World Religions Flashcards
Religion
Name some of the potential positive effects of holding religious beliefs, regardless of the truth of the claims.
1.) Beliefs in a perfect future life after this one are soothing to one’s natural existential dread and fear of death
2.) Beliefs in one’s “chosen” state as a child/creation of a god can be ego-boosting and purpose-providing
3.) Beliefs in cosmic punishment/intervention and an all-powerful creator are soothing and bring feelings of justice to the universe
4.) Beliefs can be used as purported explanations for gaps in one’s understanding of how the world works (e.g. the cause of thunder or storms, the nature of consciousness, how life began, etc.)
5.) Beliefs can be used to promote group connectivity and social well-being
Religion
Name some of the potential negative effects of holding religious beliefs (and why it is dangerous to believe things that are not true and we shouldn’t necessarily just ‘live and let live’).
1.) We vote based off our beliefs
2.) We interact with and judge others based off our beliefs
3.) Believing in non-existant futures where everything will be perfect can mentally downgrade the one life we have now and decrease the urgency we feel to help others
4.) Believing in non-existant futures prevents one from emotionally maturing and coming to grips with the hard reality of mortality
5.) Holding incorrect beliefs about one’s place in the world can be self-degrading and/or self-inflating
6.) Discovering one’s worldview is incorrect can be a very painful process
7.) Believing in an omniscient god who demands obedience can inspire feelings of guilt, even for completely benign behaviors
8.) Believing in an omniscient god who demands obedience can incite OCD-like scrupulosity
9.) Believing in a religious system’s particular moral system undercuts one’s ability to explore morality from a humanist perspective
Religion
Name some of the various psychological mechanisms present across historical and cultural divides that have led to the near-universal creation of beliefs around supernatural divinity and the continuation of those beliefs in society.
Groupishness, the amity-enmity complex, kin selection;
sanctity and reputation management as methods of reinforcing group cohesion,
group sharing of compulsive tendencies and existential dread;
etc.
Religion
Name some of the various individual psychological mechanisms that are often used to bolster and/or protect one’s supernatural beliefs and/or claims about the divine.
Hyperactive agent detection;
the Texas sharpshooter fallacy, cherry-picking of experiences;
confirmation bias, belief perseverance;
etc.
Religion
What two end effects does Robert Sapolsky say that religion offers Homo sapiens?
- Stress relief (a sharing of existential dread via story and communal ritual)
- A community (a la Haidt, religion ‘binds and blinds’)
Religion
How does Jonathan Haidt assert that religion helps Homo sapiens form communities?
By forming doctrines (read: moral centers) and then making those centers sacred (read: unquestionable)
Thus, by binding the group and blinding them to the true nature of the binding features, the group is solidly linked with no easy way out. This also lends credence to a hegemon’s claim to power, incitement to war, etc..
Religion
Robert Sapolsky connects what three disorders to the highly influential religious figures through time (from shamans to the Apostle Paul to Martin Luther to cult leaders)?
Schizotypal disorder (in those such as shamans, Charles Manson, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Joseph Smith, etc.)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (in those such as Martin Luther, etc.)
Temporal lobe epilepsy (in those such as Paul, Teresa of Ávilia, etc.)
Religion
What disordered form of activity does Robert Sapolsky point out is highly conserved among the various major religions’ primary tenets?
A focus on ritualistic, OCD-like activities
(e.g. ritualistic self-cleansings, ritualistic food preparation, ritualistic manners of entering and exiting holy places, ritualistic numerology, etc.)
Religion
What reason does Richard Dawkins give to explain why children are pre-wired to trust their parents/elders and believe the religious principles that are taught?
Those who listen to their elders are more likely to survive/reproduce if they are being told things like “don’t play in that fast-moving river,” “don’t eat these mushrooms,” “don’t walk alone at dusk in the mountains,” “do this specific activity in order to gain social status,” etc.
Religion
What terms refer to the feelings of peace, comfort, warmth, and/or goosebumps we get during religious experiences?
Elevation emotion;
frisson
Religion
Religious experience is especially associated with stimulation of which portion of the brain?
The temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex
Religion
True/False.
