General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow much do you know about religion?
Well, take this short quiz and find out!
http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)are homophobic and misogynist. That's all I need to know to say, "No thanks."
n/t
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)and does not imply agreement.
burnodo
(2,017 posts)that says something about religion too
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)Since some of them were historical, I think it's due to when I went to school.
stopbush
(24,378 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)It makes sense, people of the book and all that shit.
Plus I have always been interested in it at an academic level
aquart
(69,014 posts)RKP5637
(67,032 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)no room in your world view for liberals of faith, i take it.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)Was totally clueless about the last question.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)14/15
PotatoChip
(3,186 posts)aquart
(69,014 posts)hobbit709
(41,694 posts)RKP5637
(67,032 posts)read many fundies, for example, know few true facts about religion, but rather follow what's been drummed into their heads and often is not factual.
surrealAmerican
(11,340 posts)I missed the last question.
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)That and being raised outside the USA...
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)I thought it was very easy.
safeinOhio
(32,531 posts)religion, looking for loopholes.
quaker bill
(8,223 posts)I thought they might ask a difficult question, but they didn't.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)catrose
(5,048 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)But knew it wasn't Billy Graham. Flipped a coin, chose correctly. 15/15
quaker bill
(8,223 posts)in college back in the 1980s. I read some of his sermons. They make Jerry Falwell seem PC.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)TBF
(31,921 posts)if invited by others. I scored 11/15.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)difficult.
Arkansas Granny
(31,483 posts)99Forever
(14,524 posts)..and retain my sanity. I know those that practice it are prone to believing in bullshit.
demwing
(16,916 posts)Does that count?
Brewinblue
(392 posts)14/15. So, Catholics actually teach that the cracker BECOMES the body of Christ?
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)Then I thought, yep, they probably ARE that crazy!
blueamy66
(6,795 posts)nt
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)If so, then what is the insult you perceive?
blueamy66
(6,795 posts)I am not crazy.
Tell me what you believe that I can call you crazy too, clean hippie.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Uhm, no. To believe that the laws of physics, the natural laws of the universe, and reality as we know it are magically suspended when one eats a cracker can hardly be considered a sane idea.
And of its none of my business what you choose to believe, then why are you posting your beliefs and opinions on a discussion board?
Response to cleanhippie (Reply #93)
Post removed
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Last edited Mon Aug 26, 2013, 09:44 AM - Edit history (1)
Maybe for once you should listen to what people actually say.
blueamy66
(6,795 posts)And religion isn't about the laws of physics or the natural laws of the universe or reality....it's about faith.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)And when it suits them, neither do the faithful.
Quixote1818
(28,903 posts)blueamy66
(6,795 posts)adios
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Good luck with that. I'm sure faith will take you far.
Ino
(3,366 posts)Reality is suspended when the priest mumbles over the wafers & wine -- that's when the "miracle" takes place, not when it's eaten. The priest has to eat any magically-enhanced wafers not used in the Communion. Can't have Jesus' body just lying around yannow!
I got 13/15 correct... atheist here!
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)So how is it that believers who are gluten intolerant/sensitive would need a gluten-free cracker if it turns into th flesh of Jesus?
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Neoma
(10,039 posts)Ruby the Liberal
(26,216 posts)I always thought that was bizarre.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)It is amazing to me that millions of people can be so brainwashed that they don't even regard transubstantiation as the slightest bit twisted.
rug
(82,333 posts)Do you even understand the doctrine?
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)What is your definition of brainwashing? Do you have a different use of that word I'm not familiar with?
Here's what Webster says: "a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas"
Quixote1818
(28,903 posts)They just go to Church because their family has done it for years and ignore most of the BS. I know because I am friends with about three dozen Catholics.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Indoctrination is the more apt descriptive term.
rug
(82,333 posts)But that's because I give you the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, do you say Catholics are brainwashed or indoctrinated? Pick your poison.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Indoctrinated, brainwashed...
Pick whatever shoe fits.
