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:

Using the term as sociologists of religion have traditionally employed it, which of the following hypothetical religious movements would be best described as a sect?
a) A prophetic movement based on the belief that its founder had received secret teachings from extra-terrestrials.
b) A Christian splinter group that broke away from its parent congregation in order to adhere to stricter moral standards.
c) A relatively new Buddhist denomination based on a renewed commitment to social justice, which has between 500,000 and 1,000,000 adherents.
d) An Islamic revival movement with a charismatic leader and a utopian social program.

Question 2:

Which of the following is not one of the common features of a cult as outlined in your text?
a) A focus on scripture
b) Charismatic leadership
c) Claims of a new (or esoteric) revelation
d) Requirement of extreme loyalty

Question 3:

The name of the Soka Gakkai movement can literally be translated as ________.
a) the 'Association for Creating Values'
b) 'Wisdom and Compassion'
c) 'Truth League'
d) 'Champions of Justice'

Question 4:

Which of the following statements about the modern Soka Gakkai movement is false?
a) Soka Gakkai teachings often focus on the this-worldly benefits that can be obtained through mantra chanting.
b) The Soka Gakkai organization is unofficially affiliated with a relatively successful Japanese political party.
c) Nichiren Buddhism, from which Soka Gakkai is an offshoot, continues to affirm the value of Soka Gakkai teachings and practices.
d) Soka Gakkai adherents claim that its teachings will eventually lead to a human revolution that will transform society.

Question 5:

The name of the Falun Dafa movement can literally be translated as ________.
a) the 'End of Samsara'
b) 'Insight Meditation'
c) the 'Buddhist Freedom Coalition'
d) 'Energy of the Wheel of Law'

Question 6:

Falun Dafa meditation is based on three key principles, each of which is seen as one of the fundamental characteristics of the universe. Which of the following elements is not one of these three characteristics?
a) Simplicity
b) Forbearance
c) Truthfulness
d) Benevolence

Question 7:

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) (Hare Krishna Movement) centres its practice on devotion to which Hindu deity?
a) Vishnu
b) Shiva
c) Brahma
d) Ganesha

Question 8:

Which of the following is not common practice for all members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness?
a) Offering fire and food to images of Krishna and other important deities
b) Donating a portion of one’s income to support the temple
c) Taking a vow of celibacy
d) Cultivation of right mindfulness through the performance of everyday activities

Question 9:

The Book of Mormon (and the traditions surrounding it) makes a number of claims that reinterpret traditional Judeo-Christian doctrine. Which of the following is not one of them?
a) The ancestors of modern North American Aboriginal peoples were members of a (heretofore unknown) lost tribe of Israel.
b) Christ traveled to North America to visit the lost tribe after his crucifixion.
c) The annunciation (Mary’s impregnation through the power of God) was carried out by Moroni—the same angel who revealed the Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith.
d) Smith, the founder of the religion, translated the Book of Mormon from Reformed Egyptian using the power of sacred objects that were previously incorporated by Israelite high priests.

Question 10:

Which of the following is an accepted, mainstream practice for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
a) Plural marriage (polygyny)
b) Avoidance of stimulants
c) Enforced participation in missionary activity for a minimum of ten years
d) Worship of Joseph Smith

Question 11:

What is the name of the primary prophet revered by the world's Baha'i community?
a) Muhammad
b) Baha'u'llah
c) The Bab
d) Abbas Effendi

Question 12:

Which of the following represents a key tenet of the Baha'i faith?
a) Progressive revelation
b) The importance of inter-religious dialogue
c) Gender and racial equality
d) A and D
e) A, B, and D

Question 13:

In the early years of the Nation of Islam movement, Wallace D. Fard and Elijah Muhammad developed an idiosyncratic view of history that distinguished their movement from mainstream Christianity and Islam. Which of the following statements is not a component of their historical vision?
a) All humans were once black.
b) The original humans dwelt in peace and harmony as part of a tribe called Shabazz.
c) Black oppression began with the actions of Yakub, an evil man who created an offshoot white tribe by killing all dark-skinned babies.
d) Black oppression continued under Moses, who guided the evil white tribe in their continued mistreatment of the people of Shabazz.

Question 14:

Which influential leader in the Nation of Islam movement modified the movement's doctrines/practices by moving them away from the demonization of whites, renaming the temples masjids (from the Arabic, 'place of prostration'), and encouraging study of the Qur'an?
a) Wallace D. Fard
b) Malcolm X
c) Wallace Muhammad
d) Louis Farrakhan

Question 15:

Which of the following is not an important teaching advocated by adherents of Kabbalah?
a) Learning requires serious, committed study, as its teachings can only be appreciated rationally.
b) Practice can provide individuals with the tools necessary to achieve personal transformation and fulfillment.
c) Kabbalah is a culmination of spiritual wisdom, though one can practice it without abandoning previous belief systems.
d) Learning should be open to all people, regardless of age, race, or sex.

Question 16:

The Kabbalah Centre, in following the spiritual teachings laid out in the Zohar (and other Jewish mystical sources), makes various claims about God and the relationship between God and the human world. Which of the following claims about Kabbalistic theology is false?
a) God is present in all things, no matter how inconsequential they might seem.
b) Meditating upon the 72 names of God can yield secret insights into the nature of the Divine.
c) The eternally masculine God creates the world by interacting with a subordinate feminine principle.
d) Given God’s transcendence and ineffability, it is only through human effort that the Divine will can be enacted in the world.

Question 17:

The Kabbalah Centre's unique approach to the Jewish mystical tradition has been criticized in traditional Jewish circles for ________.
a) exploiting Kabbalistic teachings for worldly (material) gain
b) failing to restrict Kabbalistic instruction to mature Jewish males
c) accepting large donations from celebrities and other wealthy patrons
d) claiming that evil eventualities (such as the death of Jews in the Holocaust) can be attributed to their failure to follow Kabbalah teachings
e) All of the above.

Question 18:

Participation in which of the following New Religious Movements begins with the Act of Apostasy (the rejection of all theistic religion)?
a) Wicca
b) Scientology
c) The Raëlian Movement
d) New Age spirituality

Higher Education

World Religions: Western Traditions: Chapter 7