Course description: This course is a study of the world's major religious traditions. The basic beliefs of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, New Religious Movements--and the beliefs of many indigenous and ancient peoples--will be explored. Several methodological frameworks for religious studies will be provided, and essential differences between Eastern and Western religions will be noted. Literary texts and iconographic images will be studied as appropriate. Class will consist of a combination of reading, lecture, class and online discussions.
The class will consist of readings and discussions to help the student organize the material; highlight important religious ideas; discuss the content of religious writings, focusing on the "original intent" of the author(s); and describe the historical development of religious traditions. The reading material will come primarily from the textbook, World Religions, which documents the historical development of the world's religions and discusses contemporary beliefs and practices. The text is supplemented with quotations of opinions from religious leaders and scholars, as well as excerpts from the sacred scriptures of the world's religions.
This course approaches religion from an anthropological point of view. Religion is a construct of human culture and influenced by language, geography, economy, social organization, gender, and historical context. No religion possesses Truth; all religions hold truths that are valid for that religious system only. Whatever the nature of Ultimate Reality/God (if Ultimate Reality/God exists at all), religions and their God(s) are human constructs that can be studied historically to gain a greater understanding of the diversity of religious experience and a greater appreciation of the human condition. As a result our method of inquiry will be historical-critical: historical in that religion exists and evolves over time within a historical context, producing texts and artifacts to be studied objectively, and critical in that the beliefs and claims of religion are subject to inductive and empirical standards of proof.
If you are already convinced of the Truth, or if you are taking this course to validate your own religious tradition against the claims of other religious traditions, please drop this class immediately, or take this class at a religious affiliated school. Quoting John 3:16 in a discussion about African religions (or any other religion), or insisting that the Bible (or the Qur'an, the Bagavad-Gita, the Tao-Te-Ching, etc.) is the sole source of Truth, has no place in this class, and reveals a cultural chauvinism inappropriate for collegial modes of inquiry.
Although this is an online course, it will require considerable effort on the part of the student, perhaps more so than a traditional class. And because this is a summer class of 8 weeks (rather than a 16 week semester), the time and workload requirements are double. The course will be paced on a MTWR class schedule and will require a minimum of 9-12 hours per week online.
The student will be expected to keep up with the reading assignments as per the course calendar, and the online discussions. And although this is a distance-learning class with no on-campus meetings, the student will need to attend area houses of worship.
Course date: Monday, June 4, 2007 through Thursday, July 26, 2007