Have a nice day, ruggie. Got a handle on that must-have-the-last-word compulsion yet?
rug
(82,333 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Keep at it though. Have you tried praying for help?
rug
(82,333 posts)You need a hobby. I'll find some smiley cites for you.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)You need a purpose. I hear your religion has a child-raping priest problem. Dealing with that would be more productive.
Then again, if you don't care about that, smiley sites are cool
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I imagine we may all agree that civility is not predicated on any religion... merely on the person.
demwing
(16,916 posts)And believe it.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)No. Eating bread and telling everybody that is actually a man's flesh is sick. Drinking wine and saying it is a man's blood is sick.
demwing
(16,916 posts)If you don't believe it, it's just a story. Go show the same disdain for Stephen King.
if you do believe it, and accept it...well, it may be sick to others, but it wouldn't be sick to you. It's not cannibalism, after all. People eat flesh all the time. People eat blood all the time. Those who do, don't think it's sick. If you're squeamish about human flesh, just remember that Jesus is supposed to be God. Not human at all... God-meat may be delicious. Better than chicken even...
It's only sick if you believe it to be actually human flesh and blood, and you reject the ceremonial consumption of real human flesh and blood. I highly doubt that the former applies to you.
So why get so worked up?
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)If you are saying that most Catholics don't really take the doctrine seriously, and therefore aren't really sick, you are probably correct about that. Indeed, a great many people who go through the motions of appearing religious don't actually adhere to the official rules of their club.
demwing
(16,916 posts)Literally, not symbolically.
"Substance" means it's inner nature. In other words, the wafer and wine appear to be the same (tastes the same, smells the same, feels the same, looks the same), but becomes and possesses the same potency and substance as the body and blood of God.
From the Council of Trent : "conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood the species only of the bread and wine remaining which conversion indeed the Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation"
Note the Body and Blood capitalization, and the use of the word "species" which, in this context, means "the outward appearance"
I don't care if you believe it (I don't) or not, but your understanding of the doctrine is off, and your reaction seems exaggerated.
shawn703
(2,702 posts)Groves: Wait, Father, maybe I'm a convert.
Mukada: You can't become a Catholic just to get out of the hole. Come on.
Groves: No, no, wait. I've been reading a lot since I got here about different faiths and yours is pretty nifty.
Mukada: Catholicism is nifty?
Groves: You have that whole mystical transabstentiation bit going.
Mukada: That's right. The Eucharist becomes the body of Christ.
Groves: So you're actually eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
Mukada: That's right.
Groves: Now how can I not get behind a religion like that?
Mukada was the resident Catholic priest, while Groves was a prisoner whose crimes consisted of cannibalism.
I wish I could find a video clip of the scene where Groves was given communion.
Quixote1818
(28,903 posts)I asked when should the photo be taken and the Nuns told me "When the wafer touches the tong". I was thinking WTF? But that makes for a horrible shot??? They explained to me that Jesus was literally going into their body. Anyway, I hated how it looked when their tong was sticking out so I purposely miss most of the shots and try and get the kid just standing in front of the Priest. No one ever complains because they know it's hard to have perfect timing catching the kids tong sticking completely out.
My question is, does Jesus get pooped out of all these 3rd graders the next day?
Warpy
(110,909 posts)and that was my last year in Catholic school.
True believers certainly have to swallow a lot of nonsense, literally as well as figuratively. I could never do it, myself.
cali
(114,904 posts)Interesting that atheists/agnostics did so well on this quiz. second only to Jews.
GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)87 percentile.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)***disclosure: i'm christian.
bearssoapbox
(1,408 posts)or Pony.
Did waaay better than I thought I would. 13/15
etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)The last question was a total guess - and I guessed incorrectly.
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)This test is far too easy, really. What is amazing is how few people know the answers.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Only one of them required a thought.
knitter4democracy
(14,350 posts)Of course, I went to an evangelical Christian college and have spent time studying and/or teaching various religious texts since...
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)2naSalit
(86,054 posts)But I don't believe in organized religions and am not all that invested in whatever the historical details they espouse. I keep my own counsel with my own spirit and keep it to myself.
