Intro to Religion

[teedee11984]

I will be taking my first DSST exam in 6 days..(Intro to Relg. /2008 version) ...I have studied IC Pass your Class and Wikipedia...I was wondering if this will be enough??

[pcs]

I took it last month and passed it with a 435. Here is a post from another web-site that I used. good luck

You do need to know the definitions of religion, the sacred, ritual, and other general things especially as it relates to primal religions. What is a shaman. There was a question about dreamtime the aboriginal word for creation. Know what mana is.

Hinduism: know what the vedas are and the most famous or most read is the Rig. Know what the Upanishads teach. Know what the caste system is and the four original caste, their order and the last edition of the untouchables. Know about the Bhagavad Gita and the basics of the story of Vishnu becoming Krishna and what he discussed with Arjuna. Have an idea what Ghandi's mission was. Know the countries that held India in their power over time. Know what karma, dharma, and kama are and their differences. Understand samsara/ moksha. Look up raja yoga. Know about puja.

Buddhism: Know Buddhas name, the caste he was born into. Understand that nirvana is like Hindu moksha. Understand about the middle way. Know the four noble truths and about the eightfold path. Know that Buddha taught about suffering, nothing is independant and the individual soul doesn't exist. Understand how one becomes Bodhisattva. Know what a stupa is. Know the general philosophies of the Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayan are and that the Dhali lama and lamas in general come from which one of the three.

Confucianism and Taoism: know what the five classics are and the four books. Know who Mencius and Mo Tzu and the name of his school. Know Confucius' general philosophy. Know what jen, li, wen are and what they mean. Read up on Lao Tzu. Know what wu-wei is. Have a basic understanding of the Tao.

Judism: Know that Abraham is a patriarch and what he means to Christians Jews and Muslims. Know about the exodus, the passover, Bar Mitzvahs, Yom Kippur and kosher. Understand the difference between the Tanahk, the Torah and the Talmud. Know which of the differing sects i.e. Orthodox, reform, conservative and reconstructionism allow female rabbis. Also know which are the most popular in the states.

Christianity: Know the difference between the Catholics, the Orthodox Christians and Protestant. Know which sacraments the Orthodox and Protestant religions allow. Know what the sacraments are. Know the three most popular breaks from the protestants, i.e. Baptist, meth, luth. Understand the crucifixion. Know about the synoptic gospels. Know about Paul. Know which gospels speak about the early life of Jesus.

Islam: Know about Muhammad, the kabba, sunni, shi'a, and sufi, the five pillars. There's more but my mind went blank.

And yes know what century Muhammad, Buddha and I think Confucius were all born.

[lovetheduns]

I took the exam on 11/19. I would HIGHLY advise you read the feedback in the exam section and know EVERYTHING people have mentioned.

I took the weekend to study for the exam (the weekend before) and studied for about 16-20 hours straight. I used one of the textbooks the Dantes sheet referenced (you can find an online edition on the web for like $35.00 for a 180 day "rent"). I took notes, went through IC several times. I made a 455.

I was shocked because the exam was tough and more of a historical and specific details. I took the exam in less than 30 minutes and had no idea if I had passed when I hit the button to submit the exam. I think mainly I pretty much lucked out with my test taking skills as well.

Good luck-- it is in my opinion not a gimme exam.

[sheeenz]

Check out the Specific Exams Forum for Intro to World Religions specifically pixie post and there on

[lillyrosa]

I have also been studying for this. I am using a variety of materials. One material I found was a podcast. I downloaded it on my PC and MP3 player and listen to the various tracks while driving or at home. Check it out see if you like it.


Revealing World Religions Podcast

[teedee11984]

Thanx everyone for the rapid response! Wish me luck this Tuesday! I will be studying all this weekend!?!

[akwoolf]

Great - good luck! Let us know how everything goes...