Reported religious experiences are conserved across a wide variety of differing belief systems (i.e. they are highly similar to one another, be they Catholic, Evangelical protestant, mainstream protestant, Hindu, Mormon, Buddhist, Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness, etc.).
True.
Religion
Different regions of the brain light up on fMRI when one considers (1) ‘what I want’ or (2) ‘what someone else wants.’
Which lights up when a religious individual considers what their god wants?
Their (1) ‘what I want’ regions
(Hence why people’s gods tend to agree with their own ideals or religious preconceptins.)
Religion
What are the four components of the BITE Model of authoritarian control?
Behavior control
Information control
Thought control
Emotional control
Religion
Name some examples of behavior control as illustrated in the BITE model.
- Control types of clothing and hairstyles
- Regulate diet – food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
- When, how and with whom the member has sex
- Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
- Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
- Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
- Permission required for major decisions
- Manipulation and deprivation of sleep
- Regulate individual’s physical reality
- Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
- Etc. etc.
Religion
Name some examples of information control as illustrated in the BITE model.
- Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information
- Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
- Encourage self-reporting and spying on other members
- Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda
Religion
Name some examples of thought control as illustrated in the BITE model.
- Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
- (Instill black and white thinking; decide between good vs. evil; organize people into insiders vs. outsiders)*
- Change person’s name and identity
- Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words
- Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts
- Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts, including:
- (Denial, rationalization, chanting, meditating, praying, speaking in tongues, singing or humming)*
- Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
- Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed
- Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
Religion
Name some examples of emotional control as illustrated in the BITE model.
- Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish
- Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt
- Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
- Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as:
- (Identity guilt, not living up to your potential, your family is deficient, your affiliations are unwise, social guilt)*
- Instill fear of thinking independently, the outside world, losing one’s salvation, leaving or being shunned by the group
- Ritualistic (and sometimes public) confession of sins
- *Phobia indoctrination**: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority
- (no happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group; terrible consequences if you leave; shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends and family)*
Religion
The __________ Hypothesis maintains that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) is composed of sources combined over many centuries by many hands, all between the 950 and 500 centuries BCE.
The Documentary Hypothesis maintains that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) is composed of sources combined over many centuries by many hands, all between 950 and 500 BCE.
Religion
What Bible version do many major scholars regard as one of the most versions most accurate to the original texts we have?
The NRSV
(the New Revised Standard Version)
Religion
Which books of the New Testament are considered pseudepigraphic by a significant number of biblical scholars?
Majority of scholars:
- 1st Timothy (Pauline)
- 2nd Timothy (Pauline)
- Titus (Pauline)
- 2nd Peter (Petrine)
About half of scholars:
- Colossians (Pauline)
- 2nd Thessalonians (Pauline)
- Ephesians (Pauline)
Religion
Which of the Gospels of the New Testament was written first?
Do we know who wrote any of them?
The Gospel of Mark (Hence why the other synoptic gospels have so much overlap with Mark.);
we do not (Likely none of them were eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ ministry.)
Religion
List some of the hypothesized sources of the synoptic Gospels.
The Gospel of Mark - material that overlaps within the other synoptic Gospels
Q source - material common to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (but not Mark)
M Source – material unique to Matthew
L source – material unique to Luke
Religion
True/False.
Many stories of global floods, virgin births, creation myths, hero myths, dying/resurrecting gods, and post-mortality paradise predate the Bible.
True.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mythology#Connections_to_other_belief_systems
Religion
Which New Testament books were written anonymously?
- The four gospels
- Acts
- Hebrews
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John
Religion
Which of the four gospels is not one of the ‘synoptic gospels?’ Why?
The Gospel according to John.
It varies the most from the other three in terms of theology, characterization of Jesus, storyline, fantastical nature, etc.
Religion
Does the story of Jesus change much over time (i.e., from Mark to Matthew/Luke to John to the non-biblical gospels)?
Yes. Jesus transforms from a low Christology to a high Christology, with authors embellishing and adding miraculous details over time.
Religion
Who is the single author who appears to have given us most of the writings we have in the New Testament, all of which he wrote before the Gospels had been composed?
Paul
(~50 CE)
(NOTE: Paul was not an eyewitness to the crucifixion or to Jesus’ ministry.)