Neoma
(10,039 posts)2naSalit
(86,054 posts)being beat over the head with uber-religiosity and have purposefully forgotten a lot-which was rather easy since I didn't believe what I was being told. So I guess I'm glad I didn't get all the answers correctly. I also think that there were more questions regarding christianity than other religions which made me feel that the whole exercise was a bit slanted.
And I am certain that some of what religions tell is historical to some degree but most of it is myth.
People will believe what they want to believe whether coerced or not.
Neoma
(10,039 posts)Like how Russians killed each other for signing the cross across their chest wrong. Two fingers instead of three? Throw him in a pit! That sort of history is always interesting.
2naSalit
(86,054 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)PADemD
(4,482 posts)FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)"You answered 15 out of 15 questions correctly for a score of 100%"
What is disturbing is some of the responses from people who feel that it is unimportant to understand one of, if not the, most powerful motivators of human actions and attitudes.
People are anti-intellectual to the point of destructive ignorance.
C'mon folks: widespread curiosity and understanding are the only chance for survival we have.
2naSalit
(86,054 posts)the incorrect answers I had were relative to christian stuff not the "other" religions of the world. It would have been a more interesting quiz if there were fewer questions related to that belief system... bet there would have been fewer perfect scores.
I do agree that people need to have a better knowledge base rather than the myopic perspective that most of this culture clings to.
Orrex
(63,085 posts)14/15, by the way.
99Forever
(14,524 posts)To the point of making otherwise thinking human being believe in "magic."
No thanks, I have NO interest in listening to the PROPAGANDA put out by those responsible for a VERY large part of the atrocities and suffering on this planet. Did you notice that this "test" ignored that?
The River
(2,615 posts)Religion is pre-rational. As humans evolved we passed through
an archaic epoch (6 mill BC to 200K BC) a "magical" epoch (200K to 10K BC)
the "mythical" epoch (10K BC to 1.5K BC) and are currently in the "mental" or "scientific" epoch.
Belief in god(s) (primarily embedded in nature) was "magical", much like young children believe in Santa, Easter Bunny, etc. The "Mythic" age simply codified those beliefs. Now, science is beginning to expose the magical thinking for what it is and there is a huge backlash against science and intellectualism. We see that in today's GOP.
The evolution of human consciousness has barely begun.
BTW, 15/15
Zorra
(27,670 posts)So much for 8 years of brutal forced education with priests and nuns shoving Catholic dogma down my throat.
Did I forget, or is it logical disconnect?
And why didn't they have a Pagan/Other category?
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)I was thrown off by the Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday and extends into Saturday(answered Saturday), read that question too quickly.
The only one I didn't know was the last, totally guessed, and guessed wrong.
Atheist(ex-Catholic) by the way, and to be fair, I think over half of Catholics would get the transubstantiation question wrong too.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)I'm not a Catholic, but my spouse was. Early in our marriage we alternated between Mass and Friends Meeting. The Mass is very clear - even to someone who has not had any specific training in Catholicism. I also remember bits and pieces from conversations years ago about that being why none of the remnants were permitted to be thrown away, and why one was not allowed to bite the communion wafer.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)the wine and bread thing was symbolic. It was a while ago, and confined to one country, but consider that you are lucky if half of self proclaimed Catholics go to Mass on anything approaching a regular basis in most western, hell, in most countries, I doubt numbers vary that widely from what is displayed in Ireland.
Quixote1818
(28,903 posts)They always want me to take the photo right when the wafer touches the tong which I think looks ridiculous! I asked why it was so important and they said it was a sacred moment when Jesus was literally going into their body.
Still think it makes for a horrible photo and Jesus ends up getting pooped out of one hell of a lot of 3rd graders!
CJCRANE
(18,184 posts)Billy Graham was the only one I'd heard of. I never noticed the First Great Awakening, whatever that was.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)That question probably would've stumped me too if I hadn't previously done such substantial research on colonial religion.
