1. To explore various ways of defining religion and various methods of studying religion.

2. To examine some foundational texts, figures, and ideas in a variety of religious traditions.

3. To compare various characteristics (myth, ritual, doctrine, ethics) of several religious traditions.

4. To consider how religion has shaped and been shaped by civilizations, past and present.

5. To assist in evaluation of one's own religious understanding, and to make available new understandings of oneself and others.

This course attempts to understand the nature of religion by looking at some foundational ideas, texts, and figures in a variety of religious traditions. We will explore what human beings have seen as the ultimate meanings and purposes of existence. Our goal is to comprehend better the varieties of religious experience in the world. We shall assume that religion has many dimensions and that answers to religious questions are manifold.

The course has two main aims: first, for you to become more informed about the ultimate concerns of others, past and present; second, for this information to make available new understandings of yourself and others. At times you should ask yourself: what is true, and why? Why are people religious? Do people really believe this or that? What do I believe, and why? Remember, learning about others should teach you about yourself.

Regular attendance is expected, and roll is taken. Lack of attendance will adversely affect your grade. If you have a problem affecting your course participation, or must miss class, let me know. There will be lots of discussion, and questions are welcome. All topics are open, but civil and respectful discourse is required. You are also expected to read (and think about) the assignments before class. The readings are the "raw material" with which we shall build our understandings. Bring books to class for reference.

There will be three exams, equal in value, which include both identification and essay questions. They will cover material from lectures and readings, and are intended to bring out both academic information and personal reactions to what you are learning. The third exam is during finals. You must bring bluebooks to me before each test date. Occasionally one page responses to readings will also be required. For extra credit, you may keep a journal, and go to hear speakers or have other experiences outside of class.

Our primary texts are Ninian Smart's Worldviews and Christian Jochim's Chinese Religions (available at the bookstore). Also required is a booklet of short readings which can be obtained at Accugraphics (northwest corner of University and W. Berry). Finally, feel free to see me after class or in my office.

Class Assignments

1. "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Minor. From Exploring Society: Selected Readings in Sociology. A. Sadnovik, C. Persell, E. Baumann, and R. Mitchell, eds. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.

2. From The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud. New York: Norton, 1971, pp. 15-20.

3. "Peering Past Faith to Glimpse the Jesus of History," The New York Times, 23 December, 1991.

4. "Scholar Sees 4 Perspectives on Jesus in Gospels," The New York Times, 27 March, 1994.

5. Japanese Imperial Rescript on Education. Found in Sacred Texts of the World. Edited by Ninian Smart and Richard Hecht. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1982.

6. The Pledge of Allegiance

7. Preamble to the United Nations Charter. Found in Sacred Texts of the World. N. Smart and R. Hecht, eds.

8. "The Group and the Individual," The New York Times, 12 December, 1990.

9. From The Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich. New York: Harper & Row, 1957. Pp. 1-4.

10. From The Way of the White Clouds by Lama Anagarika Govinda. Boulder, Co.: Shambala Press, 197?. Pp. 185-87.

11. From The Inner Ecstasy by Marcus Bach. The World Publishing Co., 1969. Found in Ways of Being Religious. Edited by Fred Streng, et al. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971. Pp. 50-4.

12. From In Praise of Krishna. Edward Dimock and D. Levertov, trans. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965. Found in An Anthology of Sacred Texts by and About Women. Edited by Serinity Young. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1993, pp. 295-96.

13. From The Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1987.

14. >From The Republic by Plato. H. D. P. Lee, trans. 2nd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1974. Pp. 316-21.

15. From How to Meditate by Kathleen McDonald. Boston: Wisdom, 1984. Pp. 13-6, 34-6, 44-6, 77-9

16. Genesis 1-3. Found in An Anthology of Sacred Texts by and About Women. Edited by Serinity Young. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1993. Pp. 2-4.

17. Rig Veda X. 90 and 129. Found in The Hindu Tradition. Ainslee Embree, ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Pp. 25-7.

18. "Origins of the Universe," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 December 1995.

19. From Selected Sayings from the Perfection of Wisdom. E. Conze, ed. and trans. Boulder, Co.: Prajna Press, 1955. Pp. 74-5.

