DSST Introduction to World Religions study guide
DSST Introduction to World Religions · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Introduction to World Religions is one of the DSST (DANTES Subject Standardized Tests) exam titles listed by Get College Credit, the program's official catalog. DSST exams let learners convert knowledge they already have into college credit: the catalog states that over 1,500 colleges and universities recognize the DSST program and award college credit for passing scores. The DSST Introduction to World Religions study guide has 12 sections and about 4,876 words.
01Dimensions of Religion and Scholarly Approaches
This domain tests whether you can analyze a religion with standard scholarly frameworks instead of merely reciting facts. Expect items that ask you to spot a dimension inside a described practice, label a definition as substantive or functional, or name the method a scholar is using.
448 words, about 2 min02Primal Religions
Primal is the preferred scholarly term for small-scale, largely oral traditions such as Australian Aboriginal, Yoruba, Lakota, Inuit and San religions; primitive is rejected as evaluative. This domain tests characteristics, key concepts such as mana and taboo, and the classic theorists of ritual and totemism.
407 words, about 2 min03Hinduism
Hinduism items test core vocabulary, the shift from Vedic sacrifice to Upanishadic introspection, the goals and stages of life, the paths to liberation, and the six darshanas. Accuracy on Sanskrit terms matters more than breadth.
407 words, about 2 min04Buddhism
Buddhism items test the Four Noble Truths, the marks of existence, dependent origination, and the doctrinal differences among Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Expect questions that require explaining rebirth without a self.
364 words, about 2 min05Confucianism
Confucianism questions focus on the Analects vocabulary, the five relationships, the Mencius–Xunzi debate over human nature, and Neo-Confucian developments. The exam also expects you to say why it is classed as a religion despite lacking a creator god.
402 words, about 2 min06Taoism
Taoism items test the vocabulary of the Daodejing and Zhuangzi, the distinction between philosophical and religious Taoism, and the relation of wu wei to other Chinese traditions. The dao is the ineffable source and way; the Daodejing opens by denying that the speakable dao is the eternal one.
379 words, about 2 min07Judaism
Judaism items test the covenant idea, the structure of the Tanakh and Talmud, the meaning of halakhah, the modern denominations, and the festival and life-cycle calendar. The Tanakh has three parts: Torah (the five books), Nevi'im (prophets) and Ketuvim (writings).
413 words, about 2 min08Christianity
Christianity questions center on Trinitarian and Christological definitions, atonement and salvation by grace or works, the sacraments, and the divisions among Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant bodies. The Trinity is one divine essence (ousia) in three persons (hypostases): Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
379 words, about 2 min09Islam
Islam items test the Five Pillars, the articles of faith, the hierarchy of sources and law schools, the Sunni–Shia division, and Sufism. Shahada, the confession that there is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger; salat, five daily prayers facing the qibla; zakat, obligatory alms of about 2.5 percent of qualifying savings; sawm, fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan; hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if able.
394 words, about 2 min10Shinto
Shinto items test the nature of kami, purity and pollution, shrine practice, the textual sources, and the modern history of State Shinto and its disestablishment. Kami are deities, spirits of natural phenomena, ancestors and sometimes exceptional people; they are not omnipotent creators in the Abrahamic sense.
383 words, about 2 min11Hellenic and Roman Traditions
These items test the Greek pantheon and its limits, civic and mystery cult, Roman religious offices and imported cults, and the philosophical schools that shaped elite religion. The Olympians include Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes and Hestia, with Dionysus sometimes replacing Hestia.
413 words, about 2 min12Scientology
Scientology questions test its modern origin, its distinctive vocabulary, its central practice of auditing, its organizational structure, and its contested legal status as a religion. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986) published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950, and the Church of Scientology was founded in Los Angeles in 1954.
487 words, about 2 min