Anthropology of Belief Systems Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
Anthropology of Belief Systems explores the diverse ways in which human societies conceptualize, articulate, and practice beliefs about the world, the supernatural, and the unknown. The course examines religious, spiritual, and ideological systems across cultures, analyzing how beliefs are formed, maintained, and transformed through rituals, symbols, myths, and social institutions. Students will engage with ethnographic case studies and theoretical frameworks to understand the roles belief systems play in shaping identity, morality, power relations, and worldviews, as well as their influence on social cohesion and conflict.
Recommended Textbook
The Anthropology of Religion Magic and Witchcraft 3rd Edition by Rebecca L. Stein
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Chapter 1: The Anthropological Study of Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) A definition of religion that is concerned with the role that religion plays in a society is a(n):
A)analytic definition
B)functional definition
C)essentialist definition
D)psychosocial definition
Answer: B
Q2) Foragers practice simple farming with hand tools,are seminomadic,and lack full-time specialists.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Late nineteenth century anthropologists who saw "primitive" societies as presenting an early stage in the development of religion were using the:
A)functional approach
B)essentialist approach
C)evolutionary approach
D)psychoanalytic approach
Answer: C
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Mythology
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Sample Questions
Q1) An example of an archetype is the hero.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The story "Raven Steals the Light" tells us about the origin of the:
A)earth
B)sun and moon
C)people
D)salmon
Answer: B
Q3) The Navaho story Diné Bahanè is an example of a(n):
A)origin story
B)apocalyptic story
C)trickster myth
D)hero myth
Answer: A
Q4) In Islam,God spoke to Mohammad in Arabic,and Arabic is used in ritual today.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Religious Symbols
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Sample Questions
Q1) A totem is symbol that is associated with a particular social group.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Units of time that are not based upon astronomical movements include the:
A)week
B)day
C)year
D)month
Answer: A
Q3) A five-pointed star is a symbol that is called a:
A)pentacle
B)pentaquile
C)sauvastika
D)acrostic
Answer: A
Q4) Symbols are arbitrary,that is,new symbols can be created when necessary.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Ritual
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Sample Questions
Q1) Liminality refers to a set of features that characterize a person in which phase of a rite of passage:
A)transition
B)separation
C)peripheralization
D)incorporation
Q2) In the Zulu male puberty ceremony the boy is taken to the river and bathed.His old cloths are destroyed and he puts on new clothes and is presented to the community.This phase of a rite of passage is known as separation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A regular Sunday morning Christian service would be classified primarily as a:
A)rites of passage
B)social rites of intensification
C)revitalization rituals
D)salvation rituals
Q4) What are some of the causes of supernatural illness? How would each be treated?
Q5) Why do soldiers and members of a fraternity frequently place the same tattoo on their bodies?
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Chapter 5: Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Specialists
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Sample Questions
Q1) The part of the brain that enables us to distinguish our selves from the world around us is the:
A)cerebellum
B)orientation association structure
C)Broca's area
D)frontal lobe
Q2) Self-inflicted pain leading to a sacrifice of blood characterizes the ritual of the:
A)Huichol
B)Maya
C)Yoruba
D)Nuer
Q3) Therianthropes are:
A)images of transformed shamans
B)guardian spirits
C)diviners
D)a class of gods
Q4) How can we explain spirit possession in terms of an altered state of consciousness?
Q5) How do biologists and psychologists explain altered states of consciousness?
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Chapter 6: Religious Specialists
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Sample Questions
Q1) The development of full-time religious specialists is associated with:
A)foraging societies
B)small-scale horticultural societies
C)large,technologically advanced societies
D)all of the above
Q2) Central to the role of a shaman is:
A)conducting period rituals
B)controlling spirit helpers and entering an altered state of consciousness
C)conducting rituals to ensure a good harvest
D)all of the above
Q3) The power of a shaman lies in her ability to successfully memorize religious texts and rituals.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following statements about Eastern Orthodox Priests is true?
