Religion, Inequality, And Social | Verified Test Bank Ch.12

Chapter 12

Religion, Inequality, and Social Activism

Essay Questions

When it comes to essay questions, students sometimes write poorly because they are guessing about what the instructor wants, even if the question seems to be perfectly clear. For that reason we strongly recommend provision of an audience (so students know how much to assume in use of sociological vocabulary as well as how much must be made explicit) and criteria for evaluation (which is information that any writer needs to know.) Below are two sample statements that might be used as part of an essay question.

A. This essay calls for presentation and defense of an informed opinion. You should write for a well-educated reader, but one unfamiliar with sociological approaches to the study of religion. You will be graded on a) provision of a clearly stated thesis, b) the clarity and sophistication of your rationale, and c) the ability to support your argument with strong evidence. Sophistication of rationale refers to awareness of the complexity of the issues. The side of the argument that you support is irrelevant to the grading criteria.

B. Your audience for this essay should be senior sociology majors who know sociological vocabulary, but have never specifically studied the sociology of religion. The criteria for evaluation will be 1) accuracy of explanation, 2) clarity of illustrations or examples, and 3) thoroughness in exploring all dimensions of the issue.

Since some of these questions call for careful reflection, you might consider giving students a list of these and other essay questions in advance.

1. Does religion serve as an opiate to the downtrodden, or does it stimulate them to militancy and social action? Provide your rationale and cite evidence in support of your thesis.

2. Do you think that the fact that affluent people tend to be attracted to certain kinds of churches is simply a matter of "elective affinity," or is there a more sinister motive: the affluent are just using religion to justify the status quo, sanctify their own position of privilege, and keep the less affluent in their places? What evidence and what logical argument support your position?

3. In what ways is African-American Christianity unique?

4. Why does the African-American minister have such high standing and such great influence in the black community?

5. Explain and illustrate the thesis that the black spirituals were meant to appear otherworldly on the surface, but actually served another purpose.

6. Using sociological perspectives and research findings, support or refute the following statement: "Religion plays a different role among minorities than it does among members of the dominant ethnic group." [It is especially important with this kind of reasoned opinion essay for the instructor to provide criteria for evaluation.]

8. How are theological ideas linked to socioeconomic status? Which factors are causes and which are consequences? Which ones are primary factors and which ones are secondary in importance? Provide rationale for your answer.

9. Why are the social attitudes of Buddhists and Jews so much more liberal on issues like abortion and homosexuality compared to the social attitudes of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses?

10. Why do members of some religious groups act against their own financial self-interests in their social action?

Multiple Choice Test Questions

1. The assertion that "religion is the opiate of the people" came from

a. Emile Durkheim.

b. Rudolph Otto.

c. Max Weber.

d. Rodney Stark.

e. Karl Marx.

2. The idea that religion as an institution is a tool by which the affluent keep the poor in their place and justify the current social system as uniquely fair and just is favored by which theoretical perspective in sociology?

a. Open systems theory.

b. Symbolic interactionism.

c. Exchange theory.

d. Conflict theory.

e. Structural functionalism.

3. People who are socially oppressed and experience a great deal of suffering need some explanation of a deeper justice or meaning that will ultimately prevail. Such explanations are called

a. theodicies.

b. apocalypticisms.

c. opiates.

d. catechisms.

e. millenarian mollifiers.

4. The evidence presented in the textbook demonstrates that theodicies

a. are only operative for persons of low socioeconomic status.

b. are only operative for persons with high socioeconomic status.

c. vary according to socioeconomic status of the people who hold them.

d. are highly variable and unrelated to social class.

e. are more common among men than among women.

5. Which of the following is typically an emphasis of the religion of the affluent?

a. It tends to be highly emotional.

b. Sin is conceived as "wrong actions" or "vices" and not as a "state of being."

c. The deity is depicted as a comforter, protector, and savior.

d. The real battle between good and evil is mostly a conflict of the "super-powers:" God and Satan.

e. The true believer should alienate himself or herself from the values and concerns of this world.

6. The idea that people are attracted to a particular theodicy or a particular religious group because the belief system is compatible with their own social circumstances and needs is called

a. theodicy contingency theory.

b. esthetic harmony theory.

c. apocalypticism.

d. anomie.

e. elective affinity.

7. An apocalyptic worldview is usually most appealing to

a. people of the highest socioeconomic class.

b. people who are upwardly mobile, but still middle class.

c. stable working class people.

d. the most oppressed, destitute, and hopeless people.

e. none of the above; the appeal of apocalypticism is not related to socioeconomic circumstances.

8. Some religious movements espouse a belief in the coming of a new divinely-ruled era in this world which is brought about—in part—through supernatural action. These movements are called

a. ghost movements.

b. millenarian movements.

c. redemptive movements.

d. alternative movements.

e. apocalyptic movements.

9. Which of the following religious worldviews is most likely to mobilize people to activism?

a. Apocalypticism.

b. Premillenialism.

c. Postmillenialism.

d. Asceticism.

e. Mysticism.

