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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. Torah
Jewish mysticism
Judaism; Islam
Hindus; part of the epic 'Mahabharata'
Both the Pentateuch and all oral and written teachings of Judaism

2. What man taught that humans are innately evil and must be closely controlled?
Xun-zi
Desire is the cause of all suffering; The Eightfold Path; All life is suffering; The only way to end suffering is to end desire
Profess one's Islamic faith
Is of little importance in achieving nirvana; Ritual sacrifice plays a minor role in Theravada Buddhism.

3. Ritual sacrifice in Theravada Buddhism...
Bring the gift of God's grace
A supreme being
Orthodox branch; Orthodox Jews conform most closely to the tenets of Judaism as revealed by God. They are not concerned with adapting Judaism to the world outside of the Jewish community.
Is of little importance in achieving nirvana; Ritual sacrifice plays a minor role in Theravada Buddhism.

4. The Hare Krishna movement developed from...
French Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin
Hinduism
Developed over time; he doctrine of papal supremacy was first declared by Pope Damasus I who reigned in the 4th century. He based his declaration on Jesus' words - 'Thou are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my church.'
Neolithic Revolution; The Neolithic Revolution marks the change from hunting and gathering to settled farming as a way of life. Groups developed religions to appeal to the deities in nature for help.

5. Traditional African religions DO NOT include...
Islam; Christianity; Judaism; Zoroastrianism
Monasticism
A vision quest
Salvation is achieved through faith and good works

6. The Protestant Reformation began with...
Right understanding - Right speech - Right livelihood; The steps of the Eightfold Path are right views - right thoughts - right speech - right action - right livelihood - right effort - right mindfulness - and right concentration.
Martin Luther
The early followers of Jesus still considered themselves Jews.
Luther denied the infallibility of the pope.

7. What belief systems are neither monotheistic nor polytheistic?
Jesus is actually present in the bread and wine in communion
Buddhism; Confucianism; Taoism
Salvation came as a gift from God
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.

8. Missionary work was never important to what religion?
Ecumenism.
Shinto; Shinto was - and remains - a specifically Japanese religion.
Magic
Buddha's compassion for living things

9. One reason that early Christians began to separate from Judaism was...
Improve the lives of the poor through political activism
Female - nurturing - and passive
The Christian belief that Jesus was the messiah
Desire is the cause of all suffering; The Eightfold Path; All life is suffering; The only way to end suffering is to end desire

10. Emphasis on the proper relations between individuals as a means to perfection is the central element of...
Fasting during the day for one month each year
Jews; This is the promise that Yahweh made to Abraham
Confucianism
The representation of an eternal Buddha; one of many Buddhas

11. In Zen Buddhism - 'satori' is...
Islam; Christianity; Judaism; Zoroastrianism
A path to release the mind from distractions
Five Pillars.
Enlightenment

12. Religions typically do not include...
A central principle of Hinduism is reincarnation
The Christian belief that Jesus was the messiah
Jesus is the son of God
Monasticism

13. What characteristic does Judaism and Islam not have in common?
Judaism; Islam; Traditional African religions
No schools that teach religion to their followers
Muhammad forbade idol worship; the lack of mosques' ornamentation was a result of Muhammad's ban on idols out of fear that his followers could fall back into polytheism.
Female - nurturing - and passive

14. The god of the Hebrews was unlike the god of their neighbors because Yahweh...
Benevolence
The father of the gods in the Greek pantheon.
Zoroastrianism.
Required obedience to a set of moral behaviors

15. The Vedanta system of Hinduism is based on the...
Upanishads
Reassert Church doctrine as a result of the Protestant Reformation
A supreme being
A group's identification with an animal - which is a totem

16. What is true about Hinduism?
A central principle of Hinduism is reincarnation
Belief that God will save the world from its sins by sending a messiah
Written religious teachings; Indigenous religious practices are preliterate - so there were no written religious teachings - although modern anthropologists and similar researchers have written them down for various cultures.
Is a righteous God who demands moral and ethical behavior from people

