Key Terms:

Gospel; Common Era; Messiah; Trinity; baptism, Eucharist; confirmation; original sin

Please use the following questions as you prepare for exams. You may find some questions especially helpful in distinguishing different branches of religious traditions. These questions along with the key terms listed above (the definitions are in the glossary, the text, or the end of each chapter) will be the basis for the exams in the course.

            Regard the answers found below as a mere beginning. Please read further in the text for additional material on each question.

            NOTE: The first set of page numbers refers to the 6th edition of Fisher, Living Religions. The second set (in italics) refers to the 5th edition. 

ETHICS

1. What are the basic myths or origin stories (cosmogony) associated with the

religion?

      Same as Judaism; Christianity born in response to Roman colonialism

298  287 (288) Common Era (CE), dated by the traditional birth year of Jesus. 

2. What virtues does the religion advocate?

      Augustinian: Temperance, Courage, Wisdom, Justice, Faith, Hope, Charity

306 294 (295) Beatitudes

318.15 306.14 (307.6) Agape

3. Does the religion prescribe a way to enlightenment or salvation? If so, what

does it call this state?

      Mainstream Augustinian: heaven

4. Does the religion hold that everyone or only some people can attain

enlightenment or salvation?

      Mainstream Augustinian: only some, the righteous

5. Does the religion hold that clerics belong to a higher moral or spiritual order

than lay people?

      Yes. Priests are "ontologically different"

POLITICAL

7. What are the major political divisions of the religion?

In Christianity the major divisions are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism and Protestantism.

8. Does the religion have a central authority that determines orthodox beliefs?

330  319 (319) Varies with the denomination. Roman Catholicism has the Pope.

 9. Has the religion at any point in its history accepted the status of an official

state religion?

      Yes, in the Eastern, Roman, and Anglican traditions.

317.10 305.10 (305.25) Constantine declared an official tolerance of Christianity alongside the state cult, of which he was the chief priest.

10. Does the religion advocate a just war?

            Augustine presents criteria for a just war; Aquinas insists that all the criteria be satisfied before a war can be declared just.

11. Does the religion accept spiritual leaders--such as ordained clergy, shamans, and the like?

      Yes, priests.

12. Does the religion take a position on class division in society?
    Augustinian Christianity accepts it.
303.12 293.12 (294.7) "His [Jesus'] was a radically egalitarian vision." (p. 294.7)  Beatitudes.

13. What is the role of women in the religion?

269.10   356.1  (354.12) Feminist theology. In Roman Catholicism, women are not permitted to be ordained as priests. The Gnostic gospels described a more prominent place that women played in early Christianity, including the role of apostles of Jesus. Several Protestant denominations have ordained women as ministers.

14. Does the religion permit a married clergy?
    Eastern, Anglican and Protestant yes; Roman no.

15. Has the religion increased or decreased in numbers during the past century?

      Increased in the U.S. 

16. Is social justice or personal salvation a goal of the religion? If so, which receives the greater emphasis?
    Augustinian Christianity: personal salvation; Liberal Christianity: social justice.

METAPHYSICAL

17. Does the religion accept a belief in a soul, spirit, or the like?

      Mainstream Augustinian: yes; some branches of Protestantism: metaphor

18. Does the religion hold there is one God (monotheism), many gods (polytheism), or

no god (nontheism)?

Monotheism: One God with Three Persons, Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit`

319.15 307.12 (307.29) Trinity

 20. Does the religion hold that God is something to strive for?

      Some talk about the "imitation of Christ"

 22. What position does the religion take on the question of belief in an afterlife

or immortality--such as heaven, hell, and reincarnation?

      Mainstream Augustinian: accepts heaven and hell, but not reincarnation

319.5 307.5  (307.24) Fervent belief in heaven and hell in early Christianity, but the fervent belief waned in later centuries when the emphasis was given to the judgment passed on a person’s life when he or she died.

23. Does the religion accept that the ultimate reality is (or could be) female?

      Parts of Eastern Orthodox elevate Sophia to divine status

330.7-11 317.26, 343-345   (318.16, 343-344) Devotion to Mary

INSTITUTIONAL

24. Does the religion regard a particular locale (land, city, and so forth) as holy or sacred?

    The Holy Land

25. Does the religion have special places or locations for worship?

    Chapels, Churches, Cathedrals, and Basilicas

26. What are the religion's major holy days or festivals?

351-353 339-341 (338-341) In addition to Sunday there are 10 other days of obligation in Roman Catholicism:

1. The Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas)

2. The Epiphany (Jan. 6.)

3. The Ascension (40 days after Easter)

4. The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

5. Holy Mary, the Mother of God (octave day of Christmas, Jan. 1)

6. The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8)

7. The Assumption (Aug. 15)

8. St. Joseph (March 19)

9. Ss. Peter and Paul (June 29)

10. All Saints (Nov. 1)

27. What are the basic doctrines of the religion?

312.16 301.15-302.10 (302.4-303.4)  Resurrection of Jesus

320.8 308.16 Nicene Creed  (309.1-8 Old Roman Creed)

345-347 332-334 (332-335)

Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and his Church

306 294 (295) Beatitudes

309.1 297.26 (298.24) Jesus as Messiah

341.20 329.13  (329.1) original sin

29. What are the major texts or sacred documents?

295-298  284-287  (286-287)  The Old and New Testaments of the Bible

297.8  285.25 (284.20) Gospels

30. What attitude does the religion advocate toward other religions? Is it exclusivist or universalist?

               Mainstream Augustinian Christianity: exclusivist.

31. What is the nature of the service, ceremonies, or worship (format, participation of congregation)?
347.4 336.1  (335.24) Eucharist (Mass or communion service)

347.15 336.1-336.8 Worship

32. Who is regarded as the founder of the religion?
298-313  287-302  (288-303) Jesus Christ; Paul the Apostle

What is the role of women in the religion? Has the role changed over the years?
369  356 (354) Secondary

33. Does the religion actively seek converts through missionary activity?
361  349 (347) Yes

EXPERIENTIAL:

34. What is the religion’s position on prayer, meditation, chants and dance?

35. What are some individual practices—such as confession?

347-358  334-339 (335-338) Sacraments: 325.23 baptism, 338.20 confirmation, matrimony,

337.25  325.24 eucharist, ordination, penance, anointing of the sick

36. What are the religion’s attitudes toward healing and health—such as laying on of hands, “faith healing,” and the like?
            The Sacrament of Healing includes anointing of the sick. Some sects have claimed a high rate of success in offering religion as an alternative to addictive substances. The role of community support in healing—both mental and physical—has been well documented.

38. Is the religion critical of lack of religion--of secularism, for example?
    Augustine and Aquinas outline just war criteria as deterrents to war.

39. What is the role of sacrifice in the religion?

       Mass is considered a sacrifice, a ratification of the Covenant (the New Covenant) with God.