Section 1 Multiple Choice Questions and 5 mark extended response 2014 - 2008
1. Which of the following is a common characteristic of New Age religions?
a.
b.
c.
d.
They value ecumenism.
They all reject materialism.
They focus on the spiritual needs of their adherents.
They integrate all non-Christian religions into a common set of beliefs.
2. Which of the following is central to the Dreaming?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Law
Marriage
Assimilation
Dispossession
3. Since 2001, which of the following churches has been the least affected by denominational
switching?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Uniting
Catholic
Anglican
Pentecostal
4. Which of the following is true of totemic identity in Aboriginal spirituality?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It is a life-force that symbolises relationships
It encourages separation from one’s country.
It identifies a temporary relationship between individuals and their totem.
It connects individuals with the wider Australian community.
Statement 1: The Anglican Church is the largest Christian denomination in Australia
Statement 2: The majority of Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists merged toform the Uniting
Church in Australia.
5. Which of the following is correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Both statements are true.
Both statements are false.
Statement1 is false and statement2 is true.
Statement1 is true and statement2 is false.
6. According to current census data, which religious affiliation is most common among recentlyarrived migrants in Australia?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Islam
Buddhism
No religion
Christianity
7. Which of the following has been a consequence of immigration since 1945?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The Catholic Church has become more multicultural.
The number of Christian denominations in Australia has significantly declined.
Several New Age religions are now members of the NSW Council of Churches.
Hinduism has grown to become the second largest non-Christian religion in Australia.
8. Within Aboriginal spirituality, which of the following was a result of dispossession?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Separation from kinship groups
The declining importance of missions
Racial Discrimination Act, 1975
A redefining of the concept of terra nullius
9. Leslie has left the Uniting Church and become a Muslim. Which statement best describes
Leslie’s action?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Leslie has become sectarian.
Leslie has switched denominations.
Leslie has changed religious traditions.
Leslie has joined an interfaith organisation.
10. What role does an initiation ceremony have in Aboriginal spirituality?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It provides a reliable supply of food.
It defines gender during different stages of life.
It prepares young Aboriginal people for political life.
It teaches young Aboriginal people about their responsibilities.
11. According to recent Australian census data, which of the following is correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Anglicanism is the largest Christian denomination.
The number of people reporting ‘No Religion’ has decreased.
The Uniting Church is the third largest Christian denomination.
The number of people reporting a non-Christian faith has decreased.
12. What is the most likely reason for the current rise in secularism in Australia?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A perception that the responses of religious traditions to enduring questions are out dated
Increasing sectarian rivalry between Christian denominations.
Recent trends in denominational switching
Growing interest in New Age religions
13. Which of the following best explains why religious traditions are engaged in Aboriginal
reconciliation?
a. They support ecumenical dialogue.
b. They recognise injustices of the past.
c. They encourage conversion to their own tradition.(D)They desire to incorporate Aboriginal
symbolism into their own tradition.
14. Which of the following lists the next three religious traditions in Australia, after
Christianity, from largest to smallest?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Islam, Buddhism, Judaism
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism
Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism
15. Which of the following is an important role of interfaith dialogue?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It promotes social justice among denominations.
It promotes tolerance and religious understanding.
It provides a structure for the sharing of resources.
It helps people who are considering switching religions.
16. Which of the following is a key focus of the NSW Ecumenical Council?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To promote unification among different religious traditions
To express a common Christian voice on issues of concern in society
To encourage more Christian adherents to undertake active roles in Australian political life
To provide a common voice for different religious traditions on refugee and asylum seeker
issues
Statement 1: The worship of ancestral beings is central to ceremonial life.
Statement 2: Territorial boundaries form the basis of ritual estates.
17. How do these statements relate to Aboriginal spirituality?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Both statements are true.
Both statements are false.
Statement 1 is false and statement 2 is true.
Statement 1 is true and statement 2 is false.
18. What is the basis of the Dreaming?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Ceremonial life
Kinship
Totem
Land
19. Which of the following names the three major Christian denominations in Australia in
decreasing size?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Anglican, Uniting, Catholic
Catholic, Anglican, Uniting
Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox
Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican
20. According to census data, what proportion of people in Australia identify with a religious
tradition?
a.
b.
c.
d.
More than 60%
Between 50% and 60%
Between 40% and 50%
Less than 40%
21. Which church can be considered to have been formed as a consequence of the ecumenical
movement in Australia?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Congregational
Presbyterian
Anglican
Uniting
22. The traditional role of initiation ceremonies in Aboriginal spirituality has been to prepare young
people
a.
b.
c.
d.
for the effects of dispossession.
for their struggle for Land Rights.
to undertake adult responsibilities.
to develop a relationship with the religious traditions.