Quixote1818
(28,903 posts)Had I missed it I would have only gotten 13 out of 15. But now we both no the answer don't we! Just think of John Edwards as a religious leader.
1-Old-Man
(2,667 posts)I thought I'd be lucky to get any of them right be cause I see all religions as very nasty jokes and consider myself careless about them. Imagine my surprise to do far better than those who worship regularly.
socialist_n_TN
(11,481 posts)I just guessed at number 15 and as for number 10, I thought that it had been ruled a teacher could lead a prayer if it was non-denominational.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Not bad for an atheist
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Atheist.
ReasonableToo
(505 posts)Guessed on last one.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)So a bunch of guys sat around in their basements and made shit up, and the rest of the world is supposed to give that some special reverence?
How come there weren't any questions about the numbers of lives ruined by putting garbage into peoples' heads, or by the wars fought by these different tribes? How come there weren't any questions about how religions have stalled progress over the centuries, or how they have persecuted so many people who dared to speak the truth?
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)If it was based on 2nd ed.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)My objection is to the presumption that it is a good thing for people to know the 15 "facts" that the Pew survey asked about. No. It is just a who's who of stupid brain-dead dogma over the centuries. Why is it a virtue to know the 15 stupidest things that some people believe?
My life would probably be more wholesome if I could have scored a zero on that test.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)I knew some stuff (9/15) because I started reading a lot of eastern religious works after 9/11 and all of the anti-eastern religion propaganda was being shoved at us.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)That's a more disturbing result.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)nonsense that if a child is caught saying a prayer or reading the Bible at school - they could be expelled or possibly even arrested. That is the kind of crazy demagoguery that many right-wing Protestants have been promoting for decades
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)Isn't a bunch of guys sitting around in a basement sharing a case of brews.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)My reference to people sitting around in basements making shit up pertained to the creators of these religions, not to the Pew company.
Religion is nothing more than a philosophy that cannot stand up to the scrutiny of debate, so debates are not allowed. "God gave me this religion and that's all there is to day about it."
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)Philosophers are the Jonnies Come Lately to religion. Religion is simply the codification of tribal law. For superstitious men will not follow the laws of men, but will follow the laws enforced by divine retribution.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)Today we have a well-developed secular judicial system that is more than adequate at enforcing those standards that the community feels necessary in order to be "civilized". We can argue about the occasional blip, such as the Zimmerman case, but our legal system really works well most of the time. It certainly works better than an arbitrary system where random people become appointed as holy and they randomly enforce a bunch of ambiguous standards of their own arbitrary making.
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)6th grade level test.
Orrex
(63,085 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)I suppose I could have consulted The Google, but it's always more fun to pick the brains of my fellow DUers.
Orrex
(63,085 posts)I'll check when I get home.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Orrex
(63,085 posts)I don't need the quiz for myself, but I'd be interested to see how theists would perform on such an exam.
[font color="red"]Edited to add: I don't mean to suggest that you are telling me what atheism "really" is; I'm referring instead to those people who routinely do so. Sorry for the imprecise wording.[/font]
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)One of the pushiest has responded to you already.
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)for such an easy test
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)that's even more revealing.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)at the top you have self-selected groups who are QUITE clear about their religion, at the bottom those for whom religion is unremarkable--a par-for-the-course, everyday thing
hmm
drm604
(16,230 posts)I knew that one of the answers was certainly wrong but I couldn't decide between the other two.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)As an Agnostic/Atheist, I scored:
You answered 13 out of 15 questions correctly
for a score of 87%.
DreamGypsy
(2,252 posts)...so I guessed. Wrong.
This is the Jonathon Edwards that I know:
CBHagman
(16,968 posts)Now that I think about it, you can't get through an American, British, or German literature class, or an art history class, without touching on religion, including ancient beliefs. It's impossible to deal with legal history, symbolism in art, or Shakespeare without doing so.
Grey
(1,581 posts)Better than I thought. Still, I should have gotten all of them. Just not awake this morning.
