Course Syllabus

Introduction to Religion and Ancient Religions

Start reading Touching the Elephant. We will discuss it in week 13, but you can use what you have read throughout the course each week.

Introduction and Context (Definitions of religion and examples of ancient religions)

Read Point of Departure and chapter 9 (the primal religions) in Smith.
Read and view the resources in the week 1 module.

1. Please introduce yourselves by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. What would you like us to know about you? What drew you to the class?.

2. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
3. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.:

Question a) What are three important characteristics you are discovering aboutancient religions?
Question b) In what ways was it useful for ancient rulers (emperors, pharaohs, kings) to claim that s/he was a god or related in some way to a god?

Please be sure to cite sources with both in text citations and full end (Works Cited) citations.

Hinduism

Read to page 41 in Smith.
Read the first 9 chapters of the Bhagavadgita:https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/gita/(Links to an external site.)
Read and view the resources in the week 2 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) From your reading so far, do you think Hinduism's world view is an essentially optimistic or pessimistic one, and why?
   b) There is a conflict in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita. How would you describe it; what might be an example of a similar conflict today? How might Hindu thought resolve this conflict?

Hinduism

Read to page 75 in Smith.
Read the remaining 9 chapters of theBhagavadgita.

Read and view the resources in the week 3 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) Of the paths toward liberation that Krishna stresses in theBhagavad Gita, which do you find most appealing/interesting and why?
   b) Realizing Brahman means moksha or liberation from the world of samsara. Look up some information about culture and economics in India. If you were an Indian Hindu, would challenges might you anticipate in realizing Brahman? How would living your dharma be different from moksha; would you anticipate challenges in living your dharma?

Sikhism and Jainism.

Read Appendix on Sikhism in Smith (p. 75)
Read and view the resources in the week 4 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) How do you think the Jain view of karma compares to Hinduism’s view; what might this reflect about the religion and its adherents ?
   b)How would you sum up Sikhism's spiritual goal?
   c) Sikhism condemns blind rituals. Why do you think that Sikhism does not see its ceremonies or the wearing of the Khalsa physical articles as blind ritual? Would Sikhism see anything in Hinduism or Jainism as blind ritual?

Theravada, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism.

Read chapter III in Smith.
Read theDhammapada(chapter 1 begins on page 23:http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/scrndhamma.pdf(Links to an external site.))
See “The Buddha” PBS documentary (posted in class)

Read and view the resources in the week 5 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) As you read theDhammapada, what do you learn about the human mind? What benefits do you think people might gain from better controlling their minds? b) Explain how any scene or scenes from the documentary gave you a new insight into Buddhism.

Confucianism, Daoism and Shinto

Read Chapter IV and V in Smith.
Read theDao De Jingand theAnalects of Confucius

Dao de Jing:http://www.with.org/tao_te_ching_en.pdf(Links to an external site.)

Analects:http://classics.mit.edu/Confucius/analects.mb.txt(Links to an external site.)

Read and view the resources in the week 6 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a)According to Confucius, all men are alike by nature, but differences in education and environment make them unequal. Thus, if all men are alike by nature, then everyone has the potential to become a sage or a chun-tzu. Reaching sagehood is not easy; even Confucius did not regard himself as a sage. What does Confucius think makes someone a sage; who might be an example of someone Confucius would acknowledge as a sage? b) How does the yin-yang symbol give us an insight into Daoism's main ideas? c) Do a little online research and discover the answers to one of these questions (and inform us): Women were not allowed to worship at Okinoshima; why do you think that was? How do the rites of thanksgiving that Shinto priests perform inside the temples differ from the rites of thanksgiving that common people perform outside the temple? How is sacred space created in Shinto? What are the mythic origins of Izumo, and what might they represent? How does the appearance/structure of Izumo differ from the appearance/structure of Ise, and why does it differ?

Judaism

Read Chapter VII in Smith this week and next.
Read the Book of Exodus:https://biblehub.com/jps/exodus/1.htm(Links to an external site.)

