Appendix and Further Reading
Summary by James R. Martin, Ph.D., CMA
Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida
Relgious Literacy Main Page
Religious Literacy Quiz, Answers, and Grading
The following is a quiz the author has given to his Boston University classes on "Death and Immortality."
1. Name the four Gospels. List as many as you can. (1 point each)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
2. Name a sacred text of Hinduism. (1 point)
Possibilities include: the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Sutras, Laws of Manu, and the Kama Sutra.
3. What is the name of the holy book of Islam? (1 point)
Quran
4. Where according to the Bible was Jesus born? (1 point)
Bethlehem
5. President George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking? (1 point)
The Good Samaritan
6. What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament? (1 point each)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
7. What is the Golden Rule? (1 point)
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12), or Love they neighbor as yourself (Confucius or Rabbi Hillel)
8. "God helps those who help themselves": Is this in the Bible? If so where? (2 points)
No, this is not in the Bible and is contradicted in Proverbs 28:26.
9. "Blessed are the poor in sprit, for their is the kingdom of God": Does this appear in the Bible? If so, where? (2 points)
Yes, in the Beatitudes of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3)
10. Name the Ten Commandments. List as many as you can. (10 points)
The Protestant, Chatholic, and Jewish versions are different. Any 10 of the following 12 provides a correct answer.
I the Lord am you God who brough you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make yourself a graven image.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill/murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
11. Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. (4 points)
Life is suffering
Suffering has an origin
Suffering can be overcome
The path to overcoming suffering is the Noble Eighfold Path.
12. What are the seven sacraments of Catholicism? List as many as you can. (7 points)
Baptism
Eucharist/Mass/Holy Communion
Reconciliation/Confession/Penance
Confirmation
Marriage
Holy Orders
Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites
13. The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own "clause." What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment? (1 point each)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The word before the comma are referred to as the establishment clause. The words after the comma constitute the free exercise clause.
14. What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated? (2 points)
Ramadan is a Muslim holiday characterized by a month of fasting.
15. Match the Bible characters with the stories in which they appear. Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vice versa. (7 points)
The World Religions
Smith, H. 1991. The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. HarperSanFrancisco. Orginally published as The Religious Man.
Christianity
Frankiel, S. S. 1985. Christainity: A Way of Salvation. HarperSanFrancisco.
Lewis, C. S. 2001. Mere Christianity. HarperSanFrancisco.
Islam
Ernst, C. W. 2004. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. University of North Carolina Press.
Sells, M. 1999. Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations. White Cloud Press.
Smith, J. 1999. Islam in America. Columbia University Press.
Judaism
Fishbane, M. 1987. Judaism: Revelation and Traditions. HarperSanFrancisco.
Diner, H. R. 1999. Jews in America. Oxford University Press.
Buddhism
Rahula, W. 1974. What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press.
Lopez, D. S. Jr. 2001. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teachings. HarperSanFrancisco.
Seager, R. 1999. Buddhism in America. Columbia University Press.
Hinduism
Viswanathan, E. 1992. Am I a Hindu? The Hinduism Primer. Halo Books.
Flood, G. 1996. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
Mann, G. S., P. D. Numrich and R. B. Williams. 2002. Buddhist, Hindus, and Skhs in America. Oxford University Press.
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Related summaries:
Dawkins, R. 2008. The God Delusion. A Mariner Book, Houghton Mifflin Company. (Summary).
Martin, J. R. Not dated. Religious Affiliations Surveys 1972-2018 (Summary).
Martin, M. and K. Augustine. 2015. The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life After Death. Rowland & Littlefield Publishers. (Note and Contents).
Miller, E. L. 1992. Questions That Matter: An Invitation To Philosophy, Third Edition. McGraw-Hill, Inc. (Summary).
Shermer, M. and P. Linse. 2001. The Baloney Detection Kit. Altadena, CA: Millennium Press. Ten questions to ask when examining a claim. 1. How reliable is the source of the claim? 2. Does the source make similar claims. 3. Have the claims been verified by someone else? 4. Does this fit with the way the world works? 5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim? 6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point? 7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science? 8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence? 9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory. 10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim? baloney detection kit