23. Which of the following is a typical feature of New Age religions?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Foundational texts form the basis of all beliefs.
Individual fulfilment is sought.
Divine beings are worshipped.
Cult status is achieved.
24. In which of the following do both examples refer to ecumenical developments in Australia?
a. Support for Aboriginal Reconciliation and the dismantling of the White Australia policy
b. The formation of the National Council of Churches in Australia and the sharing of resources
among rural Australian churches
c. The formation of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations and the formal
dialogue between the major world religions
d. The Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra and the Parliament of
World Religions in Melbourne
Type of Marriage Celebrant
Year
1990
2010
Ministers of Religion
57.9%
30.7%
Civil Celebrants
42.1%
69.3%
25. Which of the following is likely to best explain the trend shown?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Increased denominational switching
Increased interfaith dialogue
Increased secularisation
Increased immigration
26. Burial in one’s ‘country’ is important in Aboriginal spirituality because
a.
b.
c.
d.
relatives can access the burial site.
the deceased’s spirit can be comforted.
relatives can complete the burial rituals.
the deceased’s spirit can return to its ancestors.
Statement 1: Kinship within traditional Aboriginal society regulates social relationships, including
marriage.
Statement 2: Totemism expresses a system of kinship within the natural world
27. Which of the following is correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Both statements are true.
Both statements are false.
Statement 1 is false and statement 2 is true.
Statement 1 is true and statement 2 is false.
28. What is the purpose of ecumenical dialogue?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Conversion
Unification
Social justice
Mutual understanding
29. Why are Elders in Aboriginal communities given significant status and respect?
a.
b.
c.
d.
They promote modern non-Aboriginal spiritualities.
They possess valued sacred knowledge about Aboriginal spirituality.
They lead all negotiations among Aboriginal people about land rights claims.
They encourage young people from Aboriginal communities to enter the professions.
30. What effect do the Native Title Act and the Mabo and Wik decisions have on Aboriginal
spiritualities?
a.
b.
c.
d.
They support the concept of terra nullius.
They discourage the economic ambitions of pastoralists.
They contribute to the revitalisation of Aboriginal traditions.
They address past economic injustices for Aboriginal Australians.
31. Within Aboriginal spirituality, which of the following requires ceremonial initiation?
a. Belonging to ritual estate
b. Adoption of language group
c. Transition into adult roles
d. Introduction to totemic group
32. How was the formation of the Uniting Church in 1977 received by the Christian denominations
involved?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Almost all Methodists supported it.
Almost all Methodists opposed it.
Almost all Congregationalists opposed it.
Almost all Presbyterians supported it.
33. Taylor is planning a New Age religion study tour. Which destinations are most likely to be on
the tour?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The Ka’ba, Mecca and the River Ganges, India
Angkor Wat, Cambodia and St Paul’s Cathedral, London
The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem and Anzac Cove, Gallipoli
Stonehenge, Salisbury and the Festival of Body, Mind and Spirit, Oslo
34. Which of the following is a distinctive feature of Aboriginal spirituality?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It places a high value on material possessions.
It values competition within Aboriginal communities.
It values competition between Aboriginal communities.
It makes no separation between the spiritual and the secular.
35. Which of the following statements about Aboriginal native title is true?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The Wik Decision found that native title coexists with pastoral leases.
The Bringing them home report was the first legal recognition of Aboriginal native title.
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation recognised that native title exists over seabeds.
The Mabo Decision responded to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
36. What did the Mabo decision recognise?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Australia was declared terra nullius.
Native title overrules pastoral leases.
Indigenous peoples have native title to land.
Aboriginal peoples have the right to negotiate.
37. How has Christianity changed in Australia since 1945?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Denomination switching has caused Pentecostalism to grow.
Ecumenism has caused Christianity to become a more dominant tradition.
Funding arrangements for religious schools have caused Catholicism to grow.
Immigration has caused sectarianism and secularism to grow in Christian denominations.
38. Which of the following is an example of secularisation?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Peace march on Palm Sunday
Shops trading seven days a week
Rise in the number of cults in Australia
Multifaith service for the victims of the Victorian bushfires
39. What is the main function of the National Council of Churches?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To promote ecumenism
To prevent secularisation
To promote reconciliation
To prevent denominational switching
Use your own knowledge and the following table to answer Question 5.
