Exam Prep 7e Global Religions & Challenges Chapter.9

Test Bank

to accompany

World Religions Today, Seventh Edition

Esposito • Fasching • Lewis • Feldmeier

Chapter 9

Globalization: From New Religions to World Religions Engaging Global Challenges

NOTE: Questions marked with “(w)” also appear in the student review quizzes on Oxford Learning Link.

Multiple Choice

1. The effects of globalization on human life began

a. After World War II.

b. A millennium ago.

c. After the industrial revolution.

d. A century ago.

2. (w) Wicca represents a resurgence of

a. Traditionalism.

b. Goddess worship.

c. Intellectualism.

d. Ancestor worship.

3. (w) During the Cultural Revolution in China, the sacred text could be considered

a. Mao’s “Little Red Book.”

b. The I Ching.

c. Daodejing.

d. The Bible.

4. Neo-Shamanism appeals to those in dominant societies who

a. Reject culture.

b. Embrace traditionalism in an effort to return to deeper relationship with God.

c. Explore the mysteries outside the normative worldview of major world religions.

d. All of the above.

5. (w) Generally speaking, contemporary mainline Christian denominations at first view new and unique religious movements within their tradition as

a. Immediately being part of the fold.

b. Inconsequential.

c. Having strayed beyond the boundaries of Christianity.

d. A welcome refreshment of faith.

6. Historically, all religions have managed to remain

a. Unchanged.

b. “Pure.”

c. Cultic.

d. None of the above.

7. (w) The challenge of new age religions is

a. A challenge to end religious diversity.

b. A challenge to individual faith.

c. A challenge to the purity of tradition.

d. All of the above.

8. Baha’i teaching combines religious traditions from

a. Wicca and Mormonism.

b. Only Western religious traditions.

c. Only Eastern religious traditions.

d. A broad array of traditional world religions.

9. (w) According to sociologist Robert Bellah, in American civil religion Abraham Lincoln is considered the country’s

a. Father.

b. Prophet.

c. Savior.

d. Past president, no more significant than any other past president.

10. In going beyond the acceptance of the existence of other beliefs and practices, most new age groups have moved from organizational pluralism, or denominationalism, to

a. Socialism.

b. Deism.

c. Positivism.

d. Eclecticism.

11. Religious fundamentalism seeks a reversal of

a. Traditional values.

b. Conservatism.

c. Traditionalism.

d. Secularization.

12. (w) The entity that reintroduces religion under the disguise of indigenous cultural history and tradition and gives authority to secular political orders is

a. Pentecostalism.

b. Primal religion.

c. Ahmadiyya.

d. Civil religion.

13. (w) The new age religious movement that is a return to witchcraft, or attunement to the sacred powers of nature, is called

a. Transcendentalism.

b. Theosophy.

c. Wicca.

d. Scientology.

14. (w) In postmodern culture, it is said that the choice between “truths” is decided pragmatically because

a. People are not intellectual enough.

b. It is intellectually undecidable.

c. Not enough people today are literate.

d. It is undecidable in a practical way.

15. Which of the following national holidays are celebrations of American civil religion?

a. Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and Presidents’ Day.

b. Memorial Day, Good Friday, and Yom Kippur.

c. Thanksgiving, Presidents’ Day, and Groundhog Day.

d. Good Friday, Yom Kippur, and Thanksgiving.

16. (w) An example of new age religion which shows eastward migration of biblical apocalyptic traditions is

a. The Unification Church.

b. Scientology.

c. Transcendental Meditation.

d. New Thought.

17. (w) With the influence of modernity, the majority of children worldwide

a. Reject the religious views of their parents.

b. Continue to accept the religious views of their parents.

c. Have no religious beliefs.

d. None of the above.

18. The growth of new age religiousness is deeply rooted in the Romantic tradition’s reaction to

a. Christianity.

b. Rationalism of the Enlightenment.

c. Traditionalism.

d. Fundamentalism.

19. The earliest form of religious expert practitioner was the

a. Prophet.

b. Rabbi.

c. Shaman.

d. Priest.

