History of World Religions Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores the development, beliefs, practices, and cultural impact of major world religions from ancient times to the present. Students will examine religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and others, investigating their origins, sacred texts, rituals, philosophies, and historical contexts. The course also considers how religions have interacted, influenced societies, and responded to social and political changes throughout history, providing a comparative understanding of religious traditions and their global significance.
Recommended Textbook Religions of the World 13th Edition by Lewis
M. Hopfe
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12 Chapters
380 Verified Questions
380 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Native American Religions
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the best way to describe the purpose of Native American ceremonies and rituals?
A) They are performed to chase away evil spirits.
B) They are a means of communicating with the deceased.
C) They are a means of renewing the partnership between humans and the spirit world.
D) They are performed to bring rain to the earth.
Answer: C
Q2) Compared to Native Americans, how did Europeans who came to the Americas look upon nature and the land?
A) They revered the land as much as the Native Americans did.
B) They looked upon nature as something to be exploited and used.
C) They were unwilling to sacrifice the beauty of the land and nature to survive.
D) They enjoyed the unknowns of nature.
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: African Religions
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the Yoruba creation story, the High God Olorun
A) created the world from a gourd.
B) provided direct assistance to the newly created human race.
C) tried unsuccessfully to delegate the task of creation.
D) destroyed the orishas and brought order to the world.
Answer: C
Q2) According to many African religions, the dead
A) gradually fade into nothingness.
B) retain an active interest in the living.
C) ascend to the heavenly place of light.
D) are reincarnated as animals or humans.
Answer: B
Q3) According to traditional African belief, illness, misfortune, and death A)happen by accident.
B) are illusions that ultimately have no reality.
C) are signs that the High God is unhappy with one's moral decisions.
D) are likely caused by witchcraft or some kind of foul play.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Hinduism
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35 Verified Questions
35 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true of puja?
A) It is never practiced by men.
B) It occurs only in Hindu temples.
C) It is never practiced by women.
D) It occurs in households and Hindu temples.
Answer: D
Q2) This god, one and undivided, is the ultimate reality at the core of Hindu thought.
A) Kali
B) Brahman
C) Ganesha
D) Lakshmi
Answer: B
Q3) Which of the following religions arose from Hinduism?
A) Daoism
B) Shinto
C) Jainism
D) Islam
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Buddhism
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is one thing that celebrants do during the Festival of Souls?
A) They perform elaborate rituals for the dead.
B) They fast and meditate.
C) They wash statues of the Buddha.
D) They present robes to the Buddhist missionaries.
Q2) The Four Noble Truths, which form the core of Buddhist teachings, came to the Buddha through
A) suffering.
B) samsara.
C) enlightenment.
D) prayer.
Q3) The smaller and more conservative wing of Buddhism is known as the "exclusive way," or
A) Theravada.
B) Sangha.
C) Mahayana.
D) Hinayana.
Q4) Describe the development of Buddhism from the third century B.C.E. to the present. Where did it originate and how did it change and spread?
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Chapter 5: Sikhism
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30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Various Muslim groups began to invade India from their bases to the west from this century onward.
A) ninth
B) tenth
C) sixteenth
D) seventeenth
Q2) Based on the religious vision of Nanak, Sikhs believe that
A) "There is no Muslim and there is no Hindu."
B) "There is no Hindu and there is no Buddhist."
C) "There is no right and there is no wrong."
D) "There are no Sikhs."
Q3) Discuss three religious concepts that Sikhism retained from Hinduism and relate those to the strict monotheism retained from Islam.
Q4) Describe the careers of Kabir, Nanak, Arjan Dev, and Gobind Singh and explain why each is an essential figure in the history of Sikhism.
Q5) Discuss the origin of the Khalsa and describe the rules to which they adhered and why.
Q6) Describe life for modern-day Sikhs. What challenges do they face and why?
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Chapter 6: Jainism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Jains believe that the flesh is evil and must be tormented so this can attain release from the cycle of births.
A) soul
B) body
C) heart
D) male
Q2) Based on Mahavira's life, which of the following words best describes ascetic life?
A) pleasure
B) luxury
C) deprivation
D) wealth
Q3) This Jain festival lasts for eight days and encourages the laity to live as monks for at least one day.
A) Paijusana
B) Divali
C) Holi
D) Kali
Q4) Discuss the basic Jain teachings. Give examples of them in the life of Mahavira.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Chinese Religions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following contrasts is part of the concept of yinyang?