Changing patterns of religious adherence in Australia
Census year
Anglican
Catholic
Presbyterian/
Reformed
Methodist/
Uniting
1961
1981
2001
2006
34.9%
26.1%
20.7%
18.7%
24.9%
26.0%
26.7%
25.8%
9.2%
4.4%
3.4%
3.0%
10.2%
3.4%
6.7%
5.7%
40. Immigration was responsible for the greatest percentage growth in which group?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Catholic
Non-Christian
Methodist/Uniting
Presbyterian/Reformed
41. What is the primary function of Aboriginal ceremonial life?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To celebrate the Dreaming
To worship ancestral beings
To commemorate past activities
To merge past, present and future
42. Which of the following best explains the rise of New Age religions?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Post-war immigration
Abolition of the White Australia Policy
Wider visions of enlightenment and fulfilment in society
Changes in the governing structures of traditional, mainstream religions
43. What is the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne an example of?
a. Secularism
Other religions
and no
religion
0.7%
1.4%
4.8%
5.6%
b. Ecumenism
c. New Age religions
d. Interfaith dialogue
44. Which of the following statements best reflects religion in Australia?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Australia is an ecumenical community.
Australia is a multifaith society that believes in God.
Australia endorses ecumenical relationships with Asia.
Australia is a multifaith society that fosters religious diversity.
45. Which three religions have experienced growth in Australia as a result of immigrationsince
1990?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Hinduism, Islam, Judaism
Buddhism, Islam, Judaism
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam
Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism
46. What is the role of ritual and ceremony for Aboriginal spiritualities?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To renew and conserve life
To gain support for the Land Rights movement
To implement traditional Aboriginal legal decisions
To promote cultural understanding among non-Indigenous people
47. Which of the following best expresses the Aboriginal Dreaming?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Smoking ceremony and totems
Kinship groupings and voting rights
Myths, legends and enactment ceremonies
Australia Day, the Wik Legislation and the Aboriginal flag
48. Which statement best expresses the basis of Aboriginal Land Rights claims?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A formal legal relationship based on title deeds
A spiritual relationship of the people to country
An economic relationship of the people exploiting natural resources
A political relationship where the people have sovereign power over territory
49. What did the Wik decision mean for the Land Rights movement?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Aboriginal people gained sole ownership over land of continuous habitation.
Aboriginal people gained unlimited access to their ritual estates.
Pastoral leases and native title rights could co-exist.
Mining companies gained free access to resources.
50. From 1945 to 2006, the pattern of adherence in Australian Christianity changed.
By 2006, there was
a.
b.
c.
d.
a smaller proportion of Anglicans and a smaller proportion of Catholics.
a greater proportion of Anglicans and a smaller proportion of Catholics.
a greater proportion of Catholics and a smaller proportion of Pentecostals.
a greater proportion of Uniting Church members and a smaller proportion of Presbyterians.
51. What is secularism?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A search for interfaith cooperation in society
A concept that diminishes the influence of religion in society
A school of thought emphasising allegiance to one’s religious group
Communities and individuals who live in isolation and share a common belief
52. Which of the following is a typical feature of New Age religions?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Eucharist
Meditation
Communal worship
Ordained female clergy
53. Which of the following best reflects the reason for ecumenism in Australia’s current religious
landscape?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A shared concern for social justice issues
Increased awareness of the potential for interfaith dialogue
A decline in the number of Christian adherents in the population
The beginning of resource sharing including church buildings in rural Australia
54. What best explains increasing interfaith dialogue in Australia since 1945?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Growing secularism
Increased sectarianism
The work of the council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
Catholic membership of the National Council of Churches (NCCA)
55. Which statement describes a change that has occurred in Australia’s religious landscape since
1945?
a.
b.
c.
d.
An increasing proportion of Jews and a decreasing proportion of Buddhists
An increasing proportion of Buddhists and an increasing proportion of Hindus
A decreasing proportion of Christians and a decreasing proportion of Muslims
A decreasing proportion of Buddhists and an increasing proportion of Christians
56. In the 1990s the Catholic Church overtook the Anglican Church as the largest religious group
in Australia.
What is the best explanation of this trend?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Changing immigration patterns
The implementation of World Youth Days
The increased role of Catholics in political activities
The inclusion of women in leadership roles in the Anglican Church
57. What would followers of New Age spirituality reject?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Spirituality focused on deity
Modern materialistic values
Neo-pagan belief systems
Self-awareness
58. In a religious context, what is the meaning of the term adherent?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A person who becomes a religious leader
A person who follows a secular perspective
A person who follows a religious perspective
A person who takes part in religious dialogue
59. What has been an effect of interfaith dialogue in Australia?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The formation of the Uniting Church in 1977
Joint social welfare work of the Christian churches in Australia
The Reconciliation walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000
Joint statements on homelessness by representatives of religious traditions
60. How is Aboriginal spirituality determined by the Dreaming?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It explains the concept of ‘terra nullius’.