Religion
By what century did there exist unanimity in the West regarding the New Testament canon?
The 4th century
(300s CE)
Religion
When was the New Testament book of Mark written and by whom?
~70 CE (first of all the gospels);
we do not know (likely not by Mark though).
Religion
Describe the early followers of Christianity in the first 200 years following 33 CE.
Earliest followers - only apocalyptic Jewish Christians
Gentiles then allowed in - schism between Jews and Christianity
Religion
Name the individual who issued the Edict of Milan in 313 CE and what the purpose of the edict was.
Constantine I
to legalize Christianity in the Roman Empire
Religion
What was the purpose of the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 CE (issued by Roman Emperor Theodosius)?
Established the Nicene Creed (council-established, ecumenical articles of faith) as official church doctrine
Religion
Name some of the articles of faith stated in the Nicene Creed.
Creation belief: God as the creator (but all things made through Jesus)
Trinitarian belief: Jesus as consubstantial with God; the Holy Ghost as emanating from God
Salvation belief: salvation through Jesus
Baptism belief: baptism for the remission of sins and the resurrection of the dead
Religion
When was the first council of Nicea?
325 CE
Religion
What two events of the early 1500s CE involved Martin Luther and marked the true beginning of the Reformation (and split of Protestantism from Catholicism)?
His posting of 95 theses
The Diet of Worms
Religion
List the approximate number of adherents to each of the following religions on a global scale:
Buddhism
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
0.5 billion (6%)
2 billion (31%)
1 billion (15%)
1.5 billion (23%)
Religion
What three religions cover 70% of the global population?
Christianity (31%)
Islam (23%)
Hinduism (15%)
Religion
How much of the global population professes no religion (‘nones’)?
1 billion
(15%)
Religion
Describe U.S. demographics in terms of religious belief.
Christian - 70%
Non-Christian faiths - 6%
None - 23%
Religion
Most U.S. Christians fall in what three categories?
Evangelical protestant (~25% of U.S. citizens)
Mainline protestant (~20% of U.S. citizens)
Catholic (~20% of U.S. citizens)
Religion
Describe some of the principal tenets of Evangelical Protestantism regarding the Bible, salvation, and personal spirituality.
1. The Bible is the inerrant word of God.
2. Salvation is only through Jesus Christ and must be accepted for oneself.
3. Proselytization
Religion
Describe some of the principal tenets of mainline Protestantism regarding the Bible, salvation, and personal spirituality.
1. The Bible is a historical document, it may be flawed, and it is open to interpretation.
2. Christ is the way, but there may be other ways to salvation outside of Christianity.
3. Spiritual transformation is emphasized more than personal conversion experiences.
True/False.
~50% of mainline Protestants identify as politically liberal.
True.
Religion
Describe some of the principal tenets of Catholicism in regards to authority, sin, and grace.
The Pope is the authorized successor to Saint Peter.
Original sin forgiven at Baptism.
Those who die in sin (but who still are close to the Church) must be purified in a temporary purgatory.
Grace administered through Communion.
Religion
What are the five pillars of Islam?
- Faith
- Prayer
- Alms
- Fasting
- Pilgrimage
Religion
Islamic worship in the Mosque occurs on what day(s) of the week?
Do Muslims follow any dietary restrictions?
Friday;
no pork or alcohol
Religion
The _________ is the sacred text of Islam, and the _________ are the traditional texts of Islam.
The Qur’an is the sacred text of Islam, and the Hadiths are the traditional texts of Islam.
Religion
What is the Islamic belief around the afterlife?
Eternal paradise or eternal hell
Religion
Describe the three major forms of Islam.
Sunni (~85%) - Follow the Sunnah (laws) as understood by government officials.
Sufi - a subtype of Sunnis that are a broad meditative mystical movement across Islam.
Shi’a (~15%) - Follow Imams who are direct successors of Mohammed.
Religion
Describe the Shi’a - Sunni divide by location across the world.
Religion
True/False.
Some Muslim countries are ruled by royalty, some by military force, and some by secular government.
True.
