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Fred Glennon, Ph.D. (Courses) |
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Section
200-01, 02 Reilly Hall 338 TTH 11:30-12:45;
1:00-2:15
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Date |
Course Topics and Assignemnts |
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8/30 Introductions |
Questions:
Why am I in this class? What do I hope to learn from taking this
class? Who else is in this class and why? Who is this
professor? What qualifies him to teach this class? Can he help me
meet my learning objectives? Will taking this class turn me into
an atheist? ·
Susan Henking, “This
Just In: College Will Make You an Atheist,” Religion
Dispatches |
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9/1 The Learning Covenant |
Questions:
What is a "learning covenant"? What contribution, if any, can
it make to my learning in this class and beyond?
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Module 2 |
Human
Experience and Religion |
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9/6 Religious Identity: Spiritual but not Religious |
Questions: Why
is it that, according to the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life, the
numbers of “nones”—those who indicate in surveys
that they have no religion or do not belong to any particular religion—are on
the rise? Why are people, especially those under the age of 30,
rejecting religious identity and affiliation (like Eboo Patel
did early on)? What do they mean when they say they are spiritual
but not religious? What is your view on this?
Complete Religious Knowledge Survey before
class (on Canvas) |
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9/8 Religion, Order, and Meaning |
Questions: What does it
mean to say religion brings order and meaning to the lives of individuals and
communities? What is the nature of the order and meaning that religion
provides? Does religion play any role in providing order and meaning in
my life? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 1-25 |
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9/13 Culture and Religion |
Questions: What is culture? How does culture influence
people? What is the relationship between culture and
religion? · Introduction to the Study of Religion, 67-75 ·
Geertz, “Religion as a Cultural System,” (Excerpts on Canvas); Review
the PowerPoint presentation on Religion as a Cultural System and take the quiz before class (this is
an example of a flipped classroom) |
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9/15 Studying and Defining Religion |
Questions: How do scholars study and define
religion? What are the differences between essentialist and functional
definitions of religion? How do these definitions shape one's approach
to religious phenomena?
Learning Covenants Due |
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9/20 Definitions and Dimensions of Religion |
Questions:
Are there similarities between religious traditions? If so, what are
they? How extensive are they? How do I define religion?
What are the dimensions of religion that scholars have identified?
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Module 3 |
Religious
Action |
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9/22 Ritual Action: Types of
Religious Ritual |
Questions: What is ritual? Why do people practice rituals? Do I have rituals that I regularly practice? How do religious rituals differ from secular rituals? What is the difference between a calendar, life cycle, and life crises ritual?
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9/27 Sacred Space |
Questions: What makes
some space sacred and other space ordinary? Is there any space I would
consider sacred? What moods, feelings, aesthetic sensibilities does sacred space seek to instill in
people? What is the difference between a shrine and a traditional
ritual space? Why do those roadside memorials I see develop?
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9/29 Ethical Action: Moral Conduct |
Questions: What is ethical action? How does it differ from
morality? Are religious ethics different from secular ethics? If so,
in what ways? Can a person engage in ethical or moral action without
being religious? Do religions require certain moral conduct on the part
of their practitioners? What ethical actions have I done that have been
influenced by my religious tradition? What are norms for moral
conduct? What norms for moral conduct do different traditions
require? How are laws and ends different? Are there any norms
that all religious traditions agree upon? Are there any that I would agree
upon?
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10/4 Ethical Action: Moral Character and Moral Exemplars |
Questions: How do norms for moral
conduct differ from norms for moral character? What is moral
character? Would I consider myself a moral character? How does
religion shape moral character? What is the difference between a moral
conscience and moral consciousness? What
is a moral exemplar? Who do know that I would call a moral
exemplar? Who are the moral exemplars in the religious traditions we
are studying them? What characteristics make them examples that others
should follow? Are there commonalities among them?
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10/6 Relationship between Ritual
and Ethics |
Questions: What do the terms
moral pedagogy, moral redemption, and moral transformation mean? Have I engaged in any rituals that have
sought to help me to become a better person?
Do all religious rituals encourage a certain moral way of life? Or do broader ethical issues sometimes call
certain rituals into question? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 156-168 ·
Ritual and Moral
Objections: Case study, Circumcision o
Christine Gudorf, “A Question of Compromise” (on Canvas) |
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10/11 Fall Break |
No Class |
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Module 4 |
Religious Language |
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10/13 Talking |
Questions: How do people talk
about the sacred? What metaphors,
symbols, or names do they use? Why is
metaphorical language so important in this regard? What metaphors do I sue for the
sacred? Are there some names that I
have difficulty with? Why is this the case?
