners may think of yoga as exercise - Hindus consider Yoga primarily as a way to...
Connect with Brahman
Salvation is achieved through faith and good works
Venerate and fear ancestors - Have healers; Are localized; Hinduism does not share any of these characteristics. The only trait that African religions have in common with Hinduism is that Hinduism and African religions are polytheistic.
Jews

12. The original teachings of Confucius do not include references to...
Nichiren
A supreme being
Meditation - Nonviolence - Self-Denial
Buddhism; Confucianism; Taoism

13. The purpose of the Catholic sacrament of Anointing the Sick is to...
Offered a spiritual approach to life
Confer special grace on the gravely ill person
In response to the works of scientists and philosophers like Darwin and Marx
David

14. Gain salvation.
The Talmud is the word of Yahweh
He attempted to reconcile Judaism and Aristotelian philosophy; Like Thomas Aquinas in the Roman Catholic Church - Maimonides attempted to reconcile Aristotle's philosophy with his own belief system and caused a similar controvers.
The ultimate goal of Christians
Ramadan

15. The Messiah according to Judaism will NOT...

16. Confucius's emphasis on respect for parents is known as...
Relied on by the faithful of the Pure Land sect to Buddhism to enter the Land of Bliss
Filial piety
Thomas Aquinas
Profess one's Islamic faith

17. Elements that characterize Jainism.
Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism; Roman Catholics have a special devotion to the Virgin Mary that is a major difference with other Christian denominations.
Meditation - Nonviolence - Self-Denial
A path to release the mind from distractions

18. A rite of passage in Judaism is...
Used in Zen Buddhism to help a believer reach sudden insight.
The representation of an eternal Buddha; one of many Buddhas
Circumcision; The ceremony of circumcision - known as brit - marks the entrance of a male child into Judaism.
Roman Catholicism

19. What is NOT a major doctrinal difference between Roman Catholicism and mainstream Protestant denominations?
To show their humility before Allah
Is a righteous God who demands moral and ethical behavior from people
Jesus is the son of God
Asoka; Asoka - a ruler of the Maurya dynasty in India in the third century B.C.E. - converted to Buddhism and sent missionaries to convert the people of his huge empire. As a result - Buddhism is the predominant religion of Asia.

20. Which Christian denomination believes in purgatory?
Experiencing a feeling of oneness with Allah; Sufism is a mystical movement within Islam that is characterized by asceticism.
Moses
Roman Catholicism
The concepts of purity and pollution remain the basis for the caste system.

21. What is found in an ark in a synagogue?
Thomas Aquinas
Hinduism
Torah; The Torah scroll is kept in the ark and read from during services
A messiah

22. Jerusalem is a holy city to...
Christians; Jews; Muslims
Were political rulers; The caliphs were considered successors to Muhammad - but after the first four - caliphs were political - rather than both political and religious - leaders
Men and women sitting together
Belief that God will save the world from its sins by sending a messiah

23. Unlike most Protestant denominations - Roman Catholics...
Episcopalianism
Rely on both the Bible and Church traditions as sources of truth
Use of Latin for the Bible and for church services; One of the changes of the Reformation was the translation of the Bible into vernacular languages and their use in church services. The Roman Catholic Church continued to use Latin for church service
The caste system is both religious and social in nature.

24. The Jews' view of themselves as Yahweh's chosen people resulted from...

25. Release from the cycle of birth - death - and rebirth is...
Moksha
Fasting during the day for one month each year
Pork
Rite of passage

26. Members of the Pure Land sect of Buddhism believe that the Land of Bliss...
All people are created equal; The Baha'i movement preaches equality of the sexes - the importance of education - an end to prejudice - and the value of leading a good life.
Mayan religion
Submission
Can be entered by living a good life and reciting the name of Amitabha

27. The Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century were known as...
The caste system
It acknowledges that everything belongs to Allah ultimately.
'Chuang Tzu'
Sephardim

28. In the Roman Catholic Church - the feast of the Epiphany broadly commemorates...
Eased kosher restrictions;
He attempted to reconcile Judaism and Aristotelian philosophy; Like Thomas Aquinas in the Roman Catholic Church - Maimonides attempted to reconcile Aristotle's philosophy with his own belief system and caused a similar controvers.
The recognition of Jesus as the messiah of Israel and the savior of all peoples
Ahura Mazda

29. A definition of religion would include what elements?
David
A vision quest
Ritual; A code of moral conduct; An afterlife
Prayer five times a day

30. Seeking converts is NOT an important element of...
Judaism
A person who is not sure whether there is a supreme being or not
Allowed subject peoples to practice their own religions
Jesus

31. What changes in Arab society resulted from Muhammad's teachings?
Upanishads
What Allah said to Muhammad
The concept that Judaism was based on laws that could be read and known
Dowries were given to brides - not their fathers; Women gained property and inheritance rights; Mistreatment of wives in marriage was forbidden

32. According to the doctrine of transubstantiation in the Roman Catholic Church...
Xun-zi
Female and male; Yin represents the female principle and earth. It is passive and dark. Yang represents the male principle and heaven. It is action - heat - and light. Together - they represent harmony.
Jesus is actually present in the bread and wine in communion
The urge for spontaneity should be controlled; Taoism taught that spontaneous action that arose from being free of worldly concerns and open to the Tao - or workings of the universe - was good.