Sunni royalty - Saudia Arabia, Morocco, Jordan
Shi’a royalty - Iran, Syria
Sunni military - Sudan, Libya
Shi’a military - Iran
Secular - Turkey, Egypt
Religion
- What is the name for the Islamic headscarf?
- And the veil that covers the head, neck, and face but not the eyes?
- And the veil that covers literally the entire body?
- Hijab
- Niqab (usually worn with an abaya that covers the rest of the body)
- Burqa
Religion
What is the basic Hindu belief about divinity?
One Supreme Reality (Brahman) manifested in many gods and goddesses
Religion
What is the basic Hindu belief about human worth and the meaning of life?
Humans are in bondage to ignorance and illusion, but are able to escape. Purpose is to gain release from rebirth, or at least a better rebirth.
Reincarnation until one gains enlightenment.
Religion
What are the Hindu sacred texts called?
Vedas,
Upanishads (central philosophical concepts),
Bhagavad Gita,
Ramayana,
etc.
Religion
Describe some of the aspects of Hindu practice.
Yoga
Meditation
Worship (puja) and devotion to a god or goddess
Pilgrimage to holy cities
Live according to one’s dharma (purpose/ role).
Religion
The teachings of Buddhism originated with which individual?
Are there any texts?
Siddharta Gautama
Tripitaka (Pali Canon),
Mahayana sutras like the Lotus Sutra,
plus others
Religion
How does one find meaning in life, according to Buddhism?
Escape the cycle of rebirth and attain nirvana (the cessation of suffering)
Religion
True/False.
There are both supernatural and secular forms of Buddhism. The former follow gods and seek the nirvana which is paradise. The latter do not follow gods and do seek to obtain a cessation of suffering in this life.
True.
Religion
Describe some of the practices of Buddhism.
Meditation
Mantras
Devotion to deities (in some sects)
Mandalas (Tibetan)
Religion
What are the colorful circles seen in Tibetian Buddhism?
Mandalas
symbolic diagrams used in the performance of sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation. The mandala is basically a representation of the universe, a consecrated area that serves as a receptacle for the gods and as a collection point of universal forces.
Religion
Describe Confucianism in terms of gods, founder, afterlife, and practices.
Gods - not specified
Founder - Confucius
Afterlife - not specified
Practices - not specified
Religion
What is the meaning of life according to Confucianism?
What are the texts of Confucianism called?
To fulfill one’s role in society with propriety, honor, and loyalty
The analects
Religion
True/False.
Followers of Confucianism may also be (are often?) members of the Chinese religion, Taoism, Buddhism, or another.
True.
Religion
Although largely devoid of supernaturally religious claims, what are the more supernatural aspects of Confucianism?
Ancestor worship – veneration of the deceased ancestors whose spirits are believed to control the fortunes of the descendants (with an associated filial piety).
Religion
What are the official, binding articles of faith of Judaism.
None!
(The faith is formed of a variety of denominations and the core tenets are hotly debated among member scholars.)
Religion
__________ created 13 articles of faith for the Jewish faith.
Today, only the first ____ are accepted by most sects.
Maimonides created 13 articles of faith for the Jewish faith.
Today, only the first five are accepted by most sects.
Religion
What are the four main texts of Judaism?
The Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible - the Torah is the pentateuch)
The Talmud (classic rabbinnic literature)
The Midrash (Bible interpretation)
The Halakhic literature (religious laws from the written and oral Torah)
Religion
Who is the God of Judaism?
What is the afterlife taught by Judaism?
Yahweh
Not emphasized (views vary: no afterlife, shadowy existence, World to Come (similar to heaven), Gehenna (similar to hell), reincarnation)
Religion
Name some of the practices of Judaism.
Circumcision at birth
Bar/bat mitzvah at adulthood
Observing Sabbath
Wearing tallit (prayer shawl) and tefilin (scripture boxes)
Prayer services
Religion
Describe the basic theology of Zoroastrianism.
A theistic religion from antiquity (that is still practiced today) that takes a dualistic cosmology, regarding all of life as a battle between good and evil.
Religion
What is the name of the wise, supreme deity in Zoroastrianism?
Ahura Mazda
(‘wise Lord’)
Religion
Which shared tenets of Greek philosophy, Gnosticism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism may all have arisen from Zoroastrianism?
