IV. This time you have to fill the blanks using the words in the box
polytheistic / magic / totemism / monotheistic / sect / shamans / Koran/ denomination / secularization / cult / religious movement / ritual / fundamentalism / animism
1. Religions most often involve symbols and __________ practices by the members, which invoke feelings of awe.
2._______________ is generally defined as the use of ritual practices to influence natural events.
3. Some small hunting and gathering societies have religious specialists, known as__________, who invoke supernatural forces through ritual. 4._________ is the attribution of supernatural powers to animals or plants, while___________ refers to a belief in the existence of spirits or ghosts.
5.Religions that uphold belief in a single god are__________________, while religions that believe in more than one god are_________________.
6.The Islamic scriptures are known, collectively, as the______________.
7.A________is a religious body, less organized than a church, which is called a__________after it is institutionalized; a transient religious organization that opposes the values of the larger society is often referred to as a ________________________.
8.An association of people who join together to spread a new religion or a new interpretation of an existing religion are part of a________________. 9.____________ is a term used to describe the process by which religious organizations lose their influence over various aspects of social life.
10.A loose label for a variety of viewpoints that emphasize a return to literal interpretations of scriptural texts is_________________________.
V. This time you have to read the sentences below and say whether they are true or false.
1.Most religions involve a belief in a single deity.
2.The boundary lines between religion and magic are clear.
3.Christianity began as a sect of Judaism.
4.Hinduism is the oldest of the major world religions, dating back six thousand years.
5.The ethical religions, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, are polytheistic.
6.Women have been excluded from power in virtually all the world's major religions.
30
7.Islam has undergone a major revival during the twentieth century.
8.Fundamentalist religions are particularly tolerant of beliefs other than their own.
VI. This time you have to translate the following Russian sentences into the English language
1. Три монотеистических религии, оказавшие наиболее сильное воздействие на историю человечества — это иудаизм, христианство и ислам. Все они возникли на Ближнем Востоке, и каждая из них оказала влияние на остальные.
2. Христианство возникло как секта внутри иудаизма.
3. Ислам исходит из учения пророка Мухаммеда и предполагает безусловное подчинение воле Аллаха.
4. Старейшей из всех великих религий, которые сохранили свое значение в современном мире, является индуизм, который сложился около шести тысяч лет тому назад.
5. Согласно учению Будды, человек может избежать дальнейшего цикла перевоплощений, отрекшись от всех земных желаний.
6. Конфуцианство добивается подчинения человеческой жизни законам внутренней природной гармонии, уделяя особое внимание почитанию предков.
7. Даосизм разделяет похожие принципы, подчеркивая важность медитаций и непротивления как способов достижения высшей ступени. в жизненном развитии.
8 Маркс разделял взгляд на религию как на свойственное людям самоотчуждение.
9.Дюркгейм дает определение религии, противопоставляя сакральное и мирское.
10.Вебер, в отличие от Маркса, подчеркивает, что религия взаимосвязана с социальными изменениями.
11.Дюркгейм настойчиво подчеркивает, что религия не представляет собой только набор верований.
12.Для любой религии характерны ритуалы и обряды, которые укрепляют солидарность членов социальных групп.
13.Вебер характеризует христианство как религию спасения, которая вызывает в среде верующих напряженность и эмоциональную динамику, отсутствующую в других религиях.
31
14.Культы подобны сектам, но они наиболее свободно организованы и отвергают ценности окружающего их мира.
15.Фундаментализм в широком смысле слова означает подчеркнутое внимание к буквальному следованию библейским текстам.
Study these rules
COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
To make the comparative and superlative of an adjective, we add ‘-er’ or ‘-est’.
Examples
high higher highest large larger largest
If the adjective has a short vowel and ends in one consonant, we double the consonant and add ‘-er’ or ‘-est’.
Example
big bigger the biggest
If the adjective has got two or more syllables, we put ‘more’ /‘less’ and ‘most’/’least’ in front of the adjective.
Example
interesting more/less interesting the most/least interesting
But if the adjective has got two syllables and ends in ‘-y’, we remove the ‘-y’ and add ‘-ier’ or ‘-iest’.
Example
happy happier the happiest
VII. Complete these sentences. Each time use the comparative or superlative form of one of the following adjectives or adverbs. Translate the sentences into Russian language
important, common, old, small, large, significant, influential, destructive, complex, great, spread, small, highly, wise
1.Churches are large and established religious bodies, while sects are
_____________/_____________ organized groups of committed believers.
2.The three ________________ monotheistic religions in world history are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
3.Although magic practices have become __________ in modern societies, comparable superstitions are still found.
32
4.Judaism as a world religion has ____________________ membership.
5._________ of all the great religions still prominent in the world today is Hinduism, the core beliefs of which date back some six thousand years.
6.Islam is presently the second __________________ religion in the world, overlap with those of Christianity.
7.Two forms of religion are common in ____________ cultures: totemism and animism.
8.The twentieth century has been ______________ and war-ridden period in human history.
9.Confucius is seen by his followers not as a god, but as "__________ of wise men."
10.Christianity today commands________________number of adherents, and is ________________ across the world, than any other religion.
11.The Torah, also referred to as the Five Books of Moses, is
____________________of the three.
12.Some small premodern societies practice ________________ religions.
13.Durkheim believed that religion would become __________________
in modern times.
VIII. Now you have to make the right choice
1.Belief that is not based on scientific evidence is the definition of
a.religion
b.sacred
c.faith (вера)
d.profane (мирской)
2.Ceremonial forms of behavior, such as Holly Communion (Святое Причастие) in the Christian religion, are called
a.sacred
b.totems
c.ritual
d.animism
3.Sociological analysis is limited to the __________ of religion for society
a.evaluation
b.validity
c.sacred aspects
d.consequences
4.A totem is characteristically found within which of the following societies?
a.Primitive societies
b.Agrarian societies
33
c.Industrial societies
d.Post-industrial societies
5.A general type of informal religious organization that is NOT wellintegrated into the larger society is termed
a.Church
b.Ecclesia [ikliziə] церковь
c.Sect
d.Denomination
6.The difference between religion in preindustrial societies and that of industrial societies is that
a.Preindustrial religions are indistinct from the family
b.Preindustrial religions make use of shamen
c.Preindustrial religions disregard science
d.All the above
7.Which of the following world religions is dominant in Asia?
a.Buddhism
b.Hinduism
c.Confucianism
d.Christianity
8.Which of the following world religions has the smallest membership?
a.Confucianism
b.Judaism
c.Islam
d.Hinduism
9.Which of the following world religions is the oldest, contains beliefs related to dharma, Karma and nirvana, and is neither monotheistic nor polytheistic?
a.Islam
b.Hinduism
c.Buddhism
d.Confucianism
10.The decline in the importance of religion in society is termed
a.Secularization
b.Civil religion
c.Religious fundamentalism
d.White Anglo-Saxon Protestants
34