Intro. to Religious Studies
Fall 2009
Mr. Dalton
Syllabus
Purpose:
The main purpose of this course is to introduce high school students to the academic study of religion as it is conducted in the majority of secular colleges and universities in the United States. The format will be comparative in that we will study the world’s major religious traditions with the hope of: (1) coming to a richer and more universal definition of religion by examining the similarities between these traditions and; (2) gaining a knowledge of, and appreciation for, traditions other than the Judeo-Christian by examining the differences between these traditions and scrutinizing the peculiarities of each.
Materials:
The text for this course will be Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions and Karen Armstrong’s A History of God. However, readings from the text will be liberally supplemented with poetry, fiction, and philosophy from familiar and important Western sources. We will also view several films, and students will be expected to analyze and critique them both in class discussions and essay assignments. Each student will need a three-ring binder to store all notes and hand-outs given during the course of the semester. As you will be allowed to use notes and hand-outs for in-class writing assignments, I suggest that you keep a thorough and well-organized Religious Studies notebook.
Objective:
Though mastery of the course-content is expected, it is not the primary objective of this class. The sole objective of this course is to provide you with the opportunity and impetus to develop your own ideas and opinions about both religion in general and the particular traditions we will cover. Though there will technically not be a tremendous amount of homework for this course, the type of work that you will be asked to do will be very demanding. However, I think that you will also find it extremely rewarding in the end.
Student Evaluation: Unit tests and extended essay assignments will make up the majority of each student’s grade. Participation grades and reading quizzes may be used as well.
Fall 2009
Mr. Dalton
Syllabus
Purpose:
The main purpose of this course is to introduce high school students to the academic study of religion as it is conducted in the majority of secular colleges and universities in the United States. The format will be comparative in that we will study the world’s major religious traditions with the hope of: (1) coming to a richer and more universal definition of religion by examining the similarities between these traditions and; (2) gaining a knowledge of, and appreciation for, traditions other than the Judeo-Christian by examining the differences between these traditions and scrutinizing the peculiarities of each.
Materials:
The text for this course will be Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions and Karen Armstrong’s A History of God. However, readings from the text will be liberally supplemented with poetry, fiction, and philosophy from familiar and important Western sources. We will also view several films, and students will be expected to analyze and critique them both in class discussions and essay assignments. Each student will need a three-ring binder to store all notes and hand-outs given during the course of the semester. As you will be allowed to use notes and hand-outs for in-class writing assignments, I suggest that you keep a thorough and well-organized Religious Studies notebook.
Objective:
Though mastery of the course-content is expected, it is not the primary objective of this class. The sole objective of this course is to provide you with the opportunity and impetus to develop your own ideas and opinions about both religion in general and the particular traditions we will cover. Though there will technically not be a tremendous amount of homework for this course, the type of work that you will be asked to do will be very demanding. However, I think that you will also find it extremely rewarding in the end.
Student Evaluation: Unit tests and extended essay assignments will make up the majority of each student’s grade. Participation grades and reading quizzes may be used as well.
History of God: Content
ReplyDelete1. Why do Buddhists believe that the “concept of God” is too limiting?
2. Why does religion seem irrelevant today according to Armstrong?
3. According to The Origin of the Idea of God, what happened to God?
4. Is there an objective view of God? Why or why not?
5. How is religion like art?
Discussion
1. What is the difference between beliefs and faith?
2. Who/what is God? Is he a describable “reality?”
3. In regard to the story of Abraham and Isaac, why were sacrifices necessary? How did it prove Abraham’s love for God over his own son?
4. Why is God evil and cruel in some parts of the bible and not in other parts?
5. According to Aristotle, does God direct our lives? Does he know of our existence? Does Aristotle’s theology make sense?
World’s Religions: Content
1. What was the author’s main goal in talking about religions?
2. What does this book say/not say about religion?
3. Is this book a comparative novel on religion? Why or why not?
4. Why does Smith take religion seriously? Is he looking to belittle religion?
5. What preconceptions must the reader push aside?
Discussion
1. How successful is religion?
2. Is learning about other religions “important?”
3. Why is this book considered a home?
4. Why are universal principles of religion more important than actual “rites and rituals?”
5. How do we know which religion is right or which God is true? Is religion motivating people to find the answers to these questions? Why or why not?