Midterm #1 will be on Thursday March 10, 2011.  Exam questions will be based on, readings (Stein & Stein, ch. 1-4), the first assigned  readings, videos, slide shows, class discussions, and quizzes 1-4.  Please study them carefully!  The exam will contain true/false, multiple choice, matching questions as well as two essays.  Please be prepared to write several paragraphs on two of the following questions....  Bring a #2 pencil, an #882 scantron and several blank pages of paper for the exam.  


1. Reflect upon the religious history panels presented in class.  What did you learn about other students’ backgrounds and experiences?  If you participated in a panel (or your own background was reflected by a panel) how did you feel about the questions posed and issues raised by non-member students?

2. How is the practice of religion adaptive for human survival?

3.  Compare and contrast examples of how human cultures have altered their bodies.

4. Reflect on your participation in the class ritual.  How did you feel?  What did you learn about the creation and functions of ritual?

5. Why is “information” offered by psychics appealing?  

6. Why do humans have such passion for the idea that there are invisible persons who have a great interest in our behavior?

7. Why might the health food movement be considered a “religion?”

8. How might the Burning Man festival be considered a “religion?”

9.  What differences were found between patients who knew they were being prayed for and those who did not?  What research problems might occur when measuring spiritual experiences with scientific methodologies?