BOG PERSON
(2,916 posts)SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)what happened after death, and why ecological/meteorological events happened.
Probably involved some mind-altering substances along the way.
No matter how primitive a society is, parents always grieve the loss of a child, children grieve for dead parents.. Having a spirit-god to look over them in the afterlife can lessen the load, and help them move on..
Stories get embellished over time, and since the religious elders often were the only ones who could read/write (later on), it's not hard to see why religions gained so much power & wealth..
valerief
(53,235 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)missed the last one on the 1st great awakening. I'm an Episcopalian FWIW
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)many were close to meaningless. I got 15 out of 15.
Edit- I agree with a poster above who called it a "trivia quiz".
Would be more interested in seeing a quiz that asked more involved philosophical questions. Although such questions don't easily translate to multiple choice.
frogmarch
(12,145 posts)Atheist here.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)religion, the less likely one is to be suckered by the insanity it represents as truth.
handmade34
(22,755 posts)but then again life has offered me wide, diverse experiences... I've been to Seminary, attended Satsang and meditated with Mahatmas, a nearby town has 2 Buddhist Monasteries, Joseph Smith was born in Vermont and everyone needs to understand Islam because of recent history... etc, etc...
temporary311
(954 posts)Got the sabbath one wrong. Im wondering if that question is why Jews are ranked above atheists, since if I were Jewish I probably would've known that one .
kath
(10,565 posts)Interested:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0105/Are-you-smarter-than-an-atheist-A-religious-quiz/When-does-the-Jewish-Sabbath-begin
Atheist (raised Catholic), got all 32 right.
treestar
(82,383 posts)but I had learned from the partial quiz.
I was a little iffy on the faith alone question - antinomianism, or something, I thought might have been a pre-Protestant doctrine of faith alone being enough - but decided not to overthink it and got that right.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)Odd how blocking cookies does that
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)A proper test would have led to at least one wrong answer. I'm an atheist.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)And noticed the Christian Science Monitor shows an AVERAGE reader score at 85% correct--which doesn't really surprise me much.
Missed the "Maimonides" one.
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)Quixote1818
(28,903 posts)Submariner
(12,485 posts)and people are suckers for believing in any of it. A dozen years of fucking nuns and drunk priests taught me all I need to know about religion and their imaginary sky people.
Orrex
(63,085 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)thanks for making me laugh.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)Tikki
(14,538 posts)The questions asked were those represented in popular culture.
If answering those questions correctly made me as a religious person...then that would just be sad.
Tikki
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)It starts at sundown on Friday.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Mixed up about when Jewish Sabbath starts and about Abraham and Job.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)oldhippie
(3,249 posts)Non-believer here.
nyquil_man
(1,443 posts)I'm embarrassed that I even missed one. These are basic questions from any World Religions course.
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)I assumed I would score around 60%
LeftishBrit
(41,192 posts)I am an atheist, but know lots of people from a variety of religions, and am interested in history which is relevant to some of the questions.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)I was shocked how little the American people know about religion
Donald Ian Rankin
(13,598 posts)I got 15, but I nearly fell for that one.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)I went to high school in Massachusetts. Maybe that's why I remember learning in high school about Jonathan Edwards the theologian. Then, not long after, I learned about DreamGypsy's Jonathan Edwards, who was gigging around New England.
What surprised me was that more people didn't mistakenly think that the Golden Rule was included in the Ten Commandments. I thought that would be the toughest question on the test.
malaise
(267,813 posts)TransitJohn
(6,932 posts)n/t
Recursion
(56,582 posts)(To make it yet more confusing, the First Great Awakening was, at the time, called "the second awakening".)
They were really interesting periods in American history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Great_Awakening
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Great_Awakening
eShirl
(18,466 posts)LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)tabasco
(22,974 posts)I try to concentrate on reality
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)wickerwoman
(5,662 posts)Could have answered all of these questions correctly in 10th grade. Somewhat depressing to be in the top 99%. It's bad enough that most Americans are shockingly ignorant of history and geography but aren't all those homeschooling bible thumpers at least drilling their own crap into those kids' heads instead of science?
aquart
(69,014 posts)Paulie
(8,462 posts)Should have asked when the Seventh Day Adventists have sabbath.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,820 posts)LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)distantearlywarning
(4,475 posts)I'm the 1% !