10. Hymns and sermons in lower-class and working-class churches often stress the following theme(s):

a. suffering and hardship.

b. affirmation of individual self-worth.

c. valuing of individual achievement and self-worth.

d. assimilation of religious values with those of the larger society.

e. all of the above.

11. The churches of the affluent are more likely than those of the lower-classes to have a moral code that affirms four of the following. Which of the following is not a typical moral affirmation of the affluent churches?

a. Relativity is valued.

b. Particularism is condemned as an evil.

c. Anything limiting individual freedom or blocking individual opportunity is likely to be defined as fundamentally evil.

d. Obeying rules for their own sake as an expression of loyalty is stressed.

e. Divergent thinking and individualism is encouraged.

12. The thesis about the origins of black religion in America set forth by Herskovits, Wilmore, and other scholars implies that

a. Christianization was the final step in forcing complete assimilation of Africans to the dominate culture and obliterating "survivals."

b. the emotional character of the black church is rooted in class standing and will subside as members improve their socioeconomic standing.

c. the mode or style of expression of black religion is entirely a product of contemporary social circumstances.

d. unique characteristics of African-American worship style will likely continue, despite changes in social circumstances of blacks, because they are rooted in African ethnicity.

e. all of the above.

13. The textbook’s discussion of African-American spirituals notes that these songs

a. were written by the white slave owners to help keep their slaves pacified.

b. offered hope that was unrealistic in light of the circumstances of slaves.

c. frequently tried unabashedly to incite rebellion.

d. contained implicit theodicies that blamed the slaves for their plight.

e. often contained coded messages that were not discernable to the slave owners.

14. African American religion has contributed to social change, especially civil rights militancy, among members in several ways. Which of the following is NOT among them?

a. Enhancing self-esteem of blacks.

b. Providing organizational networks that can be used for mobilizing people on civil rights issues.

c. Providing leadership through the clergy.

d. Uniting almost all African-Americans under the same nation-wide black denomination.

15. Regarding the African-American religious experience, your textbook author concludes that

a. contemporary African-American religion no longer has any vestiges of African heritage.

b. the minister in the black church has unusually low social status.

c. African-American spirituals were often this-worldly in orientation.

d. African-American religion has been far less inclined to splinter into sects and cults than has Christianity in America generally.

e. religion was seldom used by whites as a mechanism of control over blacks.

16. Liberation theology is

a. this-worldly in concern and passive in strategy of change.

b. this-worldly in concern and activist in strategy of change.

c. otherworldly in concern and therefore passive in strategy of change.

d. this-worldly in concern but otherworldly in strategy of change.

e. staunchly anti-millenarian.

17. The evidence presented in the text essentially adds up to the conclusion that

a. religion both influences and is influenced by the socioeconomic system.

b. religion influences, but is not particularly influenced by, the socioeconomic system.

c. religion does not really influence the socioeconomic system much, but is influenced by it.

d. contrary to conventional wisdom, there really isn't much of a correlation between socioeconomic status and theology.

18. Your textbook points out that African American ministers were powerful their local community. Which of the following is not a reason given for that power?

a. They had little education and the black church has a long history of anti-intellectualism.

b. They became representatives of their communities in political negotiations.

c. They developed leadership skills and were admired in the local communities for those skills.

d. Discrimination had limited access to other professional positions, so ministers were among the few professionals in the communities, thereby becoming the defacto community leaders.

e. The church was an important part of the black community—a major community center—so the head of the congregation was admired.

19. The black Christian churches

a. developed leadership in people through various roles needed to run a church, and those leadership skills developed self confidence, self worth, and competencies useful to the people in other ways

b. despite its important role in the community, has never produced a civil right leader.

c. has always been exclusively other-worldly in its focus—with heaven in the afterlife the only worthwhile goal.

d. has produced reverse-racism hate groups.

e. is less likely to develop sects and cults than have white Christian groups.

20. Black scholar Eric Lincoln agued that one unorthodox African American religious movement depicted Christianity as the religion of white people with a white God and a white savior. Being a Christian was equated with worshiping white people and was described as the white society’s way of duping blacks into subordinate roles. This group was

a. the Father Devine Movement

b. the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Association

c. the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion).

d. the Black Primitive Baptist church.

e. the Lost/Found Nation of Islam (Black Muslims)

21. Which of the following was not true of the Lost/Found Nation of Islam?

a. it was rejected by orthodox Islam as unorthodox--as not in keeping with the teachings of Muhammad.

b. was founded by Wali D. Fard, who changed his name to Elijah Muhammad

c. was is as thoroughly political in nature as it was religious.

d. was led by Martin Luther King, Jr.

e. attracted a number of nationally known figures to its membership, like Malcolm X, boxer Muhammad Ali, and basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

22. To what social class of people is the millenarian outlook most likely to be appealing?

a. lower class.

b. middle class.

c. upper class.

d. none of the above. It is timeless in its attraction, appealing

e. equally to all people.