UPSC Prelims 2021 · CSAT

Question 31: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “With respect to what are called…” — Passage – 1 · as printed by UPSC

What is the most logical assumption that can be made from the passage given above ?

aNo man can live without adhering to some religious denomination.

bIt is the duty of everyone to propagate one's religious denomination.

cReligious denominations tend to ignore the unity of man.

dMen do not understand their own religious denomination.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).

The passage argues that if each believer is the judge of his own faith, every faith comes out correct, whereas if believers judge each other's faiths, none does, so the only options are that all are right or all are wrong. The implication is that denominations stress their separate claims against each other, not what people have in common, so the most logical assumption is that they tend to ignore the unity of man. That people cannot live without a denomination, that they must spread it, or that they do not understand their own are never suggested. Remember: ignore claims about duties or needs that the passage does not raise.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) The passage does not say that people cannot live without a denomination.
(b) A duty to propagate one's religion is never raised.
(c) Right: rival denominations judging one another cancel out, which stresses difference over common ground.
(d) Whether men understand their own denomination is not discussed.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2021, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.