Full Test Bank Ch2 Indigenous Religions

Test Bank

to accompany

World Religions Today, Seventh Edition

Esposito • Fasching • Lewis • Feldmeier

Chapter 2

Indigenous Religions

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

Multiple Choice

1. (w) Before agriculture and urbanization, humans organized themselves into

a. Clans based on gender.

b. Tribes based on skin color.

c. Hunter–gatherer societies.

d. Trade-bearing societies.

2. It is believed that the human capacity for language to create and build culture existed by

a. 100 BCE.

b. 1000 BCE.

c. 10,000 BCE.

d. 100,000 BCE.

3. (w) In the prehistoric worldview, time was viewed as being

a. Linear.

b. Circular.

c. Neither linear nor circular.

d. Both linear and circular.

4. (w) In oral cultures, history was preserved, in part, through

a. Written scrolls.

b. Bone relays.

c. Shared stories.

d. Chance.

5. Indigenous religions view the process of birth, death, and rebirth as

a. A one-time occurrence.

b. Eternal.

c. An illusion.

d. Karmic.

6. What element has always been at the center of human culture?

a. Cave rituals.

b. Religion.

c. Shamanism.

d. None of the above.

7. (w) The term “axis mundi” refers to

a. Ancestors.

b. The latitude and longitude of a society’s location.

c. Physical objects and sites where people believed they had sacred experiences.

d. Ancient myths.

8. (w) The most basic expressions of religion include

a. Ritual, ability to create meaning, sacred space, and devotion.

b. Interpretation of symbols, devotion, and ritual.

c. Myth, doctrine, and ritual.

d. Devotion, participation in church sect, and ability to tell a story.

9. Evidence suggests that the function of burial in indigenous societies was to

a. Please the relatives of the departed.

b. Ensure a good crop for that season.

c. Submit to the expectation of the gods.

d. Open a gateway to an afterlife.

10. (w) The progressive complexity in the mastery of tools was accompanied by what two features?

a. Development of language ability and presence of religion.

b. Development of writing and observance of religious rituals.

c. Rational attitudes and awareness of other societies.

d. Literacy and increasingly complex myth and ritual.

11. Scholars fairly recently learned that first peoples were actually

a. Superstitious, irrational, and simple-minded.

b. Highly rational, subdued, and analytical.

c. Irrational, primitive in their thinking, and moderately skilled.

d. Highly skilled, rational, and sophisticated in their thinking.

12. (w) For indigenous societies, being religious meant

a. Participating in the oral tradition of telling stories.

b. Experiencing an embodied engagement with the world.

c. Perpetuating creeds and doctrines passed down from previous generations.

d. Interpreting credal texts correctly.

13. (w) For humans before the modern era, which of the following was an acceptable representation of ultimate reality?

a. A dictate from the gods.

b. Only thoughts while fully awake and conscious.

c. Dreams and visions.

d. The material world.

14. The shaman’s role is universally regarded as

a. Dangerous.

b. Ordinary.

c. Secret.

d. Mythical.

15. (w) Groups of related individuals in indigenous societies usually consisted of

a. 6 to 8 individuals.

b. A dozen individuals.

c. Around 50 individuals.

d. 75 to 80 individuals.

16. The term “animism” can only be applied to

a. Indigenous peoples.

b. The Abrahamic faiths.

c. Chinese religions.

d. None of the above.

17. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of indigenous religion?

a. Engagement of all the bodily senses and emotions with the natural world.

b. A strong relatedness to the natural world.

c. A linear view of time.

d. Expressions of singing, dancing, and fasting.

18. (w) Objects called Venus figurines that were found across Eurasia in late prehistory were likely related to concerns about the

a. Success of crops.

b. Rising of the sun and moon.

c. Well-being of ancestors in the afterlife.

d. Birth and survival of children.

19. (w) A shaman would NOT

a. Be trained by the local priest.

b. Be considered a folk healer.

c. Be called a witch doctor.

d. All of the above.

