REL 352: World Religions Final Exam

What are the three Abrahamic religions?

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Why are the Abrahamic religions called "peoples of the Book"?

Because each faith centers on written divine revelation

What patriarch do the three Abrahamic religions share?

Abraham

What is the sacred text of Judaism?

The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)

What is the sacred text of Christianity?

The Old Testament + New Testament (the Bible)

What is the sacred text of Islam?

The Qur'an

How does Islam view the Torah and Gospels?

It acknowledges them but considers them altered over time; the Qur'an is the final, uncorrupted revelation

What does "creation ex nihilo" mean?

Creation out of nothing; God created the universe from nothing

What is the Shema?

The central Jewish declaration of faith: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deut 6:4)

What is the Jewish covenant with Abraham?

A mutual agreement where God promises many nations from Abraham's descendants in exchange for obedience

What is the covenant line in Judaism?

Abraham → Isaac → Jacob/Israel → twelve tribes

What physical sign marks the Abrahamic covenant?

Circumcision, performed on the 8th day after birth

What event shaped the Jewish calendar before the monarchy?

The Exodus — Moses leading Israel out of slavery in Egypt

What did God give Moses at Mount Sinai?

The Torah, including the Ten Commandments on stone tablets

What are the Ten Commandments (list them)?

1) No other gods, 2) No graven images, 3) Don't take God's name in vain, 4) Keep Sabbath holy, 5) Honor parents, 6) No murder, 7) No adultery, 8) No stealing, 9) No false witness, 10) No coveting

What happened to Jewish religious life after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE?

Temple sacrifice became impossible; Jewish life was reshaped around prayer, study, and Law observance

What replaced animal sacrifice in post-Temple Judaism?

Liturgical prayer and ethical behavior

Who are the Pharisees and what was their legacy?

A Jewish sect that applied Torah to daily life; the rabbinic Judaism tradition descends from them

What is the Mishnah?

The codification of Jewish oral law compiled by Judah the Prince around 200 CE

What is the Talmud?

The Mishnah combined with later rabbinic commentary (Gemara); exists in Jerusalem (~400 CE) and Babylonian (~500 CE) versions

Which version of the Talmud is dominant?

The Babylonian Talmud

What is the Midrash?

The rabbinic process of interpreting scripture, yielding legal rulings (halakhah) and non-legal teachings (haggadah)

What is halakhah?

Jewish religious law derived from the Torah and rabbinic interpretation

What is Maimonides known for?

The greatest medieval Jewish thinker; synthesized reason and faith in "Guide of the Perplexed" (1135–1204)

What was the Maccabean Revolt?

A Jewish rebellion against Antiochus IV's attempt to impose Hellenistic culture; achieved independence in 164 BCE; celebrated by Hanukkah

What were the three major Jewish sects during the Second Temple period?

Sadducees (priestly conservatives), Pharisees (applied Torah to daily life), Essenes (ascetic, possibly linked to Dead Sea Scrolls)

What are the 613 mitzvot?

The commandments in rabbinic tradition covering all aspects of life — ethical, ritual, civil, dietary, and criminal

What is the Noahide Code?

Seven universal moral principles from Genesis that apply to all humanity, not just Jews

What are the major branches of contemporary Judaism?

Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionism (plus secular Jews)

What distinguishes Orthodox Judaism?

Holds Torah and Talmud as binding divine law; halakhah governs all of life

What distinguishes Reform Judaism?

Adapts Judaism to modernity; gender equality; interfaith engagement; removed references to personal Messiah and return to Zion

What is Reconstructionism?

Founded by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan; views Judaism as an evolving civilization; rejected the concept of chosenness

What is Zionism?

The movement to establish a Jewish state; led by Theodor Herzl (1860–1904)

What is the Law of Return (1950)?

Israeli law granting any Jew automatic citizenship in Israel

What is the Shabbat?

The Jewish Sabbath, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset; a day of rest with no work permitted

What is Yom Kippur?

