Spirituality and Religion Quiz

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Questions and Answers

Which psychedelic substance is derived from a cactus?

Psychedelic mushrooms

Peyote (correct)

Ergot

Cannabis

What is the primary belief of Spiritualist churches?

Rejection of reincarnation principles

Assessing spirits through guided meditation

Disruption of the afterlife balance

Achieving communication with spirits via mediumship (correct)

What do Syncretic religions typically combine?

Different indigenous languages

Indigenous and colonizing faiths (correct)

Ancient rituals with modern practices

Western beliefs with Eastern philosophies

Which theory of spirit possession involves the belief in actual spirit beings?

Emic theory Signup and view all the answers

In what type of Afro-Christian religion are Hougans and Mambos important mediators?

Vodun Signup and view all the answers

What controversial practice is associated with Santeria?

Animal sacrifices Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following experiences is commonly associated with possession phenomena?

Physical transformations and memory loss Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following correctly identifies the practitioners of Candomble?

Umbandistas Signup and view all the answers

Who is the founder associated with Ras Tafari beliefs?

Marcus Garvey Signup and view all the answers

What does the prophecy within the Ras Tafari belief system state?

A king will be crowned in the East. Signup and view all the answers

What term describes a deliberate effort to create a more satisfying culture in the face of colonialism?

Revitalization movement Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of revitalization movements?

Syncretistic Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary belief of the Ghost Dance movement?

To revive ancestors and buffalo herds. Signup and view all the answers

What substance is connected to the Ras Tafari ritual of 'Reasoning'?

Ganja/hemp Signup and view all the answers

What toxin is associated with the zombis phenomenon as described by Wade Davis?

Tetrodotoxin Signup and view all the answers

What event marked the end of the Ghost Dance movement?

The Massacre at Wounded Knee Signup and view all the answers

What is considered the significance of the Glastonbury area?

It is where King Arthur was believed to be buried. Signup and view all the answers

What is a totem in the context of totemism?

An animal symbol representing a clan's ancestor. Signup and view all the answers

What does taboo refer to in the content provided?

A forbidden action or association. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about Hindu caste is true?

Each caste guides lifestyle choices, including dietary restrictions. Signup and view all the answers

What does the Decalogue represent?

The Ten Commandments followed by the Israelites. Signup and view all the answers

What happens during Carnival before Ash Wednesday?

It is the last chance to eat meat before Lent. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of religion and the state, what is a theocracy?

A system where religion equals law. Signup and view all the answers

What animal is particularly sacred in Hinduism, as per its dietary restrictions?

Cow Signup and view all the answers

Which brainwave state is associated with deep sleep and unconsciousness?

Delta Signup and view all the answers

What term describes the state between sleep and wakefulness?

Hypnagogic state Signup and view all the answers

Which hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logical and analytical thinking?

Left hemisphere Signup and view all the answers

What device was developed to stimulate the temporal lobes and evoke altered states of consciousness?

God Helmet Signup and view all the answers

Which type of altered state of consciousness involves feelings of disassociation?

Spirit possession Signup and view all the answers

Who is credited with renaming Mesmer's technique to 'hypnoticism'?

Jean-Martin Charcot Signup and view all the answers

What are entheogens traditionally used for?

Ritualistic religious purposes Signup and view all the answers

Which brain structure is known as the 'seat of consciousness'?

Reticular Formation Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following roles does a shaman perform?

Healer Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary belief that relates to serpent handling in the Holiness-Pentecostal churches?

Faith leading to safety Signup and view all the answers

What significant event did the Zapatista Revolt represent?

A possible Mayan revitalization Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a role attributed to shamans?

Historian Signup and view all the answers

What does the 'World Tree' symbolize in shamanism?

Link between the material and spirit worlds Signup and view all the answers

Which historical context influenced the beliefs surrounding Christianity during its development?

Opposition to Hellenism and Roman occupation Signup and view all the answers

Who is Carlos Castaneda, and what is his significance to shamanism?

An author who introduced Westerners to shamanism Signup and view all the answers

What did Mircea Eliade claim about the origin of shamanism?

It started 100,000 years ago in Siberia Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes a secular state?

Religion and state are separate. Signup and view all the answers

What is a defining feature of an atheist state?

Religion is illegal. Signup and view all the answers

What does the Scopes Monkey Trial signify in American history?

The trial of a teacher for teaching evolution. Signup and view all the answers

Which religion emphasizes karma and dharma as central concepts?

Hinduism Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of Confucianism?

Social harmony and filial piety. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the 5 pillars of Islam?

They outline central acts of worship and belief. Signup and view all the answers

Zen Buddhism is characterized by what method of learning?

Through paradox and experience. Signup and view all the answers

The Sacred Heart movement aimed to achieve which of the following?

A Catholic theocracy under the pope's rule. Signup and view all the answers

Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Altered States of Consciousness

Brainwave states:
- Beta: Waking, consciousness
- Alpha: Daydreaming, light trance
- Theta: REM dreaming, deep trance
- Delta: Deep sleep, unconscious
- REMINDER: BAT-D!
Types of altered states of consciousness (ASC):
- Hypnagogic: State between sleep and wake
- Hallucinogenic: Psychedelic states induced by drugs -REMINDER: “Hallucinate”
- Spirit possession: Instills feelings of disassociation
- Hypnotic trance: Hypnosis/trance/mesmerism
- REM dreaming: Lucid dreaming can occur
Brain structures:
- Left hemisphere: Logical, analytic; linear thinking; sequential time experience
  - Controls the right side of the body
- Right hemisphere: Intuitive, emotional; holistic thinking; spatial time experience
  - Controls the left side of the body; Is connected to ASC!

Other Information

Pineal gland: Front of the brain, releases melatonin, "the 3rd eye"
Reticular Formation: Top of the spine, governs sleep and waking, "seat of consciousness"
Temporal lobes: Above the ears; stimulating causes visions and feelings of sensed presence/ASC
Hypnosis: The state of putting someone in a trance; originally called mesmerism after Franz Anton Mesmer (later proven a fraud)
The God Helmet: Brain stimulation evoking religious experiences using magnetic fields to stimulate temporal lobes.
Doors of Perception: Book by Aldous Huxley about experiments with mescaline.

Enheogens

Entheogen: Plants ritually consumed for religious purposes; believed to contain divine life force or energy.
- Ayahuasca: 2 plants; Used by Amazonian shamans in Santo Daime (Brazil)
- Peyote: A cactus containing mescaline; Used by Native American churches
- Ergot: Brain fungus; Consumed in a ritual in Eleusis. Believed to cause visions when eaten infected.
- Fly agaric: Mushroom; Used by the Tungus Shamans of Siberia, Wasson's “Soma of the Aryans,” and Viking berserkers
- Cannabis: Hemp/hashish; Used by the medieval Assassins (hashisheen) and OG Rastafari

Syncretism

Syncretism: A hybrid religion that combines two earlier religions, often of an indigenous group and a colonizing faith (e.g., African x Christian).
Syncretic religions greatly influenced by Western European spiritualism
Spiritualism: Began with the Fox sisters' table-rappings in 1848.
- Believe in progressive afterlife and contact with spirits through mediums
- Believe in reincarnation and several levels of spiritual existence

Spirit Possession

Widespread practices: Ouija boards, automatic writing, and table séances
Theories of spirit possession:
- Emic theory: Possession involves actual spirit beings
- Theatric theory: Possession is a performance art
- Dissociation theory: A temporary displacement of ego
- Rhythmic drumming and singing can lead to trance states—possessed people may report memory loss or changes in appearance and potential

Afro-Christian Religions

Vodun: French slaves in Haiti
- Practitioners: Hougans and mambos
- Shrines: The peristyle
- Mediators: Lwa, Legba
- Controversies: Are zombies real?
Santeria: Cuban slaves
- Practitioners: Santeros, Babalaos
- Shrines: Altars in homes or botanicas
- Mediators: Orisha, Chango, and Yemaya
- Controversies: Animal sacrifices
Candomble: Brazilian slaves
- Practitioners: Umbandistas
- Shrines: Altars in homes
- Mediators: Ogoun (St. Peter), Oloddua (St. Anthony)
- Controversies: "Surgeon of the Rusty Knife"

Ras Tafari

Founder: Marcus Garvey in 1930s Jamaica
Sacred text: The Holy Piny
Prophecy: “A king will be crowned in the East and then your house of redemption is at hand.”

Revitalization Movements

Revitalization movement: A deliberate, organized, conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture that is usually found in cultures suffering from European colonization. These movements aim to expel new influences and restore authentic cultural traditions—it can be either secular or religious.
Characteristics of revitalization movements:
- Nativist and nationalist
- Millenarian and apocalyptic
- Messianic
- Prophetic
- Syncretistic
- Reactionary or traditionalist
- Anti-colonial
- Non-progressive; focused on the past
Examples of revitalization movements:
- Ghost dance: Jack Wilson and Paiute Indians (19th-century Plain Indians), rituals included dancing, chanting, and wearing ghost shirts. Beliefs included reviving buffalo herds and ancestors.
- Cargo cults: Post-WWII Pacific Melanesians, used statues to compel cargo. Beliefs were attacking colonial powers for holding back cargo.

Serpent Handlers

Practitioners in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Oklahoma (the “Bible Belt Buckle” states)
Rituals: Handling poisonous snakes and drinking strychnine
Beliefs: “By faith, you will be saved” (Fundamentalist Protestant); The Garden of Eden and the snake

Zapatista Revolt

An uprising that occurred in Chiapas, Mexico in 1994. Called a secular Mayan revitalization movement. Some say it might have been rooted in earlier movements such as The Caste War or The War of The Talking Crosses.

Christianity

During Christ’s time, Judean institutions were distributed and crumbling, so they wanted to “purify the land” by driving out Hellenism and Roman occupation.
Zealots of Masada: Confrontation! Guerilla warfare!
Essenes: Withdraw from the corrupt! Rebuild ourselves!
REMINDER—Two C's (Caste War + Talking Crosses)

Shamanism

Shaman: Master of the spirits (from Tungus [Saaman])
Roles:
- Diviner: Finder of lost souls
- Healer: Sucks evil "spirit darts"
- Judge: Sorts out village disputes
- Prophet: Visionary of the future
- Medium: Communicated between material and spirit worlds
Eliade: Master of the archaic techniques of ecstasy. Shamanism began 100,000 years ago in Siberia, experimenting with fly agaric

Witchcraft

Evil eye: A certain gaze/power (mainly possessed by witches) that can cause misfortune, curses, or hexes.
Mobility hypothesis: Accumulation of private property + inheritance = women viewed as interfering + intensifying witchcraft accusations
Malleus Maleficarum: Book published causing death to millions of women; it warned that witches had intercourse with the devil

Other

Sun dance: A ritual by Native Americans around the summer solstice. Entails a 4-day dance and entering a trance state.
Devil's Tower: A small mountain in Wyoming where Native Americans held rituals.
Salem Witch hunts: Tituba, a black slave, taught local girls “root charms”, leading to witch hysteria in Massachusetts in the 1690s.
Wicca: Founded by Gerald Gardner; Beliefs include ecology, feminism, and a god/goddess duo. Practices include belonging to covens or groves, or being a solo practitioner.
Misunderstandings about Wicca: Horned god = antler-horned “Master of the Hunt,” Pentagram = symbol of the five elements, Threefold Law and Wiccan Rede = no harmful magic against others.
Rituals: A fixed sequence of actions (culturally & cyclically determined) that serve a purpose, like obtaining specific ends (also called praxis); Separates sacred time from secular time; Includes life cycle, calendrical, and funerary rituals

Types of Rituals:
- Temporal: Orienting of time (e.g., time, calendars)
- Spatial: Orienting of space
- Body: Physical transformation
- Fertility (both crops and people)
- Divination: Foretelling the future
- Healing: Curing sickness
- Taboos: Negative prohibitions
- Body alteration: Elongation, distortion
- Body painting: Tattooing
- Body marking: Branding, scarification
- Incision: Circumcision (both male and female)
- Clothing: Using costumes or headwear
- Fasting or Flesh mortification
- Sadomasochism: Boundaries of pleasure/pain

Liminality and Solstices & Equinoxes

Liminality (Van Gennep): The state of “social in-betweenness” that rituals help address and resolve (examples: quinceañera, marriage, funeral).
Solstices & equinoxes: They establish the 4 seasons based on astrological events, marked by rituals worldwide, e.g., Summer solstice: Longest day of the year.; Winter Solstice: Shortest day of the year; Fall & Spring equinoxes

Mayan Calendar

Mayan 2 Calendars:
- Halve: Similar to our 365-day one
- Solcan: Sacred calendar, 265 days long
Realigns every 52 years

Pilgrimages

Pilgrimage: Travelling to a sacred spot for purposes of devotion
Omphalos: A sacred stone in a region; represents the axis or center point of the world
Pilgrimage Sites:
- Santiago de Compostela (Spain), importance: a site where St. James’ bones were found
- Al Aqsa (Israel); Importance: A 3rd holiest place in Jerusalem (believed to have stood on the original temple mount)
- Glastonbury (England), Beliefs: Jesus visited, King Arthur buried there, Glastonbury Thorn, Chalice Well (site of the Holy Grail)

Totem and Taboo

Totem: Ancestor, person, or tribe; Meaning ancestor. Most were clan animal symbols believed to be the legendary ancestor of the clan
Manitou: A personal totem or guardian spirit, found through vision quests
Totemism: A clan animal believed to be the legendary ancestor of the clan. Example: Killing or eating this animal is forbidden
Taboo: A forbidden thing
- Prohibitions on action (food, clothing, objects, etc.)
- Prohibitions in association (marriage, intercourse, friendship, etc.)
Hinduism: You can’t switch castes. Dalits have lowest societal standing. Caste structure guides lifestyle.

Religion and the State

Theocracy: Religion = Law
- Islamic Rep. of Islam, Ancient Israel, Egyptian pharaoh, Japanese emperor, Medieval Europe.
Divine Kingship: Religious officials control a “divine” or “demigod” king.
Dual state: Religion and state = “separate but equal”
- Medieval Europe, U.S.
Secular state: Religion and state = separate
Atheist state: Religion = forbidden
- China, Old Soviet Union

Religion vs. The State (continued)

Fundamentalism: Religious writings are legitimate and inerrant. Mistakes aren't possible.
Modernism: Religious texts need not be interpreted literally because ideas change over time.
1st Amendment Clauses
- Establishment Clause: No state-sponsored church
- Free Exercise Clause: Freedom to practice any religion

Techgnosis

Techgnosis: The seeking of knowledge (gnosis) through technology
Techgnostic Religions:
- Extropians: Believe there is a force (extropy) opposed to entropy (self-organization) known as technology. Technology will reverse entropy and advance infinitely to help us evolve. They're transhumanist (i.e., transcend humanity) because they believe in tech innovations making us more than human or godlike.
- Raelians: UFO-based religion; Rael claimed he met aliens. They believe human cloning will lead to immortality. REMINDER: R-aliens
- Church of Scientology: Founded by L. Ron Hubbard. It's techgnostic because they monitor spiritual progress through an e-meter.

Miscellaneous

Christian Nationalism: Belief that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation, therefore our laws should be based upon the bible
Manifest Destiny: The belief that God chose the United States for a purpose.
Singularity (Ray Kurzweil): The idea that AI will become sentient and change human societies until they become unrecognizable
Dalai Lama: The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists
Clash of Civilizations (Samuel Huntington): Talks about the clash between civilizations including Islam and Western civilizations after 9/11

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Test your knowledge on various spirituality and religion topics, including psychedelic substances, beliefs of Spiritualist churches, and Afro-Christian practices. This quiz explores the intricate relationship between culture and religion through questions about syncretic religions and revitalization movements.