Read and view the resources in the week 7 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) As you look at the links and do the readings this week, how do you think Judaism compares and contrasts with other religions we've examined so far?
   b)Taking into consideration that this is a Bronze Age text for a relatively newly formed religion at that time, what themes and concerns emerge from the Book of Exodus?

Judaism

View the videos and read the web page in the module. This video is almost two hours, so you might want to start early:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuyN7hoVZmU

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.:a) Do some research on the Jewish Diaspora. When did it begin?How did it contribute to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948?
   b) Given that many religions have come and gone in the history of the world, what characteristics do you think have enabled Judaism to survive?

Christianity

Read Chapter VIII in Smith this week and next
View the video in the module. The video is 1 hour and 40 minutes, so if you want to start early, here is the link:How Jesus Became God - UCC Part 1 of 3

Read the Gospel of Lukehttp://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/luke-asv.html(Links to an external site.)and the Gospel of John:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1&version=NIV

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.:a) As you read through Smith, do you think Jesus accepted or rejected the traditional God of the Jews? Why? Be specific; use evidence to support your answer.
   b) How does John portray Jesus; what do John's themes and defining characteristics of the gospel seem to be?How would you characterize the Gospel of Luke; in what important ways is in different from John’s gospel? Use at least one source to support your view.

Christian Schisms

Read and view the resources in the week 10 module including Luther's "The Twofold Use of the Law and Gospel":https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/luther/lawgosp.htm

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) As you read about the Protestant Reformation/Great Schism in Christianity, do you think that there is any longer something called "Christianity"? Or, are there many different religions all of which look to Christ as a savior? Why do you think what you think?
   b) What effects, long term or short term, have stemmed from Luther's ideas and the Protestant Reformation?

Islam

Read Chapter VI in Smith this week .
Read and view the resources in the week 11 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.:

a) What 3 things surprise you as you learn about Islam?
b) Islam is a rapidly growing religion in America and other Western countries. Why do you think that might be?

WE ARE ON BREAK NEXT WEEK>

Sufism

Please use the resources in the week 12 module.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

a) Sufi instructor Gregory Soden said the following in an interview:"Sufism is an Islamic discipline. Alevi-Bektashis are currently debating whether to proclaim ourselves a separate religion, as that is our status in Albania and Kosovo. Our situation is difficult in Turkey because the Sunni fundamentalist establishment is reluctant to recognize our Islam. But we are millions, cannot all be killed, and are not going away." (Schwartz, Stephen S. "Replies to questions about Sufism...."Center for Islamic Pluralism, 22 Apr 2017).

What reasons can you think of for both arguments: That Sufism is a separate religion from Islam, and that Sufism is simply a practice within Islam? Refer to Christianity and/or Judaism within your answer.

b) Why might conservative Muslims have a problem with Sufism?

Pulling it all together

By now you need to have read Touching the Elephant. We are discussing it in its entirety this week.

1. Please raise a discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and reply to the questions of at least two classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
2. Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post for each by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.: a) Over the course of the semester, you have been readingTouching the Elephant, which presents some of the ideas that religions share. Now that we have looked at many different religions, do you agree or disagree? Do you see any other shared values; if so, what do you notice? b) After reading the book and thinking about these various religions, would you argue that they help bind us more or divide us more?

REMINDER: Remember that your learning project is due next week

Learning Project and synthesis

The learning projects of two classmates.

a)After you post your learning project to the drop box (so that I can grade it-- that step is important), please post it to the learning project discussion as an attachment.Both are due Tuesday, December 13, by 11:59 pm.By Saturday at 11:59 p.m., please respond to the projects of two classmates in detail. This should be a conversation. Ask questions about ideas expressed in the project; point out strengths; comment on how the writer might have strengthened the project (what would you have liked to see included, for example? Where might more evidence have been helpful?) You are graded here only on your responses to peers. "Great job!" is not a substantive response; be detailed and thoughtful, please.

b) Please respond to the following questions by Friday at 11:59 p.m. and at least one classmate's post by Sunday at 11:59 p.m: What is the most important concept you have gained from the class? In what practical ways can you use what you learned in the class in other aspects of your life (work, home, school)?