Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the 'Submit my answers' button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:

Although many scholars and pundits in the early and mid-twentieth century viewed religion as an intellectually vapid and increasingly irrelevant facet of primitive life, in 1979 two events challenged this view by demonstrating the continued relevance of religion in the modern geo-political sphere. What were these events?
a) The Iranian Revolution and the first assembly of the World Council of Churches
b) The Iranian Revolution and the Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
c) The Iranian Revolution and Israel’s passage of the Jerusalem Law
d) The first assembly of the World Council of Churches and the Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
e) The first assembly of the World Council of Churches and Israel’s passage of the Jerusalem Law

Question 2:

Which of the following claims about Osama bin Laden is true?
a) He helped to fund and train Afghan mujahidin (religious soldiers).
b) He issued a fatwa calling for the overthrow of the Saudi government.
c) He declared war on the United States in 1998.
d) He has been accused of masterminding the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
e) All of the above.

Question 3:

Samuel Huntington's influential publication, 'Clash of the Civilizations', argues that the conflicts between civilizations in the modern world centre primarily on ________.
a) political ideology
b) economics
c) ethnicity
d) religion

Question 4:

The primary concern of The Fundamentals (the text that inspired the term 'fundamentalist') is ________.
a) to create a single, pan-Islamic state administered by shari'ah law
b) to oppose secularism
c) to promote the doctrine of biblical inerrancy
d) to reject science (especially the theory of evolution)

Question 5:

Who was John T. Scopes?
a) The defense attorney in the oft discussed 'monkey trial' case
b) A prominent biologist and bioethicist
c) One of the 'two Christian laymen' who underwrote the publication of The Fundamentals
d) A Tennessee high school teacher tried in 1925 for teaching evolution

Question 6:

Which of the following claims about the traditional Islamic stance on science (and, in particular, bioethics) is true?
a) Humans can learn more about the world (and, thus, more about God) by investigating the mysteries of biology, medicine and other sciences.
b) Juridical opinion on various medical questions was generally decided on a case-by-case basis, rather than through general, large-scale rulings.
c) When dealing with an issue of medical morality (e.g., euthanasia), the traditional approach is to let individuals and/or families make their own decisions.
d) Active euthanasia is morally unacceptable, while the case of passive euthanasia is more morally ambiguous.
e) A and C only.
f) All of the above.

Question 7:

Which of the following claims about abortion in the world's religions is false?
a) Given the Buddhist condemnation of abortion, the practice is illegal in many Southeast Asian countries.
b) Due to various cultural factors (such as the cost of dowries), many Hindu women are more likely to abort a female fetus.
c) Much like China, India has begun to force the use of birth control in rural areas in an effort to lower the birth rate.
d) Japanese Buddhism has developed a specific funerary rite to memorialize aborted fetuses.

Question 8:

According to the text, adherents of which of the following religions would be most likely to feel justified in exploiting the environment based on traditional interpretations of their religious teachings/scriptures?
a) Islam
b) Christianity
c) Buddhism
d) Jainism

Question 9:

In the 1970s, E.F. Schumacher proposed the theory of 'Buddhist economics.' What was the goal of this economic theory?
a) To maximize shareholder value
b) To meet the needs of the entire planet
c) To minimize consumption at all costs
d) To support the sangha (the community of practicing Buddhists)

Question 10:

Which of the following is not a group striving for GLTBIQ rights in the Islamic community?
a) Al-Fatiha ('The Opening')
b) Min al-Alaq ('From the Clot')
c) Al-Haqq ('The Truth')
d) None of the above.

Question 11:

Many religions, either historically or in present day, have had issues with both women's rights and sexual diversity. Which of the following claims about these issues is inaccurate?
a) The modern Anglican Church is united in its opposition to same-sex relationships.
b) raditionally, Buddhism has denied homosexuals the opportunity to become monks/nuns.
c) Many gay Muslims feel isolated by their tradition’s profoundly anti-homosexual stance.
d) Though still controversial, some Western Islamic congregations have begun experimenting with mixed-gender prayer sessions and are allowing women to lead worship services.

Question 12:

Which of the following is not a missionary religion?
a) Christianity
b) Buddhism
c) Islam
d) Hinduism

Question 13:

The term 'pluralism,' as it is used in the context of religious studies, is roughly equivalent to ________.
a) Diversity
b) Tolerance
c) Relativism
d) Secularism
e) None of the above.

Question 14:

Which of the following is the best example of pluralism?
a) Karl Rahner's claim that members of other religions are 'anonymous Christians.'
b) The prohibition of prayer in public schools (in deference to members of other religious communities).
c) A predominantly Christian community accepting a civic plan to build a mosque in their neighbourhood.
d) Willard Oxtoby's claim that religions (even one's own) can only be truly understood through a process of dialogue and comparison.

Question 15:

Which of the following pre-modern figures can be credited with a commitment to dialogue (in the modern sense of the term, which implies openness to alternative points of view)?
a) St. Paul
b) Emperor Akbar
c) Plato
d) The writers of the Upanishads

Higher Education

World Religions: Western Traditions: Chapter 8