Part I: Multiple Choice, T-F. Please write the answer on the blank next to the question.
1. _____ In the Akitu Festival, the king was divested of all the marks of his royal status-crown, scepter, robes-and slapped and ordered to kneel before priest and people. This is an example of:
a) therapeutic ritual b) ideological ritual c) technological ritual.
2. _____ Analyzing the role played by the Virgin Mary among celibate Catholic clergy would be an example of:
a) critical tolerance; b) openness; c) critical intelligence.
3. _____ The Great Dao of Daoism would be most closely an example of:
a) monism; b) polytheism; c) agnosticism.
4. Briefly explain your answer to #3 by defining the term and showing how it applies to Dao in Daodejing.
5. _____ In the myth of the Enuma Elish, that female power is chaotic and dangerous and in need of masculine control is an example of:
a) latent function of myth; b) gender bias; c) sacred ritual violence; d) all of the above.
6. _____ An example of the ideological function of myth would be:
a) Parvati’s conception of Ganesha without male help;
b) the Hindu Gods dividing Primal Man (Purusha) into the various castes;
c) Moses being found in the river by Pharaoh’s daughter.
7. _____ The theological declaration that “Jesus of Nazareth is unique in that … while being fully human, it is true of him and him alone that he is also fully God” is a statement of:
a) religious exclusivism; b) eschatological myth; c) secular humanism.
8. _____ The US Constitution’s insistence on allowing religious diversity and prohibition of establishing any single religion for the country is an example of:
a) religious inclusivism; b) secularization; c) etiological myth.
9. _____ Examining how religions organize themselves in ways similar to non-religious organizations applies what other discipline(s) to religion?
a) sociology; b) anthropology; c) philosophy of religion; d) all of the above.
10. _____ In regards to evil (and many other issues), the human mind seeks a sense of order and purpose rather than senselessness. The two words from Greek for these concepts are:
a) millennarian and apocalyptic; b) Karma and eschatology; c) nomos and anomie.
11. _____ T F In his “Elephant Principle,” Kessler suggests that our world would be more peaceful if we would accept that all religions have only a partial understanding of the truth.
12. _____ T F Religious studies tends to be the perspective of the insiders of a religion, while theology is the view from outside a religious community by expert scholars.
13. _____ An image of Ganesha, the elephant-headed God in Hinduism, often sits outside the entrance to a temple as a caution to those crossing into sacred space. Ganesha’s position near the entrance is an example of:
a) technological ritual; b) liminality; c) salvation ritual.
14. _____ When Moses receives his call from voice in a “Burning Bush” to lead the Hebrew people out from slavery in Egypt, this is an example of a call to:
a) legal-rational authority; b) charismatic authority; c) traditional authority.
15. _____ T F Oral scriptures or sacred teachings have as much influence on a community as written texts (ref. chap. 11).
16. _____ Shu and Zhong are best seen as examples of:
a) virtue ethics; b) deontological (duty) ethics; c). natural law ethics.
17. _____ What type of sacred architecture is a traditional stupa?
a) shrine memorializing relics;
b) temple housing a god or other sacred image;
c) congregational structure providing assembly place.
18. _____ T F Sigmund Freud considered religion a negative projection of childhood needs and desires; whereas psychiatrist Carl Jung thought religion was a positive experience that helps people to integrate parts of their personality.
19. _____ T F “Iconoclasm” refers to a sense that icons bring the viewer into closeness with God or the saints depicted.
20. _____ T F The religion of ordinary people, as opposed to the religion of the elite, focuses on everyday concerns like children, crops, and cultural deities more than on the nature of the Divine
21. _____ The Great Dao of Daoism …
a) can be classified as a Divinity in ancient China;
b) cannot be properly described in words, but represents the Cosmic Mystery from which all things emerge;
c) is a social “construct” or belief in the importance of the social system.
22. _____ Kessler points out that human self-consciousness creates a sense of:
a) alienation, through a separation of subject/object;
b) evil, because of poor exercise of free will;
c) indoctrination, forcing one’s religious on others.
