Religions of the World
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Religions of the World -- Assignments and Resources 

Winter, 2004

Important Details Unit I:  Introducing Religious Studies Unit II:  Indigenous Religions Unit III:  Hinduism Unit IV:  Buddhism Unit V:  Religion in China and Japan Unit VI:  Judaism Unit VII:  Christianity Unit VIII:  Islam Unit IX:  New Religious Movements

Important Details

The course is organized into units.  Most units will conclude with a Major Essay.  Read the assignments in order unless directed to do otherwise.  "Supplemental Resources" are not required unless specifically directed, but are recommended in order to enrich your essays or to stimulate interests. Suggestions for Major Essay topics follow each unit.

"Active Reading" and "Two-Column" Note Taking:   

I expect you to practice "Active Reading" of assignments in the texts:  underlining key points in the text and making marginal notes.  Occasionally, I will ask to look at your texts to evaluate the extent to which you are practicing active reading. I also expect you to use the "Two-column" note taking technique when directed to do so and as demonstrated in class.

Fisher Texts Companion Website

SNOW DAYS:  If we miss a class due to weather, I expect you to automatically do the next reading assignment in the sequence and write a response.

How to Write Responses to Readings

How to Write Major Essays

Units of Study: 

Unit I - Introduction to the Study of Religion

1.  Read Fisher, Living Religions chp. 1 and write Response F1. Terms in class:   transcendence, immanence, religion, theophany, paradox, theism, atheism, agnosticism, mysticism, asceticism, ultimate concern.

2.  Fisher-Bailey, An Anthology of Living Religions, chp. 1:  Read passages from Freud (p. 7f.), Marx (p.9f), Nietzsche (10f.).  Review Working Definitions.  Read  Goethe's "Prometheus".  Write a Directed Response on the following:  Compare the views of  Freud, Marx, Nietzsche, and Goethe on religion.  Do you agree or disagree?  For example, do you think human beings need gods or goddesses, or, can we get along without them?  Give reasons for your position.

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

What is the "religious response?"  Explain and support. What changes have occurred in the relationship between religion and science over time? Compare the views of Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche on religion with those of Heschel, Miller, Tulku, and Tillich (all readings in Fisher-Bailey, chp. 1).

 

Unit II - Indigenous Religions

1. Read Fisher, chp. 2 and The Story of Jumping Mouse (Native American tale) and write Response F2. Supplemental Resource:  Aboriginal Dreamtime

2.  Fisher-Bailey, chp. 2, selected texts:  African Sacred Ways (34-47); Native North American Sacred Ways (47-58).

3.  Symbol, Myth, Ritual:  Theseus and the Minotaur and Working Definitions.  Supplemental Resource:  Baalism: Canaanite Religion.

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

What is the role of shamans in indigenous cultures?  What parallels, if any, exist between shamanic ways of healing and Western modes of healing? Describe the nature of indigenous religions and some of the major obstacles in understanding them. How does the treatment of indigenous peoples by more dominant cultures illustrate the "negative side of religion?" Discuss the nature and importance of symbols and myths in indigenous religions. (Essential Resources:  Mircea Eliade, Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung from Fisher-Bailey, chp.1).

 

Unit III - Hinduism

1. Read Fisher, chp. 3, pp. 79-102 bottom.  Write Response F3a. Supplemental Resources: Hindu dharma; Ramayana; article on caste from National Geographic Magazine (June, 2003). 

2. Excerpts from the Bhagavad Gita (course WebPages).  Directed Written Response:  Which passage best represents Krishna's advice to Arjuna on war?  What do you think about this advice? Which lines from the selection as a whole do you think most strongly reflect the nature of Hinduism?  Why? (For quick reference, use the chapter and verse notation in the text when referring to passages:  i.e. (1.07))

3. Read Fisher, chp. 3, pp. 102 bottom - 127 (end). Write Response F3b.  Bring Fisher-Bailey to class for work in the following selected texts: Hymn on Creation (63); You Are That (64); What is the World But Spirit? (65);  Devotion to the Lord (66);  Rama, Sita, and Lakshman (67); Duties of the Four Castes (69-70);  The Faithful Wife (70-71);  The Way of Devotion (75-76);  Three Poems by Kabir (80-81). 

4. Read Fisher, chp.4, pp.128-140. No writing is due. 

5. Read in Fisher-Bailey, Gandhi on 'Untouchability' (83-85);  Savarkar on 'Hindu-ness' (85-86);  Paradigm Shift (86-88); and  Article by Arun Gandhi.  No writing is due. 

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

Is Hinduism really polytheistic or monotheistic?  Explain and support. What makes the Bhagavad Gita what many Hindus would call an essential sacred text?  What views of women are engendered by Hinduism? Explain why there are so many different kinds of religious responses within Hinduism. Contrast the views of Gandhi with Hindu nationalists like Savarkar.  Don't forget to include descriptions of essential Jainist beliefs in your discussion of Gandhi.

