Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion
Exam Review
Course Introduction
This course delves into the complex interplay between magic, witchcraft, and religion across diverse cultural contexts and historical periods. It explores how societies conceptualize the supernatural and unseen forces, examining beliefs, rituals, and practices that fall outside mainstream religious traditions. Through anthropological, historical, and sociological perspectives, students analyze the roles these phenomena play in social control, cultural expression, power dynamics, and identity formation. By critically engaging with case studies from around the world, the course encourages students to question common assumptions and understand the enduring influence of magical and supernatural beliefs in human experience.
Recommended Textbook
Anthropology of Religion Magic and Witchcraft The 3rd Edition by Rebecca Stein Philip L Stein
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
11 Chapters
532 Verified Questions
532 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3976 Page 2
Chapter 1: The Anthropological Study of Religion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79885
Sample Questions
Q1) Émile Durkheim and Alfred Radcliff-Brown are associated with the evolutionary approach to the study of religion.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Gods and ghosts are examples of anthropomorphic supernatural beings.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The interpretative approach,in which religion is described as a cluster of symbols that together make up a whole,was developed by:
A)Sigmund Freud
B)Melford Spiro
C)Clifford Geertz
D)James Frazer
Answer: B
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Mythology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
50 Verified Questions
50 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79882
Sample Questions
Q1) In the Navaho Creation Story,the Holy People appeared and explained that they wanted to create people:
A)with the power of insects
B)with supernatural powers
C)who were giants
D)with hands and feet like the Holy People
Answer: D
Q2) Ritual texts:
A)are social charters that sets forth the organization of human relationships
B)explain the origins of humans and the world
C)often contain multiple versions of the same story
D)all of the above
Answer: D
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
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 4
Chapter 3: Religious Symbols
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
50 Verified Questions
50 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79881
Sample Questions
Q1) The Islamic calendar is a solar calendar.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Rituals that are performed according to a set temporal cycle are called:
A)periodic rituals
B)calendrical rituals
C)time sensitive rituals
D)annual rituals
Answer: A
Q3) Aspects of Australian totemic beliefs include:
A)a prohibition against eating one's totem
B)a time called "The Dream Time" during which totemic creatures roamed the earth
C)a kinship between people and their totem
D)all of the above
Answer: D
Q4) A totem is symbol that is associated with a particular social group.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 5
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 4: Ritual
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79880
Sample Questions
Q1) Jewish food prohibitions are:
A)based solely on health and nutrition concerns
B)prescriptive and spelled out in the Torah
C)concerned only with the prohibition on eating pork
D)all of the above
Q2) A patterned act that involves the manipulation of religious objects is termed a:
A)spell
B)ritual
C)sacrifice
D)prayer
Q3) Among the Huichol the peyote cactus is thought to be the:
A)bride of the devil
B)sacrifice of the creator god
C)footprint of the sacred deer
D)food of the sun god
Q4) Sand paintings are an important element in Navaho therapy rituals.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 6
Chapter 5: Altered States of Consciousness and Religious Specialists
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79878
Sample Questions
Q1) Altered states of consciousness are experienced in the way in which the culture interprets it.For example,it might be interpreted as spirit possession.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Therianthropes are:
A)images of transformed shamans
B)guardian spirits
C)diviners
D)a class of gods
Q3) Peyote is used in rituals of:
A)the Holiness Church
B)the Native American Church
C)Vodou
D)San
Q4) In the Huichol ritual an altered state of consciousness is mainly brought about by:
A)eating the peyote cactus
B)meditation
C)fasting
D)drumming
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: Religious Specialists
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
42 Verified Questions
42 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79877
Sample Questions
Q1) Shamans are able to cure illness by:
A)sending their souls to recapture the lost soul of the patient
B)removing spirits and objects from within the body of the patient
C)allowing a deity to possess their body
D)all of the above
Q2) Kyta Baaly is a shaman from:
A)Korea
B)Shkha,Siberia
C)Okinawa
D)the American Southwest
Q3) A technique of body movements call tensegrity is associated with:
A)Neoshamanism
B)Akimel O'odham shamanism
C)Korean shamanism
D)Siberian shamanism
Q4) Herbalists are:
A)healers
B)prophets
C)diviners
D)witches
Page 8
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 7: Magic and Divination
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
47 Verified Questions
47 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79876
Sample Questions
Q1) Branislaw Malinowski theorized that magic rituals serve to help the person who practices them to:
A)keep his mind off the upcoming activity
B)try to control or eliminate the elements of chance and uncertainty
C)fit into his society's norms
D)remove the supernatural influence on everyday endeavors
Q2) Among the Trobriand Islanders,a "man with knowledge" is one who possesses technological knowledge as well as knowledge of magic.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Law of Similarity states that:
A)magic depends on the apparent association between things
B)things that were once in contact continue to be connected
C)things that are alike are the same
D)none of the above
Q4) Contagious magic is based on the premise that things that were once in contact always maintain a connection.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Souls,ghosts,and Death
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79875
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true about the concept of the soul?