The Jewish Day of Atonement; observed through fasting, confession, and asking forgiveness

What is Rosh Hashanah?

The Jewish New Year; the shofar is blown and spiritual renewal is emphasized

What is Passover (Pesach)?

A holiday commemorating liberation from Egypt; observed with a Seder dinner featuring matzah, bitter herbs, charoset, and salt water

What is Hanukkah?

The Feast of Dedication; 8 nights celebrating the Maccabean victory and miracle of oil in the Temple

What is Tisha Be-Av?

A day of mourning for the destruction of both the First and Second Temples

What are kosher dietary laws?

Rules permitting only certain animals (cloven hooves + cud-chewing), prohibiting shellfish, and forbidding mixing meat and milk

What is a Bar/Bat Mitzvah?

Coming-of-age ceremony; Bar Mitzvah at age 13 for boys; Bat Mitzvah for girls in non-Orthodox congregations

What is tikkun olam?

Hebrew for "repairing the world"; a concept in Jewish ethics and Kabbalah emphasizing human responsibility to improve the world

What is Kabbalah?

Jewish mystical tradition; the Zohar is its most important text

What is Hasidism?

An 18th-century Jewish movement founded by Baal Shem Tov emphasizing joyful piety, ecstatic prayer, and finding God everywhere

What is the Holocaust?

The murder of approximately 6 million European Jews by Nazi Germany during WWII

Who was Jesus of Nazareth?

A 1st-century Jewish teacher and healer whose followers came to believe he was the Messiah and rose from the dead; the founder of Christianity

What is the core conviction of Christian faith?

That Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion

What is the Trinity?

The Christian doctrine that God is one being in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

What does "Incarnation" mean in Christianity?

God taking on human flesh in the person of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary — fully God and fully human

What is the Nicene Creed?

A formal statement of Christian faith produced at the Council of Nicaea (325 CE); affirms Jesus as both fully God and fully human

What is the Apostles' Creed?

An early Christian statement of faith that began as baptismal questions around 150 CE; accepted by Catholics and most Protestants

What are the four canonical Gospels?

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — written approximately 65–100 CE

Who was Paul and why was he significant?

An apostle largely responsible for spreading belief in Jesus beyond the Jewish world; taught salvation through faith, not law

What is the New Testament?

The 27 books of early Christian scripture; includes four Gospels, Paul's letters, Acts, other epistles, and Revelation

What is the Septuagint?

The Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures adopted by early Christians as their Old Testament

What are the Deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha)?

Extra texts in the Septuagint accepted by Catholics and Orthodox but excluded from Protestant Bibles

What caused the Great Schism of 1054 CE?

Long-rising disagreements between Rome and Constantinople, splitting Christianity into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches

What is the Filioque controversy?

The dispute over whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (Orthodox) or from the Father "and the Son" (Catholic/Protestant)

What triggered the Protestant Reformation?

Martin Luther's publication of the 95 Theses on October 31, 1517, protesting clergy corruption and abuse

What is the key principle of Protestantism?

Private interpretation of Scripture — every believer has the right to interpret the Bible for themselves

Who were major figures of the Protestant Reformation besides Luther?

John Calvin, William Tyndale, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Knox

What do Catholics and Eastern Orthodox share that most Protestants reject?

Apostolic succession — an unbroken line of bishops tracing back to the apostles

What is the Eucharist/Mass?

The Christian sacrament in which bread and wine are consecrated; Catholics and Orthodox believe they become the actual Body and Blood of Christ

What does "Islam" mean?

"Submission" — submission to the will of God (Allah)

Who is Muhammad?

The founder of Islam (c. 570–632 CE); regarded as the final prophet, the "Seal of the Prophets"

What is the Hijra?

Muhammad's forced migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE; marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar

What is the Qur'an?