 

Unit IV -Buddhism

1. Fisher, chp.5, pp.141-163 middle; Fisher-Bailey, chp. 5, Defeat of Mara (112-115). Write Response F5a.

2. Fisher, chp.5, pp.163-178 top;  Fisher-Bailey, chp. 5, selected texts:  Speculations Undeclared (115);  The Fully Enlightened (from the Dhammapada) (117);  Rejection of Birth Castes (119);  Discovering Universal Emptiness (122).  Write Response F5b.  Supplemental Resource:  The Diamond Sutra.  

3. Fisher, chp. 5, pp. 178-185;  Fisher-Bailey, Nothing to Do With Rules (126);  Introduction to Vajrayana (126);  the Dalai Lama on Love, Kindness, and Universal Responsibility (127). 

4. Read Fisher-Bailey, Suzuki on Zen and Koans (123 bottom - 126 middle); Engaged Buddhism in Asia (130);  Buddhism Comes Home (133);  Thich Nhat Hanh on Precepts for an Engaged Buddhism (136).

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics:  

What in your view is the foundational core of Buddhist teachings?  Explain and support. Compare and contrast Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Compare and contrast the major tenets of Buddhism with those of Hinduism. Which events in the Buddha's life serve as good models for his teachings?  Explain.

 

Unit V - China and Japan

China:  The Tao and Confucius

    1. Fisher, chp. 6, pp. 187-201;  Fisher-Bailey, chp. 7:  Heaven's Gifts (168 bottom);  Communication of the Force of Life With Heaven (171); The Essence of Tai Chi (179).  In class:  Fisher-Bailey:  The Way of Perfect Truth (173) and The Story of Ho Hsien Ku (177).

    2.  On course WebPages read Selections from Tao Te Ching.

    3. Fisher, chp. 6, pp. 202-214;  Fisher-Bailey excerpts from chp. 6:   Introduction (142);  excerpts from Analects (143); The Book of Mencius (146);  Doctrine of the Mean (148).  Supplemental Resource: Confucius.

    4. Fisher-Bailey, chp. 6, Principles for Women (154);  Confucianism and the Twenty-First Century  (158).

 

Japan:  Shinto

1.  Fisher, chp. 7, pp. 216-230. Write Response F7.

 

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

Compare and contrast Taoism and Buddhism using specific excerpts from relevant texts. Compare and contrast Confucianism with Taoism. How can it be said that Shinto is an "indigenous religion?" How is the Shinto concept of tsumi similar to and different from the understandings of karma presented in Hinduism and Jainism? It has been said that, taken together, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism offer a balanced and well-ordered life.  Use at least one example from each tradition to demonstrate how this may be so.

 

Unit VI - Judaism

1. Fisher, chp. 8, pp. 231-257.  Supplemental Resources:   Genesis Chapters 1 to 3;  Enuma Elish ("When on High,");  John Milton, "Paradise Lost."

2. Fisher-Bailey, chp. 8, excerpts from the Hebrew Bible (184-193); The Rest is Commentary (196). Read also from web page,  Hebrew Bible Era Dates.

3. Read Fisher, chp. 8, pp. 258-263.   From Course WebPages:  Canaanite Religion;   Also: Prophets and Kings (Nathan and David, Elijah and Ahab); Excerpts from the Book of Job.

4.  Finish Fisher, chp. 8, pp. 264-284. 

5. Read in Fisher-Bailey, Abraham's Covenant (pp. 189-190), then on Website read The Testing of Abraham (Genesis 22) and Persecution of the Jews.  In Fisher-Bailey, chp. 8,  Surviving Auschwitz (Viktor Frankl, 205).  In class, Parable of the Old Men and the Young (Wilfrid Owen). Write the following Directed Response: Compare The Testing of Abraham (Genesis 22) to the Frankl reading and Persecution of the Jews.  Supplemental Resources:  Fourth Song of the Suffering Servant ;  Search the Bible; Link to website for Elie Wiesel's NIGHT.  

 

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

Identify and explain three major beliefs in Judaism.  Why did you select those three?  Explain and support. Discuss the impact of the holocaust on Judaism.  Compare and contrast the attitudes of Judaism toward the material world and history with those we discussed in Hinduism and Buddhism.  Refer to essential texts from each of the traditions.  Use Genesis 17 and 22, Job, Wilfrid Owen's poem, Frankl, and other texts to address the question of which of the following is more true:  Life owes us an explanation for the way things are, or, life asks the questions of us and challenges us to come up with the answers.  Using Genesis 1-3 as your starting point, discuss what you would do if you were offered the choice to return to the Garden of Eden.

 

Unit VII - Christianity

1. Fisher, chp. 9, pp. 286-310 bottom.  From course WebPages, New Testament Era Background; New Testament Period Dates;  Fourth Song of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12); Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40). Write Response F9a.

2. Fisher-Bailey, chp. 9, excerpts from the New Testament (219-226);  From course WebPages, Three Parables of Jesus. Also on website, John the Baptist (