33. Missionary work was never important to what religion?
Female - nurturing - and passive
Shinto; Shinto was - and remains - a specifically Japanese religion.
The desire to convert nonbelievers and spread the religion
French Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin

34. What was NOT a concern of Taoism?
Enter the state of nirvana - or enlightenment
Abraham
Possession of wealth and power
It is the revealed word of God; Muslims believe that God revealed his message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

35. The god of the Hebrews was unlike the god of their neighbors because Yahweh...
Required obedience to a set of moral behaviors
An accurate explanation of Taoist teachings
Submission
No schools that teach religion to their followers

36. The best description of an arahat in Theravada Buddhism is one who has...
The urge for spontaneity should be controlled; Taoism taught that spontaneous action that arose from being free of worldly concerns and open to the Tao - or workings of the universe - was good.
Ecumenism.
Roman Catholicism
Achieved enlightenment

37. In Hinduism - ahimsa is the principle of...
The desire to convert nonbelievers and spread the religion
Nonviolence
Provides many people a counterweight to changing social mores
Christians; Jews; Muslims

38. Ancestor veneration is NOT part of the following religion.
Forced conversion of non-Muslims; Muhammad preached tolerance for other religions - but did impose a tax on nonbelievers.
A vision quest
Hinduism
The first week of mourning after a death

39. A bodhisattva...
It was absorbed into Hinduism. Over time - Hinduism adopted some of the concepts of Buddhism and Buddha became one of many Hindu gods.
Lack of hierarchical structure; Unlike the Roman Catholic Church that has the pope at its head - Eastern Orthodox churches are ruled by a network of patriarchs.
All people are created equal; The Baha'i movement preaches equality of the sexes - the importance of education - an end to prejudice - and the value of leading a good life.
Helps others to find nirvana

40. A central belief of the Roman Catholic Church NOT shared by Protestant denominations.
That the last imam will return and with him - Judgment Day
A path to release the mind from distractions
Transubstantiation
The teachings of Buddha - or religious truth.

41. Mennonites do NOT believe...
Roman Catholics
That the government should support religion; They believe in separation of Church and State
Communion
Ecumenism.

42. What religion believes in Purgatory?
The holy scripture of Nichiren Buddhism
Roman Catholicism
A person who is not sure whether there is a supreme being or not
Good government could become oppressive if it interfered too much in people's lives

43. Muslims and Christians both believe...
Shinto
In a final Judgment Day; Both Muslims and Christians believe that there will be a Judgment Day when the dead will be raised up.
Emphasized obedience to God's law
Confer special grace on the gravely ill person

44. A major cause of the schism between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Churches was the...
Fasting during the day for one month each year
Emphasis on the goodness of the spirit over the evilness of the flesh.
Has no set list of beliefs that followers must accept
Primacy of the pope in determining matters of Christian doctrine. The Eastern Church believed that authority in matters of faith rested more with the Bible and church councils than with the pope.

45. Voodoo is an example of...
Female - nurturing - and passive
Native American religions.
Preserving Greek and Roman civilization and learning in general; Monks in monasteries and nuns in convents kept learning alive through their copying of Greek and Roman writings and by teaching.
Magic

46. 'Chosen People' of God.
Moksha
The concept that Judaism was based on laws that could be read and known
Jews; This is the promise that Yahweh made to Abraham
Jesus

47. What accurately describes the Qur'an?
Monasticism
Yom Kippur; Yom Kippur is the holiest and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.
Tantras of Tibetan Buddhism
It is the revealed word of God; Muslims believe that God revealed his message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

48. The Council of Trent was called by the Catholic Church to...
Yahweh's covenant with Abraham. In the covenant - Yahweh declared that the descendants of Abraham would have a special relationship with him.
Reassert Church doctrine as a result of the Protestant Reformation
Can be entered by living a good life and reciting the name of Amitabha
It emphasizes the joyous and ecstatic nature of Judaism

49. Ka'bah
Baghdad; Baghdad was an important center of Islamic power during the caliphates.
Baal Shem Tov
Exposure to Western culture and the growing secularization of Muslim nations; Exposure to Western culture and the growing secularization of Muslim nations
The most sacred to Muslims

50. Traditional African religions DO NOT include...
Modern Iraq; A theocracy is a government in which the power and authority comes either because the ruler is considered a god (Egypt under the pharaohs) or a representative of God on earth (John Calvin's Geneva and Massachusetts Bay).
Buddha's compassion for living things
A vision quest
Pacifism