·
Introduction to
the Study of Religion, 169-184, 200-203 (Mid-semester course evaluation found on
Canvas under Assessment Activities due) |
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10/18 Myths of Origin |
Questions: What is the
peculiar way that religious traditions use the term myth? What are the myths or stories of religious
traditions attempting to say about the origins of the universe and the place
of humanity in it? Are there any myths
that I find meaningful for understanding the universe? ·
Introduction to
the Study of Religion, 184-197 ·
Genesis 1-3 (from the
Bible) |
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10/20 Stories of Challenge and
Suffering: Job |
Questions: What is a
theodicy? Why do religious traditions provide
stories to help people deal with suffering in the world? How do I understand the nature of innocent
suffering in the world? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 232-233 ·
Supplementary
Readings o
Howard Kushner,
“The Story of a Man Named Job,” in When
Bad Things Happen to Good People, ch. 2
(summary on Canvas) o
Fred Glennon’s reflections on suffering and theodicy, “The
Absence of God” (on Canvas) |
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10/25 Scriptures and Canons |
Questions: Why do religious
traditions identify some writings and texts as sacred? Do all people in those traditions interpret
the texts in the same way? If not, why
not? Are there any texts that I would
consider sacred? What are they and
why? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 209-224 ·
Case Study: Gospel of Mark o
Gospel of Mark (from the Bible) o
Questions for
Gospel of Mark (on Canvas) o
Gospel of John 1.17-21 (from the Bible) |
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10/27 Doctrines and Creeds |
Questions: What is a doctrine or creed? Are there any doctrines or creeds that I
have? How do the traditions view
death, redemption, and the afterlife? What
are the similarities? What are the
differences? How do I view them? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 235-239 ·
Begin reading Augustine’s Confessions (see questions below
for specific books ·
Introduction to
Augustine’s Life ·
Questions for
Augustine’s Confessions (on Canvas) |
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Module 5 |
Religious Change |
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11/1 Personal Religious Change as Development
and Conversion |
Questions: Has your religious
experience changed over time? In what
ways? Has the change been slow and
gradual or sudden? What does
conversion mean? What does it mean to
be “born again”? (see questions for
Augustine’s Confessions) What do you think of Augustine’s
experience? How does it relate to your
own? ·
Finish reading
Augustine’s Confessions and be
prepared with answers to questions ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 245-263 |
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11/3 Social Change as Catalyst for
Religious Change |
Questions: In what ways do
changes in society generate changes in religious ideas, practices, and
traditions? What effect has the
development of modern western society, with its emphasis on personal, political,
and economic freedom had on religion?
How has this freedom affected your own religious practice? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 275-296 ·
Case Study: Religious Fundamentalism o
Daniel Schultz, “Destruction, Or, Why Do
Fundamentalists Seem To Enjoy Blowing Things Up?” Religion Dispatches |
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11/8 Religious Change as Catalyst
for Social Change |
Questions: see questions for
King’s letter below ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 296-307 ·
Martin Luther
King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (on Canvas) ·
Questions for
King’s Letter (on Canvas) |
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Module 6 |
Religion as Alienating and Reconciling |
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11/10 Religion as Alienating |
Questions: What does it mean
to say that religion can be alienating?
In what ways can and has religion been alienating to people? Have you experienced religion in alienating
ways? ·
Konstantin Petrenko, “The
Two Faces of Atheism,” Religion
Dispatches ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 311-343 |
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11/15 Religion and Violence |
Questions: Why do religious
people resort to violence? Is it endemic
to religion as some claim? How does
such violence raise questions about the role of religion in today’s world? ·
Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil, 26-40 (on
Canvas) ·
Hitchens, god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, 16-36
(on Canvas) |
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11/17 Alienation: Philosophical Responses |
Questions: In what ways does
Feuerbach say religion alienates humanity?
How does Marx push his ideas further?
What do these philosophers suggest will ultimately happen to
religion? Do you agree? ·
Feuerbach,
Essence of Christianity; Karl
Marx on Religion (read first 6 paragraphs) ·
Sigmund
Freud, The Future of an Illusion This will be a flipped classroom.
There will be a video presentation on Canvas to review for the
information related to this class. First Draft of Ritual Activity due (see
Canvas, Graded Activities to post your
draft) |
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11/22 |
Group preparation on final exam process. This will be conducted by student teaching
process person. See Canvas for
details. |
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11/24 |
Thanksgiving (no class) |
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11/29 Alienation: Personal Responses |
Questions: see questions for
Wiesel, Night below and on Canvas ·
Case Study: The Holocaust ·
Elie Wiesel, Night ·
Questions for Night (also on Canvas) |
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12/1 Reconciling Religion |
Questions: How does religion
act as a reconciling force for the individual and for society? In what ways
has it been reconciling for you or for people you know? ·
Introduction to the Study of Religion, 349-379 |
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12/6 Religious Activism |
Questions: see questions for
Patel, Acts of Faith on Canvas ·
Eboo Patel, Acts of
Faith, chapters 4-6 Ritual Papers
due (see Canvas, Graded Activities to post your final paper) |
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12/8 Religious Pluralism |
Questions: What is religious
pluralism? What is the impact on the perception
of the U.S. as a “Christian” nation?
In what ways have you experienced religious pluralism? ·
Eboo Patel, Acts of
Faith, chapters 7-8, conclusion Last Day of Class |
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12/16 Final Exam |
Group Final Exam (Completed finals are due by 5pm) |