A)Monks are priests who live in isolated communities.
B)Priests primarily perform social rites of intensification.
C)Priests perform rites of passage,such as birth,baptism,marriage and death.
D)All of the above are true.
Q5) How does a priest differ from a shaman?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Magic and Divination
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Q1) Magic involves the use of plant material,called medicines,in which supernatural power resides among the:
A)Trobriand Islanders
B)Fore
C)Azande
D)Wiccans
Q2) The doctrine of signatures tells us that:
A)plants have signs that proclaim their use
B)the future can be read in a person's signature
C)cures occur when a person touches the correct sign painted on a cave wall
D)certain hand gestures must be avoided or else the individual will fall ill
Q3) Explain the difference between prophets and mediums.
Q4) Tarot cards and the reading of palms are examples of:
A)mechanical type of divination
B)possession
C)omens
D)ordeals
Q5) In benge or the poison oracle of the Azande poison is fed to pigs.
A)True
B)False
9
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Chapter 8: Souls, ghosts, and Death
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Sample Questions
Q1) How were bodies handled in rural America in the early half of the nineteenth century?
Q2) The Tana Toraja separate biological and social death in that social death occurs some time after biological death.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How does a ghost differ from a soul?
Q4) The custom of drinking the cremated ashes of the dead is found among the:
A)Yanomamö
B)Jivaro
C)Berawan
D)Nuer
Q5) Haitian Zombies are:
A)living persons who have been placed in a zombie state in order to work in the fields
B)reanimated dead persons who eat brains
C)a special class of especially evil and troublesome ghosts
D)people who have died before their time and return to life to bring death to friends and neighbors
Q6) In what ways does the concept of the soul vary among human cultures?
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Chapter 9: Gods and Spirits
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Q1) What roles do angles and demons play in Christianity?
Q2) The Hindu goddess Kali is often pictured as dark skinned and naked,standing on a corpse dripping with blood.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Generally speaking,all of the following are true about spirits except:
A)they are most often seen as classes of supernatural beings
B)they tend to be associated with specific locations
C)they provide protection and success,but also are blamed for minor mishaps
D)they are responsible for some powerful aspect of nature
Q4) In Judaism how does the concept of God change over time?
Q5) The idea that religion can be seen as a symbolic expression of relationships between children and their parents was proposed by:
A)Guy Swanson
B)Sigmund Freud
C)John Roberts
D)Robin Horton
Q6) Gods that are remote and uninterested in human affairs are otiose gods.
A)True
B)False
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Witchcraft
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true about Navaho witchcraft?
A)witches use materials taken from corpses such as corpse powder
B)witches can turn themselves in animals at will
C)witches will kill a close relative as part of the process of becoming a witch
D)all of the above are true statements
Q2) The book Malleus Maleficarum stated that witches:
A)could shift shapes,and fly through the air
B)were more likely to be women than men
C)must be arrested,convicted,and executed D)all of the above
Q3) Witches in small-scale societies derived their power from the knowledge and use of spells.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is true about benge,the poison oracle?
A)poison may be given directly to the accused witch
B)poison is given to young pigs who either die or survive
C)sticks are dipped in poison and then placed in termite mounds
D)the poison is seldom strong enough to actually kill an animal
Q5) How does a belief in witchcraft among the Azande regulate human conduct?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Syncretism and Religious Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Haitian Vodou,the identification of the Yoruba deity Legba as St.Peter is an example of syncretism.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Many religious groups develop by branching off of established mainstream religions.The groups that remain mainstream and differ the least from the origin religion are called:
A)cults
B)sects
C)denominations
D)movements
Q3) Vodou in Haiti grew out of the:
A)the religions of West Africa
B)Catholicism
C)Freemasonry
D)all of the above
Q4) New religious movements are emerging around the predicted end of the world "predicted" by the Mayan calendar on the Winter Solstice,2012.Some of these movements are bringing in elements of UFO religions.Research these current religious movements and discuss.
Page 13
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