Th110 Fall 1/2022
Midterm Open Book Exam
DUE to me via email
Directions: Answer all of the following questions. This exam is open book/notes but you are not to copy and paste or simply copy. Compose your answers using your own words. Do this exam by yourself; do not collaborate.
Compose your answers in an email and send them to me at cmurphy@saintpeters.edu. Make sure your name and the word “midterm” are in the subject heading of your email. THE EXAM IS DUE AT 11PM ON October 9th.
This exam is worth 20 points. The first four questions are worth 3 points each; questions five and six are worth 4 points each, making the total 20 points. Your grade will be posted in the My Grades section of Blackboard.
(1.) All religious traditions have a “story” – whether you believe in that particular religion or not dictates whether the story is real or not for you. Why do you think that myths persist in our modern society? What function do they serve?
(2.) Discuss the role of the shaman in the Native American AND any other religious tradition.
(3.) Name three well-known Hindu deities. Give me two pieces of information about each, and also tell me the specific role they play in the Hindu religion.
(4.) How/why did the caste system develop in India, and what are its religious roots? Then explain this phrase: “If you do your dharma, you get good karma.”
(5.) Give me two reasons why the Neolithic period allowed for the development of “religion”. Then, using any religion that you are familiar with (your own or something you have read about for this course), select any three of the common features of primitive religions I presented in the notes, and tell me where they show up in current religious practices.
(6.) Show me how the three main teachings of the Buddha (Four Noble Truths, Middle Way, Eightfold Path) blend together fluidly in specific Buddhist practices.
