Free Culture and Society MCQs with Answers

• A. refers to hostile behaviors exhibited by someone who has been offended by a member of a group
• B. is an attitude of aversion and hostility toward the members of a group simply because they belong it
• C. cannot not exist in someone who does not discriminate
• D. is a feeling a minority individual has toward his or her own minority?

Explanation: Prejudice is a negative attitude or feeling directed at people simply because they belong to a particular group.

• A. racial or cultural self-consciousness
• B. hereditary membership
• C. oppression at the hands of a dominant group
• D. a high degree of marriage outside of the group (exogamy)

Explanation: Minority groups commonly show group consciousness, inherited membership and subordination by a dominant group.

• A. begins with the assumption that race is based on easily classified differences
• B. considers race a social construct not an absolute
• C. neither nor b
• D. both a and b

Explanation: Sociologists treat race as a social construction whose meanings and boundaries vary across societies and historical periods, not as an…

• A. is prevalent in industrial societies
• B. entails the notion of mana
• C. is centered upon the belief in powerful gods interested in human affairs
• D. is illustrated by Buddhism

Explanation: Simple supernaturalism involves belief in impersonal supernatural power, commonly illustrated by mana.

• A. religious culture
• B. religious economy
• C. religious ritual
• D. religious polityGet Study Guides

Explanation: The religious-economy approach treats religions as organizations competing in a market for followers, much like firms compete for…

• A. Finland
• B. Spain
• C. Ireland
• D. Greece

Explanation: Greece is predominantly Eastern Orthodox, reflecting the historical influence of the Greek Orthodox Church.

• A. cult
• B. denomination
• C. sect
• D. church

Explanation: A cult is typically a small, loosely organized and often temporary religious group centred on distinctive beliefs or a leader.

• A. the profound
• B. the profaneDiscover Faith Communities
• C. the profitable
• D. the profuse

Explanation: Durkheim distinguished the sacred, set apart and treated with reverence, from the profane, meaning ordinary everyday life.

• A. religious pluralism with many gods
• B. secularization against religion
• C. believing without belonging
• D. belonging without believing

Explanation: Grace Davie described Western Europeans as often believing in religious ideas while having little regular involvement with churches…

• A. manifest
• B. latent
• C. positive
• D. negative

Explanation: Defining the spiritual world and explaining the divine are intended, openly recognised functions of religion, so they are manifest…

• A. the increasing bureaucracy of the state has made religion only a marginal part of our lives
• B. despite the weakening of traditional authority our everyday lives and common sense remain shaped by religious beliefs and values
• C. religious participation in collective worship may have declined but people still practise their faiths in private
• D. people are much more likely to discuss their religious beliefs in public informal settingsTake Sociology Courses

Explanation: The shift to common religion means that formal religious authority may weaken while religious ideas and values continue to shape everyday…

• A. a church
• B. a sect
• C. a cult
• D. a denomination

Explanation: Cults are loosely organised groups that generally accept religious pluralism and coexist alongside other beliefs, whereas sects usually…

• A. animism
• B. totemism
• C. socialization
• D. religion

Explanation: Religion consists of socially organised beliefs and practices concerned with ultimate meanings, including the supernatural or a reality…

• A. a growing belief in literal interpretations of sacred texts
• B. traditional practices and modes of life have been revived but combined with concerns that relate specifically to modern times
• C. a uniquely political phenomenon associated with introducing Islamic principles into laws and government
• D. traditional practices and modes of life have been revived without any reference to recent historical events involving external non-Islam countries

Explanation: Contemporary Islamic revivalism combines renewed commitment to traditional practices with responses to modern political, social and global…

• A. Judaism
• B. Hinduism
• C. Islam
• D. Christianity

Explanation: Islam is the most recently established of these major world religions, emerging in seventh-century Arabia.

• A. religious beliefs associated with new age sects
• B. acceptance and use of violent means to transform secular societies
• C. commitment to the fundamental beliefs of charismatic leaders
• D. strict or literal adherence to basic religious principles and beliefs

Explanation: Religious fundamentalism stresses strict adherence to foundational beliefs, scriptures and practices, often through a literal…

• A. Islam
• B. Buddhism
• C. Judaism
• D. Hinduism

Explanation: Islam is Europe's largest non-Christian faith by adherent population, with especially large communities in countries such as France…

• A. Islam
• B. Confucianism
• C. Hinduism
• D. Buddhism

Explanation: Hinduism is generally regarded as the oldest surviving major world religion, with roots extending back more than 3,000 years and often…

• A. None of these
• B. Retired in isolation
• C. Honored but restrained
• D. Authority figures

Explanation: Confucian values in pre-Communist China gave older people high status as sources of wisdom, family authority and tradition.

• A. Achieved through effort
• B. Ascribed to use by society
• C. Both a and b
• D. None of these

Explanation: An ascribed status is assigned at birth or involuntarily by society, such as age, sex or family background, rather than earned through…