20. From The Koran Interpreted, vol. 1. Arthur Arberry, trans. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1955. Pp. 100-1, 105-6.

21. New Society Outlook and reading from Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas. Found in An Anthology of Sacred Texts by and About Women. Edited by Serinity Young. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1993. Pp. 68-69.

22. From the Laws of Manu. Found in The Range of Religion. Denise and John Carmody, eds. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Pp. 269-71.

23. Matthew 5-7 (Sermon on the Mount). The New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. NT, pp. 6-10.

24. From An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham. 1789.

25. The Passover (Exodus 12). Found in Sacred Texts of the World. Edited by Ninian Smart and Richard Hecht. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1982. Pp. 69-70

26. From The Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal Church). New York: Seabury Press, 1977. Church Hymnal Corp. Pp. 326-7, 333-8.

27. "A Boom in Spirit," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 October 1992.

28. From The Precarious Vision by Peter Berger. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1961. Found in Streng et al., Ways of Being Religious. Pp. 242-49.

29. "How to Be a Good Communist" by Liu Shao-chi. From Sources of Chinese Tradition. W. T. deBary, ed. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1960. Found in Streng et al., Ways of Being Religious. Pp. 435-41.

30. "The Role of Religion in Communist Chinese Society" by Lucy Jen Huang. Asian Survey XI. 7 (July, 1971). Found in The Chinese Way in Religion. L. Thompson, ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1973. Pp. 239-41.

31. From Ending Hunger: The Era of Opportunity. San Francisco: The Hunger Project, 1988.

32. "Why Hunger?" by Oxfam America (Boston), 1993.

33. The PPE and Upward Spirals, from UNICEF, The State of the World's Children 1994.

34. From Toward a Psychology of Being by Abraham Maslow. 2nd ed. New York: D. van Nostrand, 1968. Pp. 3-8.

35. "Living Your Vision" by David Gershon and Gail Straub. Lotus (Spring, 1993): 58-63.

36. From The Americanization of the Unconscious by John Seeley. New York: Science House, 1967. Found in Streng et al., Ways of Being Religious. Pp. 385-89.

37. "Putting Life's Trials in a Sacred Context," The New York Times, 9 February, 1997.

38. From Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. New York: Macmillan, 1952. Found in Streng et al., Ways of Being Religious. Pp. 412-45.

39. "Man Against Darkness" by W. T. Stace. Atlantic Monthly (Sept., 1948). Found in Streng et al., Ways of Being Religious. Pp. 338-43.

40. "Four Indicators of Humanhood--the Enquiry Matures" by Joseph Fletcher. Found in On Moral Medicine: Theological Perspectives in Medical Ethics. S. Lammers and A. Verhey, eds. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1987. Pp. 275-77.

41. From The Book of Rites. Found in Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources. Edited by Deborah Sommer. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp. 38-9.

42. From The Book of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity. Found in Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources. Pp. 149-51.

43. From The Analects of Confucius. Found in Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources. Edited by Deborah Sommer. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp. 44.

44. From The Tao-te-Ching of Lao-Tzu. Found in Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources. Pp.73-5.

45. From Lessons for Women by Pan Chao. Found in Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources. Pp. 108-11.

46. From The Hsaio Ching. Mary Makra and Paul Sih, trans., Asian Insitute Translations, (New York: St. John's University Press, 1961). Found in Religious Worlds (Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co.), pp. 179-80.

The most significant problem encountered in this course is not Christian conservatism/triumphalism but apathy/indifference to religious traditions as traditionally conceived. As a result, I try to problematize and reconceptualize what a "religion" is, using Ninian Smart's Worldviews. I describe ideologies like nationalism and scientific humanism, esp. humanistic psychology (personal growth, people naturally good, need to express one's real nature/self) as modern worldviews or "religions".

I also work on developing their critical empathy by emphasizing "mental migration" into the worldviews I present, as well as try to raise their awareness about the extent of their sociocultural conditioning ( to some degree the course does this naturally).

http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwaar/syllabi/understanding_religion-fort.html

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