A)in some societies one's soul is in one's shadow or in one's reflection in a mirror
B)the destiny of one's soul after death always depends on how one behaved in life
C)there is always a single soul
D)all of the above statements are true
Q2) The egungun are spirits that travel from the land of the lead to visit the living among the:
A)Hmong
B)Yoruba
C)Tana Toraja
D)Jivaro
Q3) From an etic perspective,the appearance of exhumed bodies thought to be vampires were actually the result of the:
A)acidic nature of the soil found in some eastern European cemeteries
B)natural process of decay
C)mutilation of bodies by people wanting the village to believe in vampires
D)real work of supernatural forces
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 9: Gods and Spirits
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
48 Verified Questions
48 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79879
Sample Questions
Q1) Robin Horton proposed that which of the following is a variable that explains variation in the nature of gods in different societies?:
A)how often people in that society encounter other people and the world outside their own community
B)the degree to which an individual's status in the society is ascribed or achieved
C)the severity of childrearing practices in regards to feeding and toilet training
D)both a and b are true
Q2) Kali is a(n):
A)agricultural and fertility deity
B)war goddess and destroyer of demons
C)destroyer of ignorance and bringer of knowledge
D)goddess of love and marriage
Q3) The Hindu goddess Kali is often pictured as dark skinned and naked,standing on a corpse dripping with blood.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Witchcraft
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
36 Verified Questions
36 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79884
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is an oracle used by the Azande to discover the identity of witches?
A)the rubbing board oracle
B)spirit possession by a medium
C)throwing of shells on a mat and reading the pattern formed
D)studying the internal organs of a sacrificed chicken
Q2) Hedonism and the symbol of a goat's head within an inverted pentagram refer to:
A)Wicca
B)Asatru
C)Satanism
D)Druidism
Q3) Euro-American witches in the 15th century obtained their evil power through contact with the Devil.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following event occurred in the case of the Zande co-wives?
A)The younger wife was identified as the witch by an ordeal.
B)The younger wife was beaten until she confessed.
C)The younger wife cooled her witchcraft by spitting water.
D)The husband was forced to divorce his younger wife because of witchcraft.
Page 12
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 11: Syncretism and Religious Movements
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
46 Verified Questions
46 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/79883
Sample Questions
Q1) A deliberate attempt to bring about change in a culture characterizes:
A)rites of passage
B)revitalization movements
C)rites of intensification
D)Neo-Pagan movements
Q2) Haitians do not use the term Vodou.Instead they refer to their religion as:
A)"serving the spirits"
B)"Haitian Catholicism"
C)"nature worship"
D)"healing"
Q3) UFO religions,such as the Unification Church and the Branch Davidians,describe extraterrestrial beings in much the same way that supernatural beings are described in more traditional religions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Witchcraze was a Neo-Pagan movement in 19th century Europe that attempted to rehabilitate healers and midwives.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13