Messianism,
judgment after death,
heaven and hell,
free will
Religion
True/False.
Zoroastrianism arose around 500 BCE in Iran and follows a practical theology that is basically the following: Our temporary, mortal lives and free will have been given us so we can perform good deeds which are formed from good thoughts / words in the grand struggle between good (order) and evil (chaos).
True.
Religion
Does Zoroastrianism have any texts?
Yes, those of the Avesta
Religion
True/False.
Jainism follows no deities.
False.
Jainism teaches polytheism and pantheism.
(The universe is eternal and many gods exist. Gods, humans and all living things are classified in a complex hierarchy.)
Religion
What is the meaning of life according to Jainism?
Gain liberation from cycle of rebirth, by avoiding all bad karma, especially by causing no harm to any sentient being.
Reincarnation until liberation.
Religion
Which religion is characterized by a strict observance in not harming any living thing and thus avoiding bad karma?
Jainism
Religion
What are the five vows of monasticism under Jainism?
Non-Violence
Truth
Celibacy
Non-Stealing
Non-Possessiveness
Religion
Identify the three major religions which have similar subsets that (1) share concepts and doctrines such as karma and rebirth, (2) do not believe in eternal heaven or hell or judgment day, (3) believe in moving to an enlightened state, (4) allow some leniency in belief and practice among followers, (5) consider values such as non-violence as important, and (6) have some sort of monastic condition.
Hinduism
Buddhism
Jainism
Religion
What is the Tao in Taoism?
It denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists
(a pantheistic, pervading source)
Religion
Taoism is similar to Confucianism in the sense that it is a teaching about the various disciplines for achieving “perfection” by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the universe called “the way” or “tao.”
In what main ways does Taoism differ from Confucianism?
By not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order
(it seeks more of a ‘go-with-the-flow,’ non-struggle state of being)
Religion
What is another name for Taoism?
Daoism
Religion
What are the three ‘treasures’ of Taoism (Daoism)?
Compassion
Frugality
Humility
Religion
Sikhism is a ______theistic religion and the _______ largest religion in the world.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion and the fifth largest religion in the world.
Religion
Sikhism developed from the teachings of ________ ________ as a way of following God by establishing co-existence between the ________ and ________ parts of life.
Sikhism developed from the teachings of Guru Nanak as a way of following God by establishing co-existence between the temporal and spiritual parts of life.
Religion
The core beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib, include _______ and _______ on the name of the one creator; divine unity and _______ of all humankind; engaging in seva (‘selfless service’); striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all; and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder’s life (**including a rejection of claims that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly on Absolute Truth).
The core beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator; divine unity and equality of all humankind; engaging in seva (‘selfless service’); striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all; and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder’s life (**including a rejection of claims that any particular religious tradition has a monopoly on Absolute Truth).
Religion
Name the four largest religions that originated in India.
Hinduism
Buddhism
Jainism
Sikhism
Religion
Name a few features and/or mythologies of early-1800s upstate New York that contributed to the rise of Mormonism.
- Religious revival (the ‘burned-over district’)
- Treasure digging+magical folklore
- The moundbuilder myth
- Theories that the Native Americans were of the lost tribes of Israel (see examples such as Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews)
Religion
Joseph Smith used what ‘magical’ implement?
Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith Sr. used what ‘magical’ implements?
A seer stone
Dowsing rods
Religion
When was Joseph Smith’s trial for treasure digging (with Josiah Stowell) and his subsequent abandonment of treasure digging?
When did he begin to claim that he had received the gold plates?
1826
1827
Religion
Name some of the texts or individuals available to Joseph Smith that offered similar literary features, themes, passages, and/or word usage as found in the Book of Mormon.
The KJV of the Bible
The Apocrypha
- The Late War*
- View of the Hebrews*
- The First Book of Napoleon*
- The Wonders of Nature*
- The Golden Pot*
- Le Morte d’Arthur*
Captain Kidd stories
Joseph Smith Sr.’s dreams
Samuel Spaulding
Emmanuel Swedenbourg
Reverend Benjamin Paddock
Religion
Name some of the major anachronistic or archeological issues found in the Book of Mormon regarding (1) the pre-Colombian American biota and (2) the civilizations of the Nephites, Lamanites, and Jaredites.
