Why does Marx say that religion is the opium of the people? How might we argue against his position on religion (i.e. what are some critiques
Please answer ONE essay question from each of the five sections you choose. You will
write only five essay questions in total. You may NOT answer two questions from the
same section.
For each individual essay question you will write 500 words each, minimum. Since you
are writing five essay questions total (at 500 words each) this means you will write a
minimum of 2500 words for this entire exam (all three questions together will add up to
this amount). Again, this is the MINIMUM, so if you want to get into the “A” range, you
will want to write a bit more.
If you make a direct quotation in your exam, please include a reference. But if you are
simply talking about material covered in course readings generally, you don’t need to
include references. If you refer to materials from outside of course readings, then please
include a reference and bibliography for that material. This examination will be
submitted to turnitin.com, a plagiarism checking software.
Each question will be graded out of 10. Therefore, the entire exam will be graded out of
50 points, and this grade will be converted to a grade out of 30 as this examination is
worth 30% of your total course grade.
Please breath easy and relax as much as possible! Taking deep breaths or tensing up all
your muscles and then letting them all relax at once are good relaxation techniques. You
have nearly completed this course! Congratulations! Thank-you for being a part of this
class. I have very much appreciated your presence and contribution to RELS 1210. I truly
wish you the very best as you complete your university career, and venture out into the
“real world”.
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Section I
Please answer only 1 question from this page of the exam
Religion as Alienation – Marx
1. How does Marx theorize religion? What are his contributions and what are some
critiques of his work? Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures,
and class discussions in the course of your answer.
2. What is Marx’s theory of economics? You might want to talk about his theory of
class struggle, alienation, exploitation of labour, and the difference between base
and superstructure, but you don’t necessarily have to talk about all of these. How
does Marx’s theory of economics influence his ideas about religion? Make several
references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of
your answer.
3. Why does Marx say that religion is the opium of the people? How might we argue
against his position on religion (i.e. what are some critiques of his work)? Make
several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the
course of your answer.
3
Section II
Please answer only 1 question from this page of the exam
A Source of Social Action – Weber
1. How does Weber theorize religion? What are his contributions and what are some
critiques of his work? With Weber in particular this includes a lot of material, so
you do not have to repeat everything we learned about Weber here. This question
is simply the most broadly I can ask the question, so you can focus on what you
understand best and leave the rest. Make several references to the relevant
readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.
2. What does Weber mean by the Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism? What is Weber trying to say about religion here? What are some
critiques of this work? Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures,
and class discussions in the course of your answer.
3. Weber offers several useful concepts, categories, and explanations/theories about
how religion works in The Sociology of Religion (covered between pages 158-
168 inclusive). Identify and describe several of these concepts, categories, and or
explanations/theories of religion. Make several references to the relevant
readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.
4. Identify and describe the main point Weber is trying to explore in The Economic
Ethic of the World Religions (pages 168-174 inclusive). Explore at least two of
the three religions he documents here, and how he uses them to support his
general point about religion, economics, and history. Make several references to
the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.
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Section III
Please answer only 1 question from this page of the exam
The Verdict of Religious Experience – James
1. How does James theorize religion? What are his contributions and what are some
critiques of his work? Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures,
and class discussions in the course of your answer.
2. Identify and describe some of the important points James makes in both The
Principles of Psychology and The Will to believe. Make several references to the
relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.
3. What are the main arguments that James makes in The Varieties of Religious
Experience? What are some important critiques of his work in this book? Make
several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the
course of your answer.
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Section IV
Please answer only 1 question from this page of the exam
The Reality of the Sacred – Eliade &
Society’s “Construct of the Heart” – Evans-Pritchard
1. How does Eliade theorize religion? What are his contributions and what are some
critiques of his work? Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures,
and class discussions in the course of your answer.
2. How does Eliade define religion? How is this similar to or different from other
theorists like Durkheim? What does Eliade mean by the Sacred and the Profane?
Identify and describe some of the concepts he uses here in this section to
understand and describe the sacred and how religious communities
encounter/express their relationship to the sacred. Make several references to the
relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.
3. What does Eliade say about the use of Symbol and Myth in religions? Make
several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the
course of your answer.
4. What are some important points made by Eliade about the nature of History and
Sacred Time? Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class
discussions in the course of your answer.
The chapter on Evans-Pritchard was not covered in lecture due to the pandemic.
Therefore, if you choose to answer this question on I will grade it more easily than
the rest of the examination. Alternatively, you may ignore learning this content
altogether if you wish to save yourself time. The choice is up to you.
5. How does Evans-Pritchard theorize religion? What are his contributions and what
are some critiques of his work? Make several references to the relevant readings,
lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.
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Section V
Please answer only 1 question from this page of the exam
Comprehensive Questions on the Entire Course
The questions below are designed to get you to think about what you have learned over
the entire term, and they are intended to invite you to think comprehensively about the
material of this course and come to some general conclusions about what you have
gained. You only have to answer one of the questions below, but you can touch on the
content of any or all of the questions below in your answer if you wish. You may take
whatever position you wish on the questions below, and you may refer to anything we
have studied in the entire course, but be sure to explicitly use course materials to back up
your statements in an educated and critical manner. I encourage you to refer to specific
theorists or theories that you found particularly striking, interesting, convincing, or
important. What captured your imagination or interest most? What seemed most useful to
you for helping you think more deeply about religion?
1. What have you learned about religion in the course generally? What did you find
most striking, interesting, important or useful in this course? Why?
2. What have you learned about theories of religion in the course generally? What
theorists did you find most striking, interesting, important or useful in this course?
Why?
3. Which chapters, issues, insights, or discussions did you find most striking,
interesting, important or useful in this course? Why?
Use simple grammar and words (not high-level style).Write completely according to the requirements in the attachment, including plagiarism check. Don’t over use American Christian views. I’m not American. There are 1-2 self-study units in the optional questions, so please do not choose the questions that do not appear in the PPT, thank you.
Answer preview on Why does Marx say that religion is the opium of the people? How might we argue against his position on religion (i.e. what are some critiques
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