20. (w) In indigenous societies, people used a totem to

a. Promote collective solidarity, maintain right relations with ancestors, and ensure the group of a bountiful food supply.

b. Establish indigenous identities, replace making sacrifices to the gods, and ensure the group of a bountiful food supply.

c. Regulate relations with outsiders, assert their personal identity, and express their ideology.

d. Establish indigenous identities, promote collective solidarity, and regulate relations with outsiders.

21. The New Guinea agricultural group called the Dani engages continuously in lethal warfare to

a. Satisfy their moral precept of “a life for a life.”

b. Weaken the collective community.

c. Make sure the dead remain dead.

d. Appease the enemy’s ancestors.

22. Religion is centered on humans establishing and expressing

a. Life’s ultimate truths.

b. Boundaries.

c. A safe space.

d. Common bonds.

23. (w) The term “shaman” originally came from a group of hunters and reindeer herders in

a. Norway.

b. Finland.

c. Siberia.

d. Antarctica.

24. The four religious figures central to understanding the world’s religions are

a. Priest, pope, Buddha, and disciple.

b. Pope, god, ancestors, and shaman.

c. Shaman, prophet, sage, and priest.

d. Sage, disciple, philosopher, and priest.

25. (w) Which of the following is NOT one of the disastrous consequences of modern European colonialism on indigenous societies?

a. Introduction of new diseases.

b. Enslavement of native peoples.

c. Plundering of native peoples’ riches.

d. Introduction of hallucinogenic substances.

26. (w) According to Kung San belief, why would the soul of a person who has died return to earth as a ghost?

a. To try to sicken loved ones so they arrive in the afterlife quicker.

b. To alleviate the pain and suffering of their loved ones.

c. To heal the community.

d. To feel closer to friends and family.

27. (w) According to French sociologist Émile Durkheim, religion’s power to _______ keeps it central in human life.

a. Bind us together.

b. Heal us.

c. Convert us.

d. Tell us how to live.

28. (w) Which of the following would NOT be required for a protective spirit to help a shaman?

a. Increase healing power.

b. Negotiate with evil spirits.

c. Hold a burial ceremony.

d. Perform heroic spirit flights.

29. (w) Which of the following is NOT an example of an indigenous religion?

a. Animism.

b. Kung San.

c. Yanomami.

d. Lakota Sioux

30. Across South Korea shamanic practices are

a. Outlawed.

b. Tolerated, if done quietly.

c. Treated indifferently.

d. Uniquely honored.

31. (w) In the record of human history, the first known mode of religious life is clearly bound to

a. Social life.

b. Recreation.

c. Stories.

d. Ancestor veneration.

32. (w) Providing answers to such problems as whether the ghost of a dead child is causing family troubles, where a soul might be residing, or what can be done to gain the favor of a god who can help end a drought is a method of communication called

a. Storytelling.

b. Prayer.

c. Divination.

d. Beseechment.

33. (w) The term “indigenous religions” implies that the social and religious lives of a group are

a. Very poor.

b. Well developed.

c. Primitive.

d. Rooted deeply to a given place.

34. A “totem” is a symbol that is

a. Emblematic of the community.

b. Treated as sacred.

c. Can be animal, reptile, insect, or plant.

d. All of the above.

35. (w) Some Western urbanites want to study with shamans because they see traditional shamanic practices as

a. Feminine in nature.

b. Proper and contained.

c. Open and modern.

d. The last remaining spiritual frontier on earth.

36. The phenomenon in which indigenous beliefs are woven together with those of outsiders is called

a. Syncretism.

b. Colonialist religion.

c. Sympathetic response.

d. None of the above.

37. What one change directly helped human groups organize themselves better, understand and adapt to their environment better, and adapt to each other better?

a. Creation of religion.

b. Shamanism.

c. Increased quality of diet.

d. Cave drawings.

38. (w) Which of the following was NOT a major concern in indigenous societies?

a. Fertility.

b. Gender boundaries.

c. Trade.

d. Group boundaries.

39. An example of archaic practices still enduring in East Asia is

a. Ancestor veneration.

b. Karma.

c. Yoga.

d. Performance of miracles.

40. Which dominant religions in Asia tolerate the integration of shamanic practices?

a. Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

b. Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism.

c. Ba’hai, Wicca, and Buddhism.

d. Islam, Judaism, and Protestantism.