(1) Wheat, barley;
horses, donkeys, cows, elephants, goats, swine
(2) Steel, iron, silk;
bellows, plows, chariots, windows, coins;
massive battles, massive populations
(NOTE: there is no mention of alpacas, deer, bison, avocados, obsidian, etc.)
Religion
DNA analysis indicates that the Native Americans are descendents of what group (in contrast with LDS claims that they are of the lost tribes of Israel)?
Eastern Asia
(likely Mongolia and southern Siberia)
Religion
Linguistic analyses of Oceania show that the Austronesian languages (e.g. those of New Guinea, Polynesia, or Hawaii) derive from what parent language group (as opposed to LDS hypotheses regarding Hagoth the curious Nephite and his ships)?
https://rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-alma-testimony-word/hagoth-polynesians
Chinese languages
(via China, then Taiwan, and then out to the rest of Oceania)
Religion
From where did Joseph Smith get much of his Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible?
Adam Clarke’s Bible commentary
Religion
The dress, symbolism, oaths, handshakes, and hand movements of the LDS temples are almost entirely derived from what source(s)?
Freemasonry
(The temple endowment was introduced in May 1842 shortly after Joseph Smith was initiated into Masony in March 1842; see masonic rituals and dress for comparison.)
Religion
The papyri that Joseph Smith claimed as being the Book of Abraham have actually been shown to be what (including the facsimiles)?
Ancient Egyptian funerary texts
(see “Books of Breathing”)
Religion
What is the name of the set of fraudulent plates which Joseph Smith claimed to be translating, providing some indication of his position as either a conman or pious fraud?
The Kinderhook plates
Religion
True/False.
Joseph Smith had somewhere between 30 and 50 wives.
True.
The majority of Joseph Smith’s marriages were after he turned ____.
10 of these women were under the age of ____.
The majority of Joseph Smith’s marriages were after he turned 35.
10 of these women and girls were under the age of 20.
Religion
Is it acceptable to say that Joseph Smith (and other LDS leaders) shouldn’t be judged by our presentist standards of age ranges for their wives?
No.
See graph - at that time, 89% of those in a marriage were within plus or minus 5 years in age with one another. Marrying teenage girls as an older man was not a common practice of the time.
Religion
Joseph Smith’s first recorded sexual relationship outside his marriage to Emma was with whom?
Fanny Alger
(a 16-year-old maid in the Smith household)
Religion
How old was Joseph Smith’s youngest bride?
14
(Helen Mar Kimball)
Religion
How old was Brigham Young’s youngest wife?
How old was Wilford Woodruff’s youngest wife?
How old was Lorenzo Snow’s youngest wife?
(Were any of these relationships sexual?)
15
15
16
(Yes, all of them bore several children conceived in these relationships.)
Religion
Name the locations of the LDS church from its founding in 1830 to the exodus to Salt Lake in 1846.
New York / Pennsylvania –>
Kirtland, Ohio (and later split between Ohio and Missouri) –>
Nauvoo, Illinois –>
Utah
Religion
identify the ostensible reasons for the persecution that Joseph Smith faced in each of the following locations:
- New York
2. Pennsylvania
3. Ohio
4. Missouri
5. Illinois
identify the ostensible reasons for the persecution that Joseph Smith faced in each of the following locations:
- His trustworthiness: treasure digging + whether he had any gold plates or visions
2. His trustworthiness: treasure digging + whether he had any gold plates or visions
- Economic experiments: the failed Kirtland Safety Society + the failed United Order
- Political influence: voting as a bloc and unseating local leadership
- Various: political/military influence, polygamy, attacks on freedom of speech, etc.
Religion
Name the two LDS economic experiments in Kirtland, Ohio.
- The Kirtland Safety Society (a bank)
- The United Order (a collectivistic society)
Religion
What aspects of Joseph Smith’s death might indicate that he did not go “like a lamb to the slaughter” that day?
