Samford University, Department of Religion, Fall 2003

Investigates the beliefs and practices of major world religions. Special attention is given to formative periods in their history and to their place in the modern world.

The student will be able to:

1. explain core beliefs and practices of major world religions.
2. demonstrate how these beliefs and practices have been shaped and reshaped by the cultural context in which the religion has developed.
3. show how the religious tradition has continued to develop and change in the modern and post-modern world.

Required Texts: (In roughly the order they will be read.)

reading packet

Two mid-term examinations 20% each for a total of 40%. Study guides will be provided at least a week prior to each exam. Sample study guides from previous semesters may be available on the course web page. Exams will include objective questions, detailed term identifications, and essays.

Final examination 25% Same format as the mid-terms.

Research paper 15% On a topic of your choosing related to the course. See below for more detail.

Visit to a worship service or other event sponsored by a religious group being studied in this course 5%. See list on course web page for some suggestions. These visits should occur while we are studying the tradition you visit. You must turn in a 2 page report on your visit.

Short assignments, class discussion, class attendance. 15% Several short assignments related to the readings will be given during the semester. I may also give a few quizzes. These are not necessarily indicated on the syllabus.
Class time will be devoted to lecture, discussion, and some group activities. In order to participate in discussion, you must do the assigned reading. If you are not prepared for discussion, your grade will suffer. I don't expect you to understand everything you read; that is after all one of the reasons to discuss it. You should come to every class, however, with questions about what you didn't understand and about the implications of what you did understand.

Students are expected to observe high standards of intellectual integrity. See the relevant section of the Student Handbook and the University Catalogue. Study groups are encouraged, but all work submitted in this class must be your own. Suspected lapses in academic integrity will be investigated and adjudicated in accordance with the University's values policy.

For information on the format of papers and citations see my handout "Guidelines for Essays in Religion."

Roll will be taken each day. In a MWF class a student may miss six classes without penalty. After the seventh absence your final grade will be reduced one letter grade. After the ninth absence the student will receive an FA for the course. Three tardies count as one absence. If you come in after your name is called, you will need to notify your professor at the end of the class period, or else the tardy will become an absence. The Department of Religion grading scale is:

Papers that are turned in after the set due date will be penalized one full letter grade for each week that they are late.

Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make their request by contacting Disability Support Services located in Counseling Services on the lower level

of Pittman Hall, or call 726-4078. A faculty member will grant reasonable accommodations only upon written notification from Disability Support Services.

Research Paper: A 11-14 page paper is due on December 1. This paper should explore a modern or contemporary movement (i.e., eighteenth to twenty-first century) leader, or issue within one of the religions we have studied. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• debate over an important issue such as the role and status of women, poverty, environmental ethics, war, nationalism, modernization, westernization, or fundamentalism within one of the religions
• a modernizing, conservative, or fundamentalist movement within one of the religions
• an issue raised by religious pluralism in the U.S. or another country (e.g., accommodation of religious practices in schools and the workplace)
• religious organizations in the U.S. or another Western country.

Whatever topic you choose, you should focus on a particular movement or individual, or perhaps on a few different individuals with diverging issues on some view point. For example, if you are interested in Islamic Fundamentalism, you should focus on a particular group like the Jamaat-i-Islami in Indonesia, or a particular figure such as Sayyid Qutb.

There are several deadlines you must meet in writing your paper. Your performance on each of these transitional assignments will affect your grade on the paper.

September 10: Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese Religions)

September 26: Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year, a solemn fast) begins at Sundown

October 5: Yom Kippur (Jewish Day of Atonement) begins at Sundown

October 10: Sukkot (Jewish festival of Booths) begins at Sundown, lasts seven days.

October 25: Diwali (Hindu Festival of Lights)

October 26: Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting during daylight hours) begins at Sundown

November 25: Eid-al-Fitr (Islamic festival at the end of the Ramadan fast) begins at Sundown

Dates are given for each unit. We will cover the topics in the order listed. Some topics will take less than a day, some more. It is your responsiblity to keep up with where we are and to stay ahead. I'll try to announce what you should read for the next class. For Wednesday. August 27, you should read all the pages assigned for the "Introduction" (i.e. World Religions Today, pp. 3-35). Key terms are provided in Unit I to guide your reading. I'll aim to add terms for later units to the on-line syllabus.

Readings in brackets ([ ]) are recommended, not required.

Introduction: What are religions? August 25-27

Unit I: Christian Encounters with Modernity and with Other Religions August 29 - September 5

Unit II: Judaism September 8- September 22

Unit III: Islam Sept. 26 - Oct. 22

Unit IV: Hinduism and South Asia October 24 - Nov. 14

Unit V: Buddhism and East Asian Religions Nov. 17 - Dec. 3

Final Exam--Wednesday, December 10, 8am [The final exam will be given at the time specified in the Class Schedule for this term. Sometimes I make typos. Double-check me to make sure the date I've given here is right before making any travel plans.]