A note
on assignments: The following outline contains reading assignments from the
textbooks for the course. It also contains some suggestions for reading the
assignments and identifying what the student needs to gain from them. In
particular, it is the intent of the professor that students should work to
become independent readers, gaining essential information and understandings
for their courses from the reading assignments without the need for the
professor to “teach” the textbook. Classroom time instead will be spent
working on a deeper understanding of the central ideas (which are for the most
part introduced in the readings). The textbook thus become both an additional
perspective on the content of the course and a different mode of approaching
the material than class presentations. The material that follows contains
writing exercises and suggestions for note-taking on the readings designed to
help the student identify what is essential in the material and adsorb it as
well as to prepare the student to ask questions in class and contribute to
class discussion. Some of the questions to be noted in this study process
will show up on the midterm and final exams, and the note-taking process is
designed to aid the student in preparing to respond on the tests. It is
suggested that the student have a separate section for notes on the readings
(and the videos shown in class) in the notebook that you keep for class
lectures and presentations, and that you make entries in that section
consistently throughout the course.
I. Defining religion
We will begin
with a question that, in one way or another, has concerned scholars of
religion since the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century: why is there
religion? In the process, we will need to define the word, religion, and
explore various concepts that are related to a global understanding of the
subject. We will also take a quick look at traditional (primitive) religion
in the process, in part since traditional religions have been part of the
discussion of why there is religion, and in part since such religious
traditions taken collectively represent a significant part of the human
religious experience today.
Jan. 15: Introduction to
course.
Jan. 17: Why there are
Religions: Approaches to the Ultimate or Sacred in the Academic Study of
Religion. Read Fisher, pp. 16-43, and see definitions of religion at the end
of the syllabus. As you read, begin by focusing on the three explanations
offered to explain why there is religion. Try to figure out whether you are
primarily a materialist, a functionalist, or a believer? How does the rest of
the material in the chapter relate to the three explanations? What can you
conclude that the writer means by “ultimate reality” (pay attention to the
ways in which people seek to encounter it)? How do we understand the
encounter of religion and science? Are they in conflict or complementary to
one another? Make some notes to yourself based on the above questions
(including a paragraph about which of the three approaches to explaining why
there is religion best describes your personal perspective) that will help you
prepare to raise questions and engage in discussion in class.
Jan. 22: Class exercises in
defining religion as "ultimate concern" (see Paul Tillich’s definition of
religion at the end of your syllabus). You will be given a sheet entitled
"The Pearl." Write a short paragraph in response to the assignment to prepare
you to enter into class discussion. Note that the subsequent assignments will
ask you to write brief paragraphs for each of the religions that we study in
order to reflect on the pearl exercise in light of that particular religion.
These paragraphs are designed in part to feed into an essay question on the
midterm or final.
Jan.
24: The Way of the Ancestors--videotape. Read Fisher, pp. 44-78. In reading
this chapter, attempt to identify and make a list of the central
characteristics of indigenous religions, and then come to class prepared to
look for those characteristics in the videotape. Make notes for yourself
during the video so that you will be prepared to help identify these
characteristics in discussion during the next class period.
Jan.
27: The Dimensions of Religion. We will seek to identify the characteristics
of indigenous or traditional religions from the textbook chapter and the
videotape. Write a short paragraph explaining how you think the new high
priest in the video would respond to the pearl exercise above. Refer to the
notes that you took while reading and during the videotape to prepare for this
class session.
II. Judaism
Judaism is a
religion small in numbers, but it plays a strategic role in our world. Most
of us are conscious of the enormity of the Holocaust, but fewer are aware of a
history of persecution of Jews by European Christians. Over the centuries,
Jews have fared far better in Islamic than in Christian society. Judaism's
contribution to the discussion of world religions is the prophetic experience
of the holy as one God, whose gift to humanity is a law, the Torah, that in
its essence establishes a fundamental dignity to human life. To paraphrase
Elie Wiesel, God is big enough to take care of himself. What he had to give
humanity is human dignity.
Jan. 29: Judaism: The Chosen
People--videotape. Read Fisher, pp. 231-85. In reading the chapter, pay
attention to the various historical events that have shaped Judaism as we know
it today. Make a list of those events and note what each seems to have
contributed to the subsequent history of the religion. Be prepared to
identify the central beliefs and practices of the religion from the
description in the textbook. During the video, make notes regarding what the
video seems to say is essential to being Jewish and come prepared to
contribute your observations and questions during the next class period.
Jan. 31: The Way of Torah. A
discussion of what it means to be Jewish.
Feb. 3: The Holocaust, past,
present, and future--read Night. As you read, look for the universal
human dimension of the tragedy. Can you identify with Eliezer? A sheet of
questions for discussion will be distributed. Make notes for yourself on the
questions and come prepared to discuss them in small groups in class.
Feb. 5: Discussion: Judaism.
In preparation for this class session, write a short paragraph to explain how
you think that a Jewish Rabbi would respond to the pearl exercise.
Feb.
7: Review.
Feb.
10: First test.
III. Religions of the East: Buddhism
We live on the
Pacific rim, where Buddhism represents one of the major alternatives to
Christianity. The two religions have some striking differences and startling
affinities. We will look at the older Theravadin form of Buddhism, where
salvation comes through the "middle way" of mental discipline, and at Buddhism
in Japan, where the "other help" of Mahayana or Pure Land Buddhism stands
alongside the "self help" of Zen.
Feb. 12: In the Footsteps of
the Buddha, Theravadin Buddhism--videotape. Read Fisher, pp. 141-86.