It forms the basis for the covenant with God.
It explains why the ancestral spirits are no longer alive.
It explains how the world was formed and how it is sustained.
61. Which of the following was the first legal recognition of the spiritual connection of the Aboriginal
people to ‘the land’?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Mabo v Queensland 1992
The Native Title Act 1993
Wik Peoples v Queensland 1996
The Native Title Amendment Act 1998
62. What has been the traditional role of Aboriginal elders?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To develop the independence of the Aboriginal community
To organise the purchase of Crown Land by Aboriginal communities
To protect the integrity of Aboriginal sacred texts which embody the Dreaming
To preserve and transmit the most sacred meaning of Aboriginal ritual and ceremonies
63. How is the kinship group of an Aboriginal person determined?
a.
b.
c.
d.
By personal choice
By being born into the group
By completing initiation rites
By the location of their birthplace
64. What was the main reason for removing many Aboriginal children from their families after
1945?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To lessen the burden on large Aboriginal families
To force them to adopt European culture and behaviour
To provide them with opportunities to improve their literacy
To allow them to share Aboriginal spirituality with Europeans
65. What is an impact of Aboriginal Reconciliation on Christianity?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Loss of traditional Aboriginal culture
Reduced awareness of Aboriginal ritual and ceremony
Increased acceptance of Aboriginal ritual and ceremony
Loss of traditional practices in other religious traditions
66. Which of the following is an example of denominational switching?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Changing from Catholicism to Zen Buddhism
Changing from Uniting Church to Humanism
Changing from Orthodox Judaism to Reform Judaism
Changing from Christianity to new religious expressions
67. What is the main cause of the increasing religious diversity in Australia since 1945?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The declining impact of secularism
The changing patterns of immigration
The adoption of a policy of assimilation
The strengthening of the ecumenical movement
At a meeting in December 2006, leaders from all religious traditions agreed that their faiths
required Australians to take care of God’s creation and immediately tackle climate change.
68. Which of the following does this statement reflect?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Ecumenism
Sectarianism
Interfaith dialogue
New Age religions
69. What is a likely outcome of this statement?
a. Combined religious pressure on politicians
b. Conflict between leaders of religious traditions
c. Decreased peace and tolerance in the wider community
d. Encouragement for religious leaders to become politicians
1.
2014
For some Australians, God is no longer important. Religion does not seem attractive as the
country is becoming increasingly secular.
With reference to the statement, account for the current religious landscape in Australia.
2013
With reference to the quotation, outline the importance of Native Title legislation in achieving the
objectives of the Land Rights movement.
2012
How have religious traditions in Australia given support to the process of Aboriginal reconciliation?
2011
Explain the role of the ecumenical movement and/or interfaith dialogue as religious responses to
growing secularism. Include examples in your answer Question 11(5 marks)
2010
Describe the ways in which Aboriginal spirituality is closely linked to belonging to country.
2009
Church sign 1965
Church sign 2009
MIDDLETON METHODIST CHURCH
MIDDLETON UNITING CHURCH
SUNDAY SERVICES
9.30am, 6.30pm
Communion service
First Sunday
of the month
Sunday school
8.30am and 10.30am
Ladies Church Aid Tuesdays 10.00am
Youth Group
Wednesdays 7.00pm
Men’s Brotherhood Thursday 7.00pm
Ladies Church Aid Tuesdays 10.00am
Youth Group
Wednesdays 7.00pm
Men’s Brotherhood Thursday 7.00pm
Sunday Service
Sunday School
Communion service
of the month
9.30am
10.30am
First Sunday
MINISTER: Rev Jennifer Hill, BBus, MTh
Chinese Service 12 noon MINISTER: Rev Peter
Lim, BA, Dip Theol
MINISTER: Rev William Thomas, BA, LTh
Tongan Service 5.00pm MINISTER: Rev Jione
A’Fuangu’a, MTh
Tel. WT 4763
Church Office: Tel. 9876 5432
With reference to the two signs above and your own knowledge, account for changes in Australia’s
religious landscape since the 1960s.
2008
‘The churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of
conviction compel them to act separately.
’Conference on Faith and Order, 1952
Using the above statement and your own knowledge, describe the impact of Christian ecumenical
movements in Australia