1.) He was being sought for legitimate crimes (practicing polygamy and marrying already-married women; inciting a riot and destroying the Nauvoo Expositor; putting Nauvoo into a state of martial law and ordering the Nauvoo Legion to stand as defensive guard in Nauvoo against the state; and fleeing his legal charges)
2.) He only turned himself in after fleeing and then learning he was being criticized for having fled
3.) He was armed, and he shot three men before attempting to escape the jail
Religion
How large was the Nauvoo Legion in 1845 as compared to the entire U.S. Army of the day?
30% the size
(2,500 soldiers as compared to 8,500)
Religion
What day of the week is the Jewish Shabbat (Sabbath)?
What day of the week is the Islamic Sabbath?
What day of the week is the Seventh-Day Adventist Sabbath?
Saturday
Friday
Saturday
Religion
What is the basic gist of the Seventh-Day Adventist church?
A Protestant Christian denomination which holds Sabbath observance on Saturday
Religion
Who founded the Seventh-Day Adventist church?
What are some doctrines unique to this religion?
Ellen White
the unconscious state of the dead and the doctrine of an investigative judgment (which asserts that judgment has been in process since 1844)
Religion
Jehovah’s Witnesses is a millenarian _________ist Christian denomination with non_________ beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity.
Religion
Out of what did the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion arise?
The Bible Study Movement
(of the late 1800s)
Religion
Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for refusing _______ service, the saluting of ___________, and ___________.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for refusing military** service, the saluting of **state symbols**, and **blood transfusions.
Religion
True/False.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas, birthdays, Easter, or other holidays.
True.
Religion
True/False.
The Jehovah’s Witness religion believes that Christ was crucified on a cross but not that he was divine.
False.
The Jehovah’s Witness religion believes that Christ was killed on a single, up-right post and that he was Jehovah’s only creation (all else was created through Jesus).
Religion
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that baptism _____ (is/is not) essential and that only ________ (number) selected humans will rule with Jesus as kings and priests over earth.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that baptism is essential and that only 144,000 selected humans will rule with Jesus as kings and priests over earth.
Religion
What happens if one decides to no longer be a Jehovah’s Witness?
They are disassociated
(formally expulsed and shunned)
Religion
______________ invented Scientology in the ______s.
He invented ______________ as his form of psychotherapy.
L. Ron Hubbard invented Scientology in the 1950s.
He invented dianetics as his form of psychotherapy.
Religion
Scientology teaches that a human consists of body, mind, and _______.
One can gain spiritual freedom by ridding their mind of _______.
Scientology teaches that a human consists of body, mind, and thetan (soul).
One can gain spiritual freedom by ridding their mind of engrams (painful memories).
Religion
__________ is a one-on-one session with a Scientology counselor to help members identify spiritual difficulties through the use of questioning and a(n) __________.
Auditing is a one-on-one session with a Scientology counselor or auditor to help members identify spiritual difficulties through the use of questioning and an E-meter (senses electrical resistance in the body).
Religion
True/False.
Scientology teaching is extremely pro- psychology and psychiatry.
False.
Scientology teaching is vehemently opposed to psychology and psychiatry.
Religion
What is the Scientology story about how thetans (our souls) came to be in our bodies?
75 million years ago, Xenu (the galactive tyrant) brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes. The thetans then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to do this today.
Religion
The highest ranking members of the Church of Scientology makes up the _______, an organization which includes some ______ of Scientology’s most dedicated adherents. This group works for low pay and signs a ______-year contract.
The highest ranking members of the Church of Scientology makes up the Sea Org, an organization which includes some 5,000 of Scientology’s most dedicated adherents. This group works for low pay and signs a billion-year contract.
Religion
True/False.
Some of the controversies around the Church of Scientology are:
Attempted infiltration of the U.S. government
Coerced abortions
Encourgement of shunning of friends/family with ‘antagonistic’ views of the church
True.
Religion
Christian Science is a religion begun by Mary Baker ______, who argued in her 1875 book ‘Science and Health’ that ________ is an illusion that can be corrected by ________ alone.
Christian Science is a religion begun by Mary Baker Eddy, who argued in her 1875 book ‘Science and Health’ that sickness is an illusion that can be corrected by prayer alone (exempting some things like plaster casts or corrective lenses).