17. A difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism is...

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18. According to the doctrine of transubstantiation in the Roman Catholic Church...
Moses
To show their humility before Allah
Jesus is actually present in the bread and wine in communion
An imperceptible presence in the universe

19. The Diaspora began...
A group's identification with an animal - which is a totem
Roman Catholicism
After the Assyrians destroyed Israel; The Jewish Diaspora began after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in the 8th century B.C.E.
Enlightenment

20. Bodhisattvas help others to find enlightenment...
The desire to convert nonbelievers and spread the religion
While delaying their own entrance into nirvana
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.
French Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin

21. Council called to modernize the Roman Catholic Church.
Sencond Vatican Council
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.
Meditation - Nonviolence - Self-Denial
Law of Manu (describes the caste system and the duties of each caste).

22. The goal of the Four Noble Truths.
Judaism; Christianity; Islam
Written religious teachings; Indigenous religious practices are preliterate - so there were no written religious teachings - although modern anthropologists and similar researchers have written them down for various cultures.
Enter the state of nirvana - or enlightenment
Emphasized obedience to God's law

23. The primary purpose of the bar mitzvah and the bat mitzvah is to...
Quality of human-heartedness. 'Jen' may also be translated as social virtue or goodness.
Recognize when a boy and a girl are considered adults in Judaism.
Exposure to Western culture and the growing secularization of Muslim nations; Exposure to Western culture and the growing secularization of Muslim nations
Roman Catholicism

24. A rite of passage in Judaism is...
Required obedience to a set of moral behaviors
Circumcision; The ceremony of circumcision - known as brit - marks the entrance of a male child into Judaism.
Saudi Arabia; The Wahhabi movement is a conservative movement within Islam and controls Saudi Arabia through its connection to the ruling family.
The teachings of Buddha - or religious truth.

25. The Diaspora is the term given to the...
No schools that teach religion to their followers
Does not include worship of spirits or divine beings
Law of Manu (describes the caste system and the duties of each caste).
Movement of Jews to areas outside Palestine beginning in the eighth century B.C.E.

26. Monasticism in the West during the Middle Ages is credited with...
Confucianism
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.
An imperceptible presence in the universe
Christians; Jews; Muslims

27. A major cause of the schism between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Churches was the...
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
God's mercy and love shown in the life - death - and resurrection of Jesus
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.
Indigenous religions of South America

28. What is not a shared characteristics of mainstream Protestant denominations?
Ecumenism.
Veneration of the saints
Circumcision; The ceremony of circumcision - known as brit - marks the entrance of a male child into Judaism.
Jesus is the son of God

29. The ecumenical movement has resulted in changes within...
Humaneness
Judaism; Christianity; Islam
It taught people to accept the status quo
Roman Catholicism

30. What is NOT true about voodoo?
It has aspects of African religions as well as Islam; Voodoo has elements of Roman Catholicism - not Islam - mixed with traditional African religions.
It is the revealed word of God; Muslims believe that God revealed his message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.
Episcopalians believe in scripture as interpreted by tradition - whereas Lutherans believe that scripture alone is the sole authority on which their faith is based.
It taught people to accept the status quo

31. Predicting the future through divination is an element of...
Roman Catholicism; Roman Catholics have a special devotion to the Virgin Mary that is a major difference with other Christian denominations.
Anglicans; Thomas Cranmer - who was the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury and a leader of the English Protestant Reformation - wrote the 'Book of Common Prayer -' which remains the official liturgy of the Anglican communion of churches.
Confucianism
Chanukah; symbolizes the miracle of a day's cup of oil lasting for eight days.

32. Satan explains the presence of evil in which of the following religions?
Judaism; Islam; Traditional African religions
Judaism; Islam
Prayer five times a day
A conservative movement within Islam

33. The Five Pillars are the basic belief system of...
The ultimate goal of Christians
Yom Kippur; Yom Kippur is the holiest and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.
God is the creator of the world; All three religions believe that God is the creator of the world - and is all knowing - all powerful - and all present.
Islam

34. What statement about the Qur'an is not true?
It describes Allah as a strict - distant - and unresponsive god
The replacement of a traditional language with a vernacular language.
Islam and Hinduism; Nanak - who founded Sikhism in northern India in the late 15th and early 16th centuries - was born a Hindu and studied Islam - but could not find spiritual peace in either.
The father of the gods in the Greek pantheon.