City Lights
(25,171 posts)truth2power
(8,219 posts)Missed #15. I just thought it must be Edwards, but I guess I was over-thinking. Chose Finney. Geez!
Episcopalian, UU, Pagan, depending on what day it is, I guess.
Chiennoir54
(29 posts)And one I knew but just hit the wrong button. I do know that as Mr. Hitchens said, religion poisons everything. No matter which one you choose.
HarveyDarkey
(9,077 posts)Not bad for an atheist I think.
HeiressofBickworth
(2,682 posts)better than 99% of the general public. And I'm an atheist. I like reading about various myths through the ages.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)I was of course aware that eventual freedom from suffering was a Buddhist concept - but I was under the impression that Nirvana was primarily a Hindu concept - So I answered, Hindu
This is the definition of Nirvana as I found it on wiki:
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान nibbāna ; Prakrit: णिव्वाण is an ancient Sanskrit term used in Indian religions to describe the profound peace of mind that is acquired with moksha (liberation). In shramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is union with the Brahman (Supreme Being).
The word literally means "blown out" (as in a candle) and refers, in the Buddhist context, to the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished.[1]
Nirvāṇa is the soteriological goal within the Indian religions, Hinduism,[7][8] Jainism,[9] Buddhism,[8][10] and Sikhism.[11] It is synonymous with the concept of liberation (moksha) which refers to release from a state of suffering after an often lengthy period of committed spiritual practice. The concept of nirvāṇa comes from the Yogic traditions of the Sramanas whose origins go back to at least the earliest centuries of the first millennium BCE.[12] The Pali Canon contains the earliest written detailed discussion of nirvāṇa and the concept has thus become most associated with the teaching of the historical Buddha. It was later adopted in the Bhagavad Gita of the Mahabharata. In general terms nirvāṇa is a state of transcendence (Pali: lokuttara) involving the subjective experience of release from a prior state of bondage. This is the result of a natural re-ordering of the mind and body via means of yogic discipline or sadhana. According to the particular tradition, with the experience of nirvāṇa the mind (Buddhism) or soul (Jainism) or spirit (Hinduism) has ended its identity with material phenomena and experiences a sense of great peace and a unique form of awareness or intelligence that is called bodhi in Buddhism, Kevala Jnana in Jainism, kaivalya (Asamprajnata Samadhi) in Yoga.
It has several other names as well. Hinduism uses the terms Aikantya, Apamarga, Brahma-upalabdhi, Sahaj, Sakshatkara, Sayujya, Videhalcivalyam and Yogakshemma, while Buddhism also uses the term Bodhi. Because nirvana represents an advanced form of samadhi or jhana Hinduism acknowledges it as Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Buddhism, as Ceto-vimutti Samadhi and Jainism as Asamprajyat Samadhi. Mukti is sometimes elaborated on as Atyantiki Mukti, Samipya Mukti (or Salokja Mukti), and Sadrisya Mukti.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana
deutsey
(20,166 posts)but figured they were going for the most "black-and-white" answer, rather than the more correct ambiguous one.
"Nirvana" is mostly associated with Buddhism these days, at least in the West. There's "moksha" in Hinduism, which means the liberation of one's divine self (Atman) to merge with the larger divine reality (Brahman).
eridani
(51,907 posts)15/15 for me. I guessed on the Great Awakening, though.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)and I missed a stupid one but I think I just clicked wrong, lol!
I was raised Catholic and also studied religion in school but my memory is shot. I kinda went with what sounded right.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)Not bad for an atheist
RedCloud
(9,230 posts)ChazII
(6,198 posts)You answered 14 out of 15 questions correctly
for a score of 93%
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)Xyzse
(8,217 posts)Hells yeah!