Religion
______ is a modern pagan religion with diverse views encompassing theists, atheists, and agnostics, with some viewing the religion’s deities as entities with a literal existence and others viewing them as Jungian archetypes or symbols.
Wicca is a modern pagan religion with diverse views encompassing theists, atheists, and agnostics, with some viewing the religion’s deities as entities with a literal existence and others viewing them as Jungian archetypes or symbols.
Religion
Although there is much variation today, most early Wiccan groups adhered to the ____theistic worship of a ________ God of ________ and a ________ Goddess.
Although there is much variation today, most early Wiccan groups adhered to the duotheistic worship of a Horned God of fertility and a mother Goddess.
Religion
Many Wiccans believe in _______ as a manipulative force to be used through witchcraft.
Many Wiccans believe in magic as a manipulative force to be used through witchcraft.
Religion
True/False.
The Wicca religion is composed of a wide scope of very ill-defined, vague, varying beliefs regarding the afterlife, morality, and theism.
True.
Religion
True/False.
The Wicca religion is mostly organized around a series of rituals, often performed nude, around spells, pentagrams, covens, festivals, and sex magic.
True.
Rituals such as:
- Purification of the sacred space and the participants*
- Casting the circle*
- Calling of the elemental quarters*
- Cone of power*
- Drawing down the Gods*
- Spellcasting*
- Great Rite*
- Wine, cakes, chanting, dancing, games*
- Farewell to the quarters and participants*
Religion
Which faith is a new religion that is monotheistic around a single, omnipotent God and teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people?
The Bahá’í faith
Religion
What religion out of Vietnam follows a single God the father and is a synthesis of sorts of Confucianism, Taoism, and Mahayana Buddhism?
Caodaism
Religion
The siege of Waco was a siege of what religious group for their underage, polygamous marriages and their stockpiling of illegal guns and ammunition?
Who was the spiritual leader at the time?
The Branch Davidians
David Koresh
Religion
The Branch Davidians were highly focused on which portion of the Bible?
Ostensibly, why did David Koresh enter his polygamous relationships?
The Revelation of John
To spawn the Elders to open the seven seals of the apocalypse
Religion
True/False.
The Waco siege ended with almost 76 dead, 20 of whom died of self- or group-inflicted gunshots (including David Koresh and at least five children under the age of 14).
True.
Religion
In the 19___s, _____ people committed suicide at Jonestown, __________ by drinking poisoned ___________.
In the 1970s, 918 people committed suicide at Jonestown, Guyana by drinking poisoned Flavor-Aid.
Religion
What was the instigating event for the mass suicide of the Peoples Temple members at Jonestown?
Following the murder of U.S. congressman Ryan on the tarmac with 4 members he was trying to rescue, Jim Jones called for the Flavor-Aid as an act of ‘revolutionary suicide’
Religion
What was in the Flavor-Aid drunk at Jonestown?
Diazepam and cyanide
Religion
____________ was a 1970s American UFO religious cult based near San Diego, California who committed mass suicide (39 members) in the 1990s in order to reach an ET spacecraft following the comet Hale-Bopp.
Heaven’s Gate was a 1970s American UFO religious cult based near San Diego, California who committed mass suicide (39 members) in the 1990s in order to reach an ET spacecraft following the comet Hale-Bopp.
Religion
The ___________ family formed a desert California commune in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group consisted of approximately 50 followers who lived an unconventional lifestyle with habitual use of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD. The leader claimed to be a manifestation of ___________ on earth. Several members of the group were arrested following the committal of high-profile, gruesome murders with the intent of starting a _________.
The Manson family formed a desert California commune in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group consisted of approximately 50 followers who lived an unconventional lifestyle with habitual use of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD. The leader claimed to be a manifestation of Jesus Christ on earth. Several members of the group were arrested following the committal of high-profile, gruesome murders with the intent of starting a race war.
Religion
Charles Manson was diagnosed with what mental illness that likely contributed to his theories and plans?
Schizophrenia
Religion
Define exegesis.
The critical explanation or interpretation of a text (especially scripture)
Religion
What document states that “…the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”?
The Treaty of Tripoli
(signed by John Adams in 1796 as a trade treaty between the U.S. and Libya)