Islam's sacred text; believed to be the literal word of God in Arabic; compiled after Muhammad's death; contains 114 surahs (chapters)

What are the Five Pillars of Islam?

1) Shahada, 2) Salat, 3) Zakat, 4) Sawm, 5) Hajj

What is the Shahada?

The Islamic profession of faith: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God"

What is Salat?

The Islamic requirement of five daily prayers (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, after dark)

What is Zakat?

The Islamic requirement to give approximately 2.5% of annual accumulated wealth to the poor

What is Sawm?

Fasting during daylight hours throughout the month of Ramadan

What is Hajj?

The pilgrimage to Mecca required at least once in a lifetime for those physically and financially able

What is Tawhid?

The Islamic doctrine of the absolute oneness of God; no plurality of persons within God

What are the Six Core Beliefs of Islam?

1) Oneness of God (Tawhid), 2) Angels, 3) Divine Revelation, 4) Prophets and Messengers, 5) Day of Judgment, 6) Divine Decree

How does Islam view Jesus?

As a great prophet and fully human; rejects the Trinity, the Crucifixion, and the claim that Jesus is the Son of God

What caused the Sunni–Shi'a split?

Disagreement over who should succeed Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community

What do Sunnis believe about succession?

That the successor should be chosen by consensus; they accept the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali)

What do Shi'a believe about succession?

That only descendants of Muhammad's family could rightfully lead; they regard Ali as the first rightful caliph

What is Sufism?

A mystical inner tradition within Islam emphasizing personal experience of God, asceticism, and love; exists within both Sunni and Shi'a contexts

Who was Rabi'a?

An early Sufi mystic (c. 713–801) who emphasized disinterested love for God with no hope for paradise or fear of hell

What is fana?

The Sufi ideal of total annihilation of the self in God

What is dhikr?

The central Sufi practice of "remembrance" — continually repeating "la ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but God) to draw closer to the divine

Who was Rumi?

A 13th-century Sufi poet and mystic who founded the Mevlevi Dervish Order, famous for the "Whirling Dervishes"

What is al-Ghazali's significance?

A Sunni theologian who combined orthodox Muslim theology with Sufism, helping to legitimize mysticism within mainstream Islam

What is the difference between a cult and a sect (academic use)?

A cult is a distinct break from other traditions; a sect is a splinter group from a larger tradition

What is a New Religious Movement (NRM)?

The preferred neutral academic term for groups commonly called cults or sects

What are the three types of cults (Stark & Bainbridge)?

Audience cult (flexible, no conversion required), client cult (offers a service), and cult movement (requires full conversion)

What is charismatic leadership in NRMs?

Leadership based on a founder's personal authority; after the founder dies, groups that survive typically institutionalize that authority

What are the four standard works (scriptures) of the LDS/Mormon church?

The Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price

What is a key criticism of Joseph Smith's "translation" of the Book of Abraham?

Egyptologists find that his translation does not match the actual Egyptian papyri text

How do Jehovah's Witnesses set their doctrine?

Through the Governing Body (currently 7 men), whose teachings are published in The Watchtower and considered spiritually authoritative

What is syncretism?

Mixing beliefs and practices from more than one religion into a new one

What is Caodaism?

A Vietnamese syncretic religion (founded 1926) blending Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and indigenous Vietnamese religion

What is Santeria?

A Caribbean/Latin American blend of West African religions and Catholicism with approximately 100 million practitioners

What is the Baha'i Faith?

A universalist religion believing in one God as the foundation of all religions; 5 million followers in 233 countries; no priesthood

What are the three responses to religious pluralism (Diana Eck)?

Exclusivism (only our way is true), Inclusivism (our religion encompasses all others), Pluralism (hold your faith while genuinely engaging others)

What is fundamentalism in the context of religion?

A movement that rejects modernism (individualism, relativism) and seeks to fight back culturally and politically, often asserting religious exclusivity

What is deviance amplification?

The phenomenon where groups that feel threatened from the outside may turn violent or suicidal