True/False

1. Indigenous religion is not private or secretive.

2. The first known practice of religion was less than 2,000 year ago.

3. In the record of human history, the first known mode of religious life is contingent upon a belief in angels.

4. (w) Survival in indigenous societies was not necessarily dependent on close-knit bonds.

5. Scholars view prehistoric caves as a classroom where elders instructed adolescent boys in the rituals of hunting.

6. (w) No “small-scale subsistence peoples” exist today.

7. Thinking symbolically made no difference in the destiny of our species.

8. (w) Before the modern era, most humans took dreams and visions seriously.

9. A common conception in indigenous religions is that physical sickness is caused by the loss of an individual’s soul.

10. (w) In an animistic worldview only humans and animals are endowed with souls or spirits that animate them.

11. (w) Many indigenous societies held spirit beings, or souls, to be the ultimate reality.

12. Shamanism is the most enduring feature in indigenous religions.

13. According to French sociologist Émile Durkheim, the power of religion to bind us together ensures that religion will always be central in human life.

14. (w) Shamans typically do not deal with issues of death.

15. Some indigenous peoples believed that they should eat the flesh of the dead so that the spirit of the dead one could be freed and come back to life.

16. (w) Members of the Aboriginal kangaroo clan in Australia would likely eat kangaroo meat.

17. (w) In indigenous societies, a totem held no significance.

18. Members of the Kung San culture believe that the dead go to an afterlife.

19. (w) The Lakota Sioux of North America believe that only select individuals have the potential for supernatural connection.

20. (w) Shamans around the world still play an important role of leading their societies in facing the crisis of modernity.

21. Religion has been at the very center of human culture from the earliest days.

22. A taboo is something that is considered acceptable in a community.

23. The Blackfoot tribe is an example of an indigenous group in which shaman are marginal or completely absent.

24. (w) In response to colonialism by the Euro-Americans, indigenous peoples believed that hiding their beliefs and practices would be the final straw in their demise.

25. A shaman cannot intervene with unseen powers.

26. (w) Both men and women may become shamans in the Kung San culture.

27. Asia is the area of the world where shamanism has most readily integrated with other religious traditions.

28. (w) The role of spirit mediums, called dangki, in modern-day Taiwan has dramatically decreased with Taiwan’s rising prosperity.

29. (w) Korean shamans, called mudang, are predominantly women.

30. It was once legal in the United States to discriminate against Native American religious practices.

31. The metaphor of human life existing on a plane between heaven above and a netherworld below is found only in a small minority of the major world religions.

32. (w) The prophets and sages of the great world religions are presented as being less skilled in shamanic arts such as miracle making and healing the sick than shamans in prehistory.

33. (w) A tutelary spirit is a supernatural agent whose help is required to perform spirit flights, negotiate with evil spirits, compel a soul to return, or increase the shaman’s powers.

34. (w) It is important to compare the role religion played in understanding the central issues humans faced in prehistory with the role religion plays now.

35. (w) Indigenous peoples today consider dreams and visions important sources in discerning meaning and purpose in life.

36. Because the Dani and the Blackfoot do not have shamans, all the adults in the group learn to perform common rituals.

37. (w) Indigenous peoples were always monotheists.

38. A totem is a good luck charm, like a rabbit’s foot.

39. Humans 30,000 years ago were just as intelligent as they are now.

40. (w) It is not standard practice across the world for shamans to rely on fast rhythmic drumming, dancing, chanting, and fasting in achieving trance or altered states of consciousness.

Fill in the Blank

1. (w) Weaving together indigenous religious beliefs and practices with those of outsiders is called _______.

2. _______ is the account of the world’s origins and its essential powers.

3. In _______ societies, human life is tied to the recurring rhythms of nature.

4. (w) When humans lived in hunter–gatherer societies, we believe that they regularly sought assistance from the spirits of their ancestors through _______ states of consciousness.

5. (w) When humans acquired the capacity to think _______, it changed humanity’s destiny forever.

6. (w) For most of history, humans have lived in _______ hunter-gatherer tribes.

7. (w) The Kung San of southern Africa are one of the most studied and late-surviving _______ groups in the world.

