Unit 1

Question 1

general statistic trends

Answer 1

-growing number of young people define themselves as “unaffiliated”
-African and Asian countries ranked religion as very important to them

Question 2

religion

Answer 2

-From Latin religare, “to bind”
-We bind ourselves to something worthy of reverence and respect
-a “re-knitting or reuniting of humanity to the divine.”

Question 3

Why study the world’s religions?

Answer 3

• Gain a better understanding of the various cultures around the globe today
• Gain better insight into human beings through understanding their religious activities

Question 4

How could culture affect religion?

Answer 4

-religion is a key component of cultural literacy
–Literature, music, and art depend on religious literacy.

Question 5

how could civic life affect religion

Answer 5

-Foundation for positions/debates
-Anti-war protests

Question 6

How could Political perspectives and International affairs impact religion

Answer 6

-Faith-based electioneering
-Supreme Court decisions on religious liberty due to past discrimination against Catholics, Jews, Mormons and Muslims
-U.S. military interactions in Muslim countries.
-Business interactions in countries with different social and philosophical perspectives

Question 7

How could the understanding of history impact religion

Answer 7

-Role of and fight for Jerusalem
-Civil war rhetoric of biblical teachings for and against slavery
-Social reform movements
-Perspectives on candidates for political office

Question 8

How could the understanding of science impact religion

Answer 8

-debates
-Care for creation

Question 9

How could religious conflict impact religion

Answer 9

-Zoning approvals of where to build mosques, temples, synagogues
-Employer approvals of non-Christian religious holiday time off, break time for daily prayer, cafeteria food
-Appropriate clothing/headwear

Question 10

Exclusivism

Answer 10

there can be only one true or correct religion and the rest are completely wrong.

Question 11

Inclusivism

Answer 11

There is one true religion that holds the fullness of truth; however, there is something of this truth in some other religions as well.

Question 12

Relativism

Answer 12

All perspectives are limited. There is no unlimited viewpoint from which a truth that is relevant for all could be expressed

Question 13

Pluralism

Answer 13

different religions are simply different. each is ultimately true and must be honored as such.

Question 14

Totalitarianism

Answer 14

A desire for only one’s own group to dominate and everyone else to suffocate.

Question 15

Evangelism

Answer 15

-goes out to others and listens to them
-a proclamation of Jesus, allowing people to have an encounter with Christ
-trusts in the Holy Spirit as the true evangelist, as the one who makes converts
-trust

Question 16

proselytization

Answer 16

-excludes others and simply talks at them
i-s proud and convinced that it has all the answers.
-believes it’s up to us, to the force of our arguments and persuasive power.
-fear

Question 17

Some Common Elements or 
Patterns of Religions

Answer 17

-Sacred Stories and Sacred Scriptures
-Beliefs and Practices
-Sacred Time
-Sacred Places & Spaces

Question 18

witnessing

Answer 18

giving testimony of one’s religious faith to another

Question 19

ecumenism vs. inter-religious dialogue

Answer 19

both movements that promote understanding and cooperation between people of different religious traditions
- Ecumenism = A movement within Christianity that aims to restore unity among Christian denominations.
-interreligious dialogue = A conversation between people of different religions that aims to promote mutual understanding and respect

Question 20

nostra aetate

Answer 20

-see the truth in other religious while understanding our own
-similarity between different religions