35. A central belief of the Roman Catholic Church NOT shared by Protestant denominations.
Filial piety
The Exodus
Transubstantiation
Hindus believe that each deity is a representation of some aspect of Brahman

36. While Westerners may think of yoga as exercise - Hindus consider Yoga primarily as a way to...
Tantras of Tibetan Buddhism
Disappeared after the Assyrians captured Israel
Commemorate the Angel Gabriel's appearance to Muhammad; have one's sins forgiven; become more aware of how a person acts in life
Connect with Brahman

37. Why was Confucius similar to Gautama Buddha?
Religious practice of ancient Egyptians
Because he did not write down his teachings
Jews
Episcopalianism

38. The Nicene Creed ended the Arian division within the early Christian Church by reaffirming...
That Jesus was both human and divine; Arius taught that Jesus was not equal with God the Father and eternal. The Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicea to deal with the issue - which was dividing the early Church.
Judaism; Islam
Hinduism
Confucianism

39. Which religion is the largest in the world?
Does not include worship of spirits or divine beings
Christianity
Covenant; The Covenant between Yahweh and Abraham is the foundation on which Judaism is based.
Ecumenism.

40. The relationship between ruler and ruled in Confucianism is mirrored in Judaism's and Christianity's...
Roman Catholicism
Hinduism
Fourth Commandment; The Fourth Commandment - Honor thy Father and thy Mother - applies not only to relationships within the family unit - but to the relationship between civil authority and members of the civil society.
It is the revealed word of God; Muslims believe that God revealed his message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

41. While all religions pray - what is NOT a category of prayer?
Set out a number of principles that are central to Hinduism; The Upanishads are a collection of advice from Hindu sages. Among the topics covered are reincarnation - creation - and the relationship between individual souls and Ultimate Reality.
Christians; Jews; Muslims
Jewish mysticism
Compassion

42. 'Shivah' - in Judaism
Jewish dietary laws
Jesus
Shinto
The first week of mourning after a death

43. What is NOT considered a theocracy?

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44. The Upanishads are important to Hindus because they...
The caste system.
Trash hauler
Hinduism
Set out a number of principles that are central to Hinduism; The Upanishads are a collection of advice from Hindu sages. Among the topics covered are reincarnation - creation - and the relationship between individual souls and Ultimate Reality.

45. Hindus view 'dharma' as a duty - or moral code of action - whereas to Buddhists 'dharma' is...
Martin Luther
Exposure to Western culture and the growing secularization of Muslim nations; Exposure to Western culture and the growing secularization of Muslim nations
Dowries were given to brides - not their fathers; Women gained property and inheritance rights; Mistreatment of wives in marriage was forbidden
The teachings of Buddha - or religious truth.

46. In what deities do both good and evil co-exist?
Muhammad forbade idol worship; the lack of mosques' ornamentation was a result of Muhammad's ban on idols out of fear that his followers could fall back into polytheism.
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.
Ahura Mazda
Its members pray together without priests and with little ritual

47. Confucius's emphasis on respect for parents is known as...
Filial piety
Law of Manu (describes the caste system and the duties of each caste).
Pacifism
Jesus is the son of God

48. What statement best describes someone who follows Taoism?
No
Native American religions.
A Taoist endeavors to live a simple life. Taoism teaches inaction as the highest principle of being.
An imperceptible presence in the universe

49. Gnosticism's influence on Christianity can be seen in Christianity's...
Saudi Arabia; The Wahhabi movement is a conservative movement within Islam and controls Saudi Arabia through its connection to the ruling family.
Emphasis on the goodness of the spirit over the evilness of the flesh.
Nichiren
Buddha's compassion for living things

50. Jerusalem is a holy city to...
Christians; Jews; Muslims
After the Assyrians destroyed Israel; The Jewish Diaspora began after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in the 8th century B.C.E.
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).
French Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin