Religious Studies (RS1) - Contemporary Ethical Issues » 2019 » Reading Quiz 1

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Question #1
The author of "Comparative Religious Ethics" discussing Religious Language uses the phrase "via negativa". What does he mean?
A.   Often Religious Language describes the divine not "what it is like" but "what it is not"
B.   It states that negative thinking can create bad karma
C.   Unfortunately, obscurity of Religious Language has created significant misfortune
D.   Religious Language often criticizes people too harshly for their shortcomings
Question #2
According to D. Fasching, how did the emergence of city civilizations affect the religious worldview?
A.   People lost their sense of "sameness" and "collective identity" with their tribe and death became a personal and cruel problem
B.   "City civilizations" created environmental crisis and people lost their religion and became more secular
C.   People became more individualistic and the "divine" became more democratic and available for all
D.   The author does not believe that "city civilizations" affected the religious worldview in any way
Question #3
In "Religion, Science and Ethics" the author's main point is:
A.   The author takes a balanced view and believes that religious experience, although not scientifically accurate, is an important contribution to human ethics and self-awareness.
B.   Religious claims are absolutely valid and should be taken seriously along with scientific discoveries
C.   Only scientific, provable and testable data is valid and religion should be disregarded as superstition
D.   Religions are usually outdated, superstitious and often hateful, therefore the only solution is to find the best religion which is accurate and valid
Question #4
In "Religion, Science and Ethics" the author mentions Chomsky's theory. What is it about?
A.   Morality, Ethics and the Concept of Language may be "built in" in humans which goes beyond science
B.   Children learn foreign languages much faster, because of certain chemicals in their brain
C.   Chomsky's theory is about human language being a non existent and meaningless thing, because it cannot be proven scientifically
D.   Religious Language has been developed throughout the human evolution
Question #5
John believes that morality depends on one's value system, culture etc. and there are no general, universal moral concepts.
A.   Idealist
B.   Supernaturalist
C.   Moral Objectivist
D.   Moral Subjectivist
Question #6
According to the textbook by "Gensler", Emotivism states that:
A.   Moral feelings are not scientific and therefore invalid and meaningless emotional expressions
B.   Ethical decision can also be based on one's "gut feeling"
C.   Motivation is the main driving force for morality
D.   Morality should be based on the "Divine Command" concept only
Question #7
Sandel, in his "The Greatest Happiness Principle" section argues that:
A.   Utilitarianism can be right if we consider its usefulness in the long run
B.   Utilitarianism cannot be right, because it creates serious ethical problems for "individual rights"
C.   "Usefulness for the majority" principle is perhaps the most reasonable ethical theory
D.   Each society should decide for itself what is right and what is wrong
Question #8
According to Sandel's "The Greatest Happiness Principle" chapter, what is the main difference between Bentham's and Mill's understanding of "pleasure" as the final goal for Utilitarianism?
A.   Bentham is a Supernaturalist but Mill is a Utilitarian
B.   Bentham's Utilitarianism believes pleasure is pleasure, but Mill thinks "higher pleasure" is the main goal
C.   Bentham thinks minority rights are equally important but Mill does not
D.   There is no difference, both of them agree on the "pleasure" concept similarly
Question #9
According to Sandel's "The Greatest Happiness Principle" chapter, the main point of the story entitled "The City of Happiness" is?
A.   If everyone thinks of the well-being of the majority we will have an ideal society
B.   We can never have an ideally happy society if happiness is at the expense of the suffering of a silent minority
C.   There is a constant battle between good and evil and good will eventually win
D.   Ideal society would be possible only if all citizens were genuinely religious

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