Religious Studies 101
2008-Spring Semester
Instructor: Nancy Pfaff, MA
Office hours by appointment: Cell: 560-3030, E-mail me: by clicking here; Website: www.sacred-quest.com
TA: Steven Miller, Study group room 3d in main library and also by appointment. Tues.--12-2; Thrs.: 12-1:30. Call: 848-4539 E-mail: samiller@unr.nevada.edu
Office hours: Main Library

Objectives:

To be able to define religion.
To be able to identify the world religions and their major tenets.
To be able to identify pivotal values in the world religions.
To be able to explain the presence of evil in the world.
To be able to explain the key points of religion in tribal groups.
To understand the importance of religion and religious experience.
To be able to identify the different types of religious groupings.
For the student: To know what he/she believes and why based on the material presented & to enrich one’s own religious beliefs and experiences.
To write a paper (as defined in the syllabus.)
To gain self-knowledge as it relates to religious topics.

Readings:

Read chapters as indicated. Not all chapters will be discussed in class, but material will be taken from them for exams.

Class: Attendance is required. Each evening is the equivalent of 3 classes. E-mail instructor if unable to attend and why.

1/3 will be lecture
1/3 will be discussion on your book of choice and later in the semester various speakers will come.
1/3 will be film relating to the world’s religions

Exams: Bring small blue books

Two exams will be given. Any missed exam requires consultation with the instructor. There will be no make-up exams. Study guides will be passed out the week before the exam. Questions for the exam will come directly from the study guide, although not all questions or definitions will be used. Any questions regarding the study guides should be sent to the instructor via email.

March 5 First exam

Final exam: May 14, 7 pm to 9 pm in our classroom. The final will cover material following the first exam.

Grading:

500 points are available.

100 points each per exam; 100 points each for two projects; 100 points for class discussion (must be present).

500-451=A, 450-401=B, 400-301=C, 300-250=D. The instructor reserves the right to give a higher grade when the points are close. This means that I will look for a “natural break” in the scores, and if someone has a few points lower than an A, and the break occurs below that, the person will get an A.

Projects:

Keep a journal relating to the reading of the book of your choice. Must include what you like or don’t like, or don’t understand. Identify a feeling related to this portion of the book, and write what you can about why you feel the way you do. See website for feeling list. Example: I liked what the author said, “-----------“. When I read this, I feel “-------“. I think I feel this way because “---------“. Project due: March 19. Five points will be taken off for each day late.
Visit a place of worship/celebration (see website for suggestions.). Please select from a faith expression unfamiliar to you. Following your visit, write a four-page paper including information on the religion, sect or cult. Please use 10-12 point type and double spacing. Include your name, class and date in the upper right corner of your first page. Point distribution: 10 for organization, 40 for subjective data, 40 for objective data, 10 for grammar and punctuation Include in the paper both subjective data and objective data. Project due: April 30

Subjective data:

What did you like/not like about your visit? Please describe.
What was confusing if anything?
Did you notice any spiritual response in yourself? Please describe.
Would you go back? Why? or Why not?

Objective data:

1.    What do they believe about the afterlife?
2.       What religious technology is used in the ritual and how is it used? (Religious technology includes books, cups, candles, etc.)
3.       What art was noticeable, and what was its significance?
4.       How is song and/or dance or music part of the service?
5.       Are any regalia noticeable? What? (Regalia include special clothing or adornments.)
6.       Is there a religious specialist in charge of the service? What is his/her title?
7.       How does their tradition understand the creation of the world?
8.       Is any ethno-botany visibly used in the service? (Ethno-botany includes any plant derivatives such as grape juice, wine, bread, etc.
9.       What, if any, aspects of the service are “taboo” for you as an outsider?
10.   What spiritual beings, if any, are addressed and with what terms?
11.   Describe the sacred space for the service.

Chapter Readings--Spring 2008

January 24 Chapter 1 Toward a Definition of Religion

Question for Discussion: How would you define religion?

30 Chapter 2 Religious Traditions

Question for Discussion: Which of the major world religions seems interesting to you and why?

February 6 Chapter 3 Religious Experience

Question for Discussion: What characterizations of religious experience apply to Gautama’s experience? (See pg. 53)

Class ritual of initiation.

Project 1 assigned--Student journaling begins.

13 Chapter 4 Elements of Religious Experience

Question for Discussion: What may be some of the reasons that mysticism, a universal experience in all religious traditions, seems strange or challenging in modern western culture?

20 Chapter 5 Religion in Artistic Expression

Question for Discussion: From your own religious tradition name

The rituals and symbols that are most significant.

27 Chapter 6 Knowledge, Belief, Authority and Tradition

Question for Discussion: Do you think everyone has a religious consciousness?

Study Guide passed out.

March 5 First Exam in first hour. Discussion and film follow.

12 Chapter 7 Ways of Conceiving the Divine

Question for Discussion: Reflecting on your own life, have you ad experiences or encounters with “the Holy?” If so, what description could you give of the experience?

19 Chapter 8 Evil: It’s Reality and Meaning

Question for Discussion: According to the various religious traditions, why is there evil and why is there suffering in the world? What can individuals and society do about it?

Project 1 due

26 Spring Break

April 2 Chapters 9 & 10: Understanding the Self; Freedom and the

Self

Question for Discussion: Why is the nature of humanity and

human selfhood an essential religious topic.

Project 2 assigned.

Turn in paper indicating which religious group you will attend.

9 Chapter 11: Sin and Guilt

Question for Discussion: Do religions play a constructive role in society by providing some content for the conscience?

16 Chapter 12: Death and the Self

Question for Discussion: What is your attitude toward death? How have your experiences with death shaped that understanding?

23* *Chapter 17: Religious Traditions and Social Change

Question for Discussion: Do religious traditions today, as Paul Ricoeur thought, resist “the universal industrial (or global) society?

30 Chapter 13: Salvation and Redemption

Question for Discussion: What elements of Western religions lead them to stress personal salvation, whereas this has been stressed relatively less in Eastern religions?

Project 2 due.

Study Guide passed out

May 7 No class. Prepare for finals.

14 Final Exam: Classroom: 7-9:45