Multiple choice questions

1. Peter Berger:
   1.   ?    Defines religion as the audacious attempt to conceive of the universe as being humanly significant
   2.   ?    Defines religion as ‘the opium of the masses’
   3.   ?    Thinks that there is no adequate way to define religion
   4.   ?    Sees religion as a tool of the oppressed
2. Marx was concerned with the _____ _______ of religion, not disputes over the existence of God:
   1.   ?    Economic foundations
   2.   ?    Ideological foundations
   3.   ?    Social function
   4.   ?    None of the above
3. Durkheim thought religion was important because it:
   1.   ?    Was important to praise the Lord
   2.   ?    Provided ideological support for capitalist development
   3.   ?    Promoted social cohesion and social control
   4.   ?    Allowed people with low economic class positions to achieve higher status
4. According to Durkheim, those aspects of social reality that are routine and secular are known as:
   1.   ?    Roles
   2.   ?    The profane
   3.   ?    Actual
   4.   ?    Secularisation
5. The claim that Calvinism offered an ideological basis for capitalist development was made by:
   1.   ?    Karl Marx
   2.   ?    Shulamith Firestone
   3.   ?    Max Weber
   4.   ?    Hommi Bhabha
6. The ‘secularisation’ thesis refers to:
   1.   ?    The suggestion that humans would ‘outgrow’ belief in the supernatural
   2.   ?    The outcome of bureaucratic processes
   3.   ?    World revolution
   4.   ?    The suggestion that there would be a resurgence of fundamentalist religions in the 20th Century
7. The claim that ‘God is dead’ was made by:
   1.   ?    Karl Marx
   2.   ?    Emile Durkheim
   3.   ?    Michel Foucault
   4.   ?    Frederich Nietzsche
8. The three types of fundamentalist religions are:
   1.   ?    Evangelical, Baptist and Catholic
   2.   ?    Christian, Muslim and Jewish
   3.   ?    World Renouncer, World Transformer and World Conqueror
   4.   ?    World Conqueror, World Transformer, and World Leader
9. Who thought religion was the result of social alienation?
   1.   ?    Max Weber
   2.   ?    Karl Marx
   3.   ?    Emile Durkheim
   4.   ?    None of these
10. Steve Bruce’s definition of religion includes:
    1.   ?    Entities with powers of agency
    2.   ?    Impersonal powers or processes with moral purpose
    3.   ?    Connection to human affairs
    4.   ?    All of these
11. Who argues the importance of understanding religion in international affairs?
    1.   ?    Karl Marx
    2.   ?    Steve Bruce
    3.   ?    Ninian Smart
    4.   ?    Tony Curry
12. Which group did Durkheim think represented the most basic form of religious life?
    1.   ?    Australian Aborigines
    2.   ?    Canadian First Nations
    3.   ?    Americans
    4.   ?    Italians
13. Christian and Islamic fundamentalist groups have become:
    1.   ?    A significant political force
    2.   ?    Socially irrelevant
    3.   ?    Spiritually dangerous
    4.   ?    Internationally popular
14. Religion is:
    1.   ?    A sign of human weakness and inadequacy
    2.   ?    Invented by self-interested clergy
    3.   ?    A tool to make sense of human experience and consciousness
    4.   ?    Self-deception
15. Legal codes:
    1.   ?    Are entirely secular in origin
    2.   ?    Reflect religious beliefs
    3.   ?    Create religious beliefs
    4.   ?    None of these
16. A transcendent otherness is:
    1.   ?    A component of discourse
    2.   ?    A heart in a heartless world
    3.   ?    A sacred duty
    4.   ?    Associated with religion
17. Early sociologists believed that:
    1.   ?    Faith and religion would triumph over reason and science
    2.   ?    Reason and science would triumph over faith and religion
    3.   ?    Reason and science were indistinguishable from faith and religion
    4.   ?    Faith and religion would resemble reason and science
18. Most sociologists would agree that:
    1.   ?    Religion is an emancipatory endeavour
    2.   ?    Religion is in decline
    3.   ?    Religion is a symptom of Eurocentrism
    4.   ?    Religion is a tool of social control and cohesion
19. Jonathan Sacks argues that religion:
    1.   ?    Is increasingly private
    2.   ?    Is a vehicle for fundamentalism
    3.   ?    Is technologically mediated
    4.   ?    is no longer a voice of conscience
20. Religious revival is both:
    1.   ?    Dependent on technology and credulity
    2.   ?    Humanist and progressive
    3.   ?    Part of the modern world and its opposition
    4.   ?    None of the above