23. _____ However, our self-consciousness can also produce:
a) a new way of seeing things, everything as perfect already;
b) self-transcendence, getting beyond the sense of separation;
c) imagination, fantasies, memories; d) all of these; e) none of these.
24. _____ T F This-worldly salvation CAN be absolute, and in some cases, other-worldly salvation can be limited.
25. _____ Karma can be an explanation for: (ref. chap.8)
a) why bad things happen to good people;
b) how justice will end up eventually being served for deeds you do;
c) a non-theistic understanding of the laws that operate in the universe;
d) all of these;
e) b & c.
26-27. fill in the blank with the correct phrase from the terms in parentheses, below.
Muhammad’s experience of the “Night of Power and Excellence” would be considered _____________________________; his “Night Journey” to Jerusalem and then to heaven was most likely ______________________. (be sure to add your explanation to your answers if you think it would clarify them) (Individual revelation; communal revelation; ecstatic possession; ecstatic out-of-body.)
28. _____ In Sikhism, sin is understood as:
a) venial & mortal; b) selfish self-centeredness; c) fall from Paradise… (cont. in next question)
29. _____ whereas salvation then occurs through:
a) work of a savior, Guru Nanak;
b) becoming enlightened through grace and living-in-God-centered ways;
c) return to Paradise through being a monk or nun.
30. _____ T F Theodicies of participation are concerned with the individual self in relationship to the larger whole; e.g., a martyr giving their life so that their religious faith community may flourish.
Part II: Short Essays. Choose ONE of the following essays, and write up your thoughtful answer. Your answer should be about two-3 paragraphs long, about 300 words-or long enough to sufficiently address all the points intelligently.
a. Kessler offers several ways that people can combine religion and its myths with scientific thinking. In a brief paragraph, define and discuss which of the four ways makes most sense to you. Given the recent discoveries through the Hubble Telescope of the approximate age of the universe, and the almost unanimous consent of biologists with the basics of Darwin’s theory of natural selection/evolution, state your ideas and reasons for what should be taught in high school and college classrooms regarding both religion & science.
b. Read the 1st paragraph of the description of Ganesha’s ritual. Choose one or more type of ritual, listed on p. 94. Comment in a brief paragraph on what type of ritual this might be. Give also another example from your own experience or imagination that would also illustrate the type of ritual you are focusing on. Explain why your suggestion fits that type of ritual.
c. Examine the discussion on p. 90 regarding anthropological theories for rites of passage from puberty to adulthood. Van Gennep and Turner’s description seems to fit male rites of passage, and Bruce Lincoln’s defines similar rites for young girls. Combine this information with Kessler’s ideas on Gender, 5 (just 1st paragraph on 265). In a paragraph or two, discuss whether it would be a good idea for our American culture a) to use these kinds of rites of passage for our young people. What might be accomplished in the life of young people culturally; and b) what value it might have to switch the processes, so that boys would experience the metamorphosis type of ritual, and girls the Van Gennep phases.
d. Kessler discusses some of the types and functions of myths. Choose either Primal Man myth (p. 79) or Sun Goddess myth of Shinto (268-69) and write about what type(s) that myth might fall under. Explain your reasoning. And include how that myth might function in its society (referring to Kessler’s categories).
Finally, look over the theories of myths, pp. 71-74. Which theory do you prefer to examine the myth you chose? Why do you find your choice a good one?
e. . Re: the 1st Amendment, (ref. chap. 10), “separationists” believe religion should be “banished from the public square;” “accommodationists” value including religious insights/morality in “the conduct of public business.” Discuss Kessler’s 1st Amendment concerns or issues. Then consider what is the likely position of Christian conservatives on these two options? What is your personal view? Explain your answers.
Answer one of the two questions if desired, with a brief paragraph, for up to 5 points of extra credit to be applied to this exam.
A. Discuss whether the academic study of religion, as we have been doing it this semester, potentially adds to or detracts from an appreciation of religion in people’s lives & the world. Include brief reflection on at least two aspects (e.g., myth, organization, Sacred Power, etc.) we have studied in Kessler’s chapters.
B. Distinguish between the Al-Ashari and Mutazila positions in the discussion of Muslim law. What different interpretations of God are involved in each position? With which do you agree? Explain.