20. (w) Which of the following would NOT have caused the resurgence of religions since the 1970s?

a. The tendency of secularization to purge events of meaning.

b. The ever-present need in humans for stories that give meaning to their lives.

c. Human beings’ basic urge to survive.

d. The collapse of the grand metanarratives.

21. (w) Which of the following is a strong similarity between ancient urban religious cultures and religions in postmodern society?

a. Both lack an integrating center.

b. Both encourage democracy as defining the social order.

c. Both teach a monotheistic view.

d. Neither cares about the role of shaman.

22. (w) Shamanic practices are seen by some in the West as

a. Uncontaminated and the last remaining spiritual frontier on Earth.

b. Traditional.

c. Fundamentalist.

d. None of the above.

23. Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by

a. Gandhi.

b. Stalin.

c. Mao.

d. Churchill.

24. John Dunne argued that the time when a new world religion could be founded has

a. Passed.

b. Come.

c. Not arrived yet.

d. None of the above.

25. _______, in many cases, is undergirded by a cultural pattern from one tradition though seldom to the extent of specific endorsement.

a. Civil religion.

b. Winn.

c. Wicca.

d. Neo-Shamanism.

26. An example of Western religions moving Eastward is

a. The rise of meditation in the East.

b. The rise of shamanism in the East.

c. The rise of Christian churches in the East.

d. The rise of new age spirituality in the East.

27. New Age religions typically include

a. Incense.

b. Self-consciousness.

c. Henna.

d. Interfaith endorsement.

28. (w) The Baha’i faith initially emerged in a country dominated by which traditional religion?

a. Judaism

b. Buddhism

c. Islam

d. Christianity

29. (w) What, more than any other single concern, unites new age seekers, despite their diversity?

a. Desire to join a formal organization.

b. The quest for the perfection of self.

c. Going on retreats.

d. Their view of the end of the world.

30. The Wiccan movement can be traced back to

a. 1940s Spain.

b. 1950s France.

c. 1940s England.

d. 1940s United States.

31. White shamans are

a. Easterners reviving traditional rituals.

b. Westerners concerned with fundamentalism.

c. Westerners aiming to retain traditional values.

d. Westerners claiming to be practitioners in a universal shamanic tradition.

32. The Baha’i tradition embraces globalization linked to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and

a. Marxism.

b. Socialism.

c. Asian religions.

d. Capitalism.

33. (w) Contemporary fundamentalists commonly emphasize religious identity, authenticity, and

a. Barbarism.

b. Colonialism.

c. Community.

d. Individualism.

34. (w) The religious movement established by Gandhi is considered a

a. Premodern new age religious movement.

b. Modern new age religious movement.

c. Postmodern new age religious movement.

d. Neo-Buddhist movement.

35. The twentieth-century champion of human rights, who was inspired by both the Sermon on the Mount and Gandhi’s teachings on nonviolence, was

a. Leo Tolstoy.

b. Martin Luther King Jr.

c. Wilfred Cantwell Smith.

d. Malcolm X.

36. (w) Two people who strongly influenced Gandhi were

a. Tolstoy and Jesus.

b. Annie Besant and St. Paul.

c. Madam Blavatsky and John Dunne.

d. John Dunne and St. Paul.

37. Gandhi’s technique of nonviolent civil disobedience led to the liberation of India from

a. French rule.

b. British rule.

c. Pakistani rule.

d. Self-rule.

38. (w) Gandhi was so inspired by an idea presented in the New Testament that he was able to go back to what Hindu literature and find in it justification for nonviolent civil disobedience?

a. The Upanishads.

b. The Bhagavad Gita.

c. The Lotus Sutra.

d. The Ramayana.

39. (w) Dr. King put forth a commitment to what principle as essential for the survival of humanity?

a. Ethics.

b. Morality.

c. Nonviolence.

d. None of the above.

40. Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy embraced an ethic of nonviolence based on what teaching?

a. The Bhagavad Gita.

b. War and Peace.

c. The Lotus Sutra.

d. Sermon on the Mount.

True/False

1. (w) The collapse of globalization was followed by the emergence of colonialism.

2. The Baha’i movement is a new religious movement toward Christian fundamentalism.

3. (w) One result of civil religion is that it reinforces the authority of secular political social orders.

4. Atheism is declining in prevalence.

5. Wicca centers on a resurgence of Goddess worship.

6. (w) The Wiccan movement can be traced back to the writing of Gerald Gardener.

7. (w) Secular nation-states, as introduced by modernity, are distinguished by their sanctioning of an official state-sponsored religion.

8. Though postmodern culture is pluralistic, a normative center still exists within every culture.

9. (w) The emergence of Christian churches throughout Asia is an example of Eastern religion moving West.

10. Neo-Shamanism has been fully embraced by the Catholic Church.

11. (w) The Chinese Communist civil religion arranged for portraits of Chairman Mao to replace images of family ancestors in home shrines, and statues of him were placed in public spaces.

12. In communist China Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book” became a sacred text to be memorized, followed, and always possessed.

13. (w) The rise of civil religions has also led to a rise in genocidal campaigns.

14. By definition, all new age religions are postmodern.

15. American civil religion has no national holidays to serve as celebrations.

16. (w) Neo-Shamanism is considered a traditional religion.

17. (w) The resurgence of religions since the 1970s may be a reaction to the vacuum created by the tendency of secularization to purge events of meaning.

18. (w) Several religions throughout history have remained totally unchanged.

19. “Civil religion” means that all persons in a single country will treat each other with respect, no matter what religion each participates in.

20. (w) A commonality of new age seekers is the goal of realizing a “higher self” through intense personal experiences of transformation.

21. Gandhi interpreted the Gita to say that there is injustice in the world and there is an obligation to fight to reestablish justice.

22. (w) “New age” religions have nothing in common with older “new religions.”

23. The rise of the internet and global communications has not impacted traditional religions.

24. (w) Fundamentalist evangelical Christianity and modernist forms of new age religions both share the conviction that all social change begins by changing the self.

25. It is not possible to practice both traditional and “new age” religions.

26. (w) Wiccans believe the world has no order and therefore no sacred forces.

27. (w) Fundamentalist evangelical Christianity and modernist forms of new age religions both emphasize rationality and deemphasize experiential transformation.

28. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

29. Wiccans believe that modern science affirms their view of the interconnectivity of all things.

30. Gandhi was already a devotee of the Bhagavad Gita when he went to London to study law.

31. Transcendental Meditation a mantra system of meditation.

32. (w) Transcendental Meditation is a uniquely American religion.

33. (w) In the new age of global civilization, diverse spiritual heritages have become the common inheritance of all.

34. The Baha’i movement sprang from a seventeenth-century fundamentalist sect.

35. New age seekers are never interested in joining religious organizations.

36. (w) The school of thought called transcendentalism integrated Asian religious beliefs with American philosophy.

37. (w) Christian Martin Luther King, Jr. admired Hindu Gandhi’s nonviolent form of civil disobedience.

38. The belief that Abraham Lincoln is a “savior” who led the nation away from the sin of slavery is an example of civil religion.

39. No trace of religious influence can be found in Chinese Communist civil religion.

40. (w) The Cultural Revolution in China helped develop and foster diverse religious beliefs.

Fill in the Blank

1. (w) _______ Meditation is an example of an Asian religion moving West.

2. Despite being tremendously diverse, religions shaped by science and technology as well as by some traditional considerations can be grouped together under the heading _______.

3. (w). During the Cultural Revolution in China, Chairman Mao’s _______ Book became the sacred text for the people.

4. (w) The reintroduction of religion under the guise of indigenous cultural history and tradition is called _______ religion.

5. Modernity introduced secular nation-states and the idea that government should not impose on citizens the obligation to join or practice any particular _______.

6. (w) The Chinese Communist civil religion presented _______ as leader of the nation, whose words and teachings were seen as a critical element of national salvation.

7. The _______ form of new age religious movements seeks the social and political transformation of society.

8. (w) According to Robert Bellah, American civil religion views _______ as father of the United States.

9. In the narrative of American civil religion, God is said to have given America to his chosen people to foster the sacred values of freedom and _______.

10. (w) The difference between fundamentalists and modernists in the Euro-American world stems from an argument about the impact of _______ on traditional religious belief.

11. Zen Buddhists believe a person can know his or her true nature only by experiencing _______ transformation of mind.

12. (w) In postmodern culture, the choice between “_______” is said to be intellectually undecidable and so is decided pragmatically.

13. (w) The growth of new age religiousness is deeply rooted in the _______ reaction to the rationalism of the Enlightenment

14. (w) The _______ form of new age religious movements continues to privatize religion.

15. (w) Traditional religious fundamentalists seek to preserve the sacredness of _______.

16. The Wicca movement centers on _______ worship.

17. Neo-Shamanism includes _______ Shamans, who are Westerners who claim to be practitioners in a universal shamanic tradition.

18. The growth of new age religiousness is deeply rooted in the _______ movement.

19. _______ fundamentalism has had a profound impact in all major world religions and across the world.

20. (w) Contemporary fundamentalism is a quest for or reassertion of religious _______, authenticity, and community.

21. _______ “marbleizes” all cultures so that the world’s religions are accessible in everyone’s hometown.

22. New age seekers are typically not interested in joining formal _______ organizations.

23. Transcendental _______ is a mantra system.

24. The Romantic movement was a reaction to the rationalism of the _______.

25. (w) “Zen” means _______.

26. The flourishing of Christian _______ in Asia is an example of Western religions moving Eastward.

27. In his book The Way of All the Earth, John Dunne advocates a model of “_______” into another’s religion and culture.

28. (w) Secular fundamentalists express a desire to preserve the sacredness of the scientific and _______ way of life.

29. In China, Mao’s Little Red Book became a _______ text to be memorized, followed, and always possessed.

30. (w) Everywhere in the world, _______ appears to be the earliest form of religious experience.

31. (w) The “City on a Hill” concept considered America to be a nation called by God to be a _______ to all nations.

32. Ecological and climate crises can be addressed through harnessing _______, the wisdom and wise practices in religious traditions.

33. (w) Gandhi and King were both convinced that religious communities must be committed to _______ to avoid future religious wars.

34. (w) A member of the Russian nobility, _______ experienced a religious conversion in his 50s and gave away all his wealth to spend the rest of his life serving the poor.

35. (w) The resurgence of _______ since the 1970s most likely represents the need to fill the vacuum created by the tendency of secularization to purge events of meaning.

36. In nineteenth-century Persia, the Baha’i movement arose to bring a final revelation in _______ but came to be viewed as a new belief system.

37. (w) The Covid pandemic revealed how important religious _______ is to human life, especially during times of crisis.

38. According to sociologist Robert Bellah regarding American civil religion, George Washington may be viewed as the “father” of our country and Abraham Lincoln as the _______.

39. (w) Religious postmodernism, like fundamentalism, rejects the modernist objective to _______ religion.

40. By their lives, Gandhi and King demonstrated that adopting common ethical norms and sharing spiritual wisdom across traditions does not require abandoning one’s religious _______.

Discussion

1. Describe China’s transition to civil religion under Mao.

2. (w) Discuss the integration of Eastern religions into the West. Identify and describe changes in the traditions as they are practiced in new locations.

3. Discuss the general characteristics of civil religion in the United States.

4. Consider the development of Baha’i in nineteenth-century Persia. How did Baha’i emerge as a new religion?

5. (w) Detail the relationship of Enlightenment rational thought with the Romantic movement as a foundation of new age religions.

6. Explain historical examples to demonstrate how “today’s” new religions become tomorrow’s old and established religions.

7. (w) Explain how a new religious movement might unfold within a larger religious tradition.

8. (w) Describe the nature of religious fundamentalism and what it seeks to accomplish.

9. (w) Discuss new age religiosity in comparison with examples of traditional religious traditions.

10. Explain why John Dunne’s model for spiritual transformation called “passing over” and “coming back” might be considered a postmodern model.

11. How did Gandhi come to appreciate the teachings found in Hinduism by going to London and being surrounded by people with Christian backgrounds?

12. (w) Explain how Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ideology of nonviolent civil disobedience developed with the influence of other religious theorists.