A) happy and sad
B) rest and work
C) truth and falsity
D) moon and sun
Q2) Describe the role of li in Confucianism.
Q3) Which of the following is true of Confucianism?
A) It has an extensive priesthood.
B) Its sacred writings were written after a divine revelation.
C) It embraces asceticism.
D) It has no doctrine of an afterlife.
Q4) One result of the end of the feudal system was
A) great Chinese philosophy-religions were born.
B) great wars, lasting centuries, broke out.
C) the Han dynasty took charge.
D) serfs lost even more power.
Q5) Discuss the three schools that rivaled the early Daoists and give a brief explanation of their basic tenets. Did they survive? Why or why not?
Q6) Describe the political difficulties facing religions in China today.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Shinto
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the three forms of Shinto and how are they similar? Different?
Q2) A warrior code that combines principles of Shinto and Confucianism is called A) seppuku.
B) kojiki.
C) bushido.
D) samurai.
Q3) Most Japanese think of themselves as primarily
A) pacifist.
B) Buddhist.
C) Shinto.
D) agnostic.
Q4) Which of the following must be looked at to understand Japanese religion before the sixth century?
A) Japan's geography
B) Religious influences from outside Japan
C) Japan's philosophers and scholars
D) Japan's early history
Q5) Discuss the Chinese influence on Shinto and what kind of effects Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism had on the development of Shinto.
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Chapter 9: Judaism
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33 Verified Questions
33 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss Hasidism, Reform Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, and Conservative Judaism as rival responses to Judaism in modernity.
Q2) This German philosopher and poet encouraged German Jews to enter the modern world.
A) Handel
B) Mendelssohn
C) Shabbatai Zevi
D) Lessing
Q3) Explain the value of the synagogue to Jews of the Diaspora.
Q4) About 30 percent of the Babylonian Talmud is a tale or narrative about the Jewish people and their history called
A) the Mishna.
B) Gemara.
C) the Torah.
D) Haggadah.
Q5) Founded by Mordecai M. Kaplan, this movement grew out of Conservative Judaism.
A) Hasidism
B) Reform Judaism
C) Reconstructionist Judaism
D) Orthodox Judaism
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Chapter 10: Christianity
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38 Verified Questions
38 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) To whom did Jesus say "and on this rock I will build my church" and "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven"?
A) Stephen
B) Simon Peter
C) Judas
D) Paul
Q2) As a teaching device, Jesus used a short, easily recognized story about very human characters and events called a
A) parable.
B) psalm.
C) proverb.
D) sermon.
Q3) What is one problem facing the Catholic Church in the twenty-first century?
A) low church attendance
B) difficulty finding priests to serve the lay communities
C) large, diverse parishes
D) declining enrollment
Q4) To what extent does Christianity owe its theological debts to Judaism? To what extent is it different from Judaism?
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Chapter 11: Islam
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34 Verified Questions
34 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The first words a Muslim child hears is a confession of faith called A) shahada.
B) salat.
C) zakat.
D) sawm.
Q2) Conflict between the Muslims and the Jewish tribes in the early days of Islam was intense; Jewish tribes were offered the choice of conversion to Islam or A) death.
B) exile.
C) imprisonment.
D) enslavement.
Q3) The one central and unifying office in the history of Islam is A) the ummah.
B) the priesthood.
C) the caliphate.
D) the Umayyad.
Q4) Describe the process by which the Qur'an came into being. Compare this to the formation of the Jewish Talmud.
Q5) In what sense is Islam a fatalistic religion? In what sense is it not?
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Chapter 12: Bahai
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to Baha'i belief, evil is A) nonexistent.
B) fated to destroy humanity.
C) embodied in all organized religions.
D) to be worshiped as an emanation from God.
Q2) The basic belief of Baha'i is that
A) all men are not created equal.
B) the Qur'an is the true word of God.
C) all religions come from the same source.
D) heaven is on earth.
Q3) Describe how Ali Muhammad and Husayn Ali became "gate of faith" and "glory of God" respectively.
Q4) In Iran, Baha'i is considered a A) national movement.
B) heretical movement.
C) treasonous movement.
D) harmless movement.
Q5) How does Baha'i teaching on the essential oneness of humanity compare to the perspectives of other religions on the same topic?
Page 14
Q6) Summarize Baha'u'llah's teachings and the basic beliefs of Baha'i.
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