8. _______ is the belief in an inner soul that gives life and identity to living things and emphasizes rituals in which humans interact with other souls.

9. Leading nineteenth-century social scientists theorized that religion had its origins in humans’ fear and _______.

10. (w) In most hunter–gatherer cosmogonies, a person’s _______ was not seen as unique, but rather as a part of the group.

11. Native peoples of Australia used a _______ in rituals to convey the presence of totemic spirits.

12. _______ has always been at the center of human culture.

13. Some scientists believe that a _______ period in prehistory, when women had superior status, ended with the sudden domination of aggressive warrior males.

14. (w) In the indigenous worldview _______ was seen as an elevation of one’s status to that of sacred ancestor.

15. The earliest _______ existed in small groups of related individuals (usually fewer than fifty).

16. In indigenous societies, people use a group symbol, or _______, for group identity and solidarity.

17. (w) Scientists believe that the Venus figurines were related to concerns about _______ and the survival of children.

18. (w) One reason indigenous peoples believed that the dead return to earth in nonmaterial form was because of _______ they had while sleeping.

19. (w) Korean shamans are predominantly _______.

20. Indigenous traditions have or had a unique cosmogony, an account of the world’s origin and its essential _______.

21. Becoming a _______ requires an initiation and is often described as a death-and-rebirth experience.

22. (w) In indigenous societies humans perceived _______ to be like sleep rather than a dissolution of the body.

23. Sacred sites that are considered places of original revelations are believed to be intensely alive with spiritual power, or a _______ presence.

24. Studies of the myths of indigenous peoples recount what is _______ to the group: the origins of life, its relations with animals, its connections to landforms, and the origination of the norms governing the members of the group.

25. (w) The nineteenth-century movement that North American shamans created to try to restore native peoples’ place in the world was called the _______.

26. (w) The drum or rattle is a universal symbol of the _______ religious practice.

27. (w) If _______ in an indigenous community was broken, only the shaman could restore balance.

28. The presence of a human belief in some sort of _______ emerges from the earliest archaeological records of ceremonial burials.

29. Some Westerners see _______ practices as the last remaining spiritual frontier on earth.

30. (w) In the indigenous worldview, as in many religious traditions, _______ occupy the earth between an upper world of spirits and a netherworld below.

31. In the cultures of Asia, where _______ accommodation has always been the rule rather than the exception, shamanic practices in the present day coexist with the doctrines of the dominant religions.

32. (w) The belief in hunter–gatherer societies that animals are _______ in disguise may be the earliest example of the phenomenon of the embodiment in earthly form of a spirit or god.

33. The most common shaman’s role worldwide is the ability to _______.

34. Interestingly, the role of spirit mediums in Taiwan has _______ with modernization and rising prosperity in Taiwan.

35. (w) For indigenous peoples, _______ is never the end of the essential person.

36. The ritual Korean shamans hold to contact a deity and make a request for some kind of help is called a _______.

37. (w) White shamans refer to _______ who promote shamanic tradition in their businesses and organizations.

38. The relationship between _______ and groups reveals a special circle of kinship and a primal connection between humans and the rest of nature.

39. (w) Before writing, people shared what was known by expressing their memories in _______.

40. (w) Shamans across the world are predominantly _______.

Discussion

1. Discuss the limitations to the use of the term “animism.”

2. (w) Why did a well-known scholar of comparative religions call our species Homo religiosus?

3. Generally describe the ways in which indigenous peoples viewed their identity.

4. (w) Discuss the common characteristics of a small-scale subsistence society. Include at least three specific features.

5. Discuss the reasons that shamanism remains the most enduring aspect of indigenous traditions.

6. Discuss the meaning of “white shamans.”

7. List and briefly discuss three common characteristics of shamans around the world.

8. (w) Explain the relationship between modern European colonialism and the demise of ancient religious traditions.

9. (w) Explain how shamans still remain critical figures in leading their societies in facing the crisis of modernity.

10. Discuss the significance of the significance of cave rituals in early human development.

11. (w) List and briefly discuss the three main uses of totems in indigenous societies.

12. (w) Discuss some features of the principle of axis mundi.