As you read the chapter from Fisher, focus upon the identity of the Buddha and
his central teachings. How have those teaching been preserved and transformed
by the different groups that have carried on the tradition? During the video,
make notes of the central practices and teaching of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and
come to the next class prepared to ask questions and enter into discussion
about the reading and the video.
Feb. 14: Discussion. Come
prepared to ask questions and enter into discussion.
Feb. 19: The Land of the
Disappearing Buddha, Buddhism in Japan--videotape. Make notes during the
video about how Buddhism seems to have been transformed from the way we found
it in South Asia, and come to the next class prepared to ask questions and
enter into discussion. If the Buddha of Japan were to meet the Buddha of Sri
Lanka, would they recognize one another? In order to prepare for a possible
essay question on a test, write a short paragraph to explain whether you think
they would or would not recognize one another and why.
Feb. 21: Discussion. In
preparation for the class, write a short paragraph explaining how you think a
Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka or Japan might respond to the Pearl exercise.
First Focus Paper Due.
IV. Christianity
Christianity
comes in three major varieties: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant.
Central to each is Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe is the Christ or
Son of God, the Word of God made manifest in a human person. Christians
believe that the Son is one person of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit (Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer), which is, at the same time, one
God. Each branch of Christianity shares basically the same scripture and
creeds, but subtle--and sometimes not so subtle--differences emerge in the
ways these scriptures and creeds are understood as well as in church
government and styles of worship.
Feb. 24: Jesus and Christian origins. Read Fisher, pp.
286-358. Note: the professor will designate in class which pages will be
covered on the second test and which will be covered on the final exam, but it
will be helpful to read the entire chapter at this time to help you put Jesus
and the Catholic tradition in context. In reading the chapter, make notes
regarding the events of Jesus’ life and the basic characteristics of his
teaching. Note also how Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians have
preserved and adapted his teachings. What are the central beliefs and
practices of the various branches of Christianity, and what is happening to
Christianity as it encounters science and materialistic culture in the modern
world.
Feb. 26: Rome, Leeds, and the
Desert--videotape. Roman Catholicism. Make notes on the central
characteristics of Catholicism in the video to help you enter into discussion
in the next class period. If you are a Catholic, make notes for yourself
regarding how the portrait of Catholicism in the video corresponds to your
understanding of your tradition.
Feb. 28: Discussion of
Catholicism. Prepare for this class by writing a short paragraph indicating
how you think a lay Catholic would respond to the pearl exercise.
March 3: Review.
March 5:
Second Test.
March 7: Small group project
on Dorothy Day. Read The Long Loneliness (the professor will
distribute a specific list of pages to be read as well as a project
description).
March 10: Small group project
on Dorothy Day.
March 12: Protestant Spirit
U.S.A.--videotape. Protestantism. Review for yourself pp. 286-358 from
Fisher. Make notes for yourself during the video about the distinctions the
video draws among the three different churches representing the varieties of
Protestantism, and come to the next class prepared to ask questions and enter
into discussion. If you are a Protestant, note for yourself which of the
three varieties of Protestantism best corresponds to your approach to the
Christian faith.
March 14: Discussion of
Protestantism. Prepare for this class by writing a short paragraph indicating
how you think a Protestant from one of the three churches in the video would
respond to the pearl exercise.
March 24: Small group project
on Dorothy Day.
March 26: Orthodox
Christianity: Orthodoxy, the Rumanian Way -- Videotape. Make note for
yourself during the video regarding the central beliefs and practices of
Orthodox Christianity, and come to the next class prepared to ask questions
and enter into discussion.
March 28: Discussion of
Orthodox Christianity. Prepare for this class by writing a short paragraph
indicating how you think an Orthodox Christian would respond to the pearl
exercise.
March 31: Discussion:
Christianity. In preparation for today’s discussion, review your three
responses to the pearl exercise question for the three major branches of
Christianity.
April 2, 4: Small group
project on Dorothy Day.
April 7, 9: Canonizing
Dorothy Day? Small group presentations and discussion.
V. Islam
Islam, as the
third of the three monotheistic faiths, shares some important beliefs and
values with Judaism and Christianity. At the same time, there are some
important differences. It began with Muhammad and the hejra in AD
622, the first year of the Islamic calendar. Today, Islam represents an
increasingly important force in our world. Muslims believe in one God who has
no equal. Islam is a way of submission to God, Allah, revealed to humankind
through Muhammad, the seal of a line of prophets or messengers including
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
April 11: Islam: There Is No
God but God--videotape. Read Fisher, pp. 359-411. In reading the chapter,
make notes regarding the life of Muhammad and the central beliefs and
practices of Islam. How has Islam responded to its situation in the modern
world? Make notes during the video regarding the way in which it presents the
life of Muhammad, the central beliefs and practices of the Islamic world, the
division within the religion between Sunni and Shi’ite, and the encounter of
Islam with the modern world, and come prepared to ask questions and enter into
discussion in the next class.
April 14: Discussion:
Islam. Write a short paragraph comparing Islam’s encounter with the modern
world with Christianity’s.
April 16: Video: To be
announced.
April 23: The straight path:
Islam in the contemporary world. Come with a short paragraph indicating how
you think a Sunni Muslim would respond to the Pearl exercise.
April 25: Summing up:
Reflections on the Long Search—videotape. Make notes during the video
regarding what you think Ronald Eyre has learned by making his series of
videos on the religions of the world and come to the next class prepared to
ask questions and enter into discussion. Second
Focus Paper Due.
April 28: Discussion:
Looking back over the semester. Come prepared with a short paragraph noting
how, at the end of the semester, you would respond to the Pearl exercise.
April 30: Review.
May 5: FINAL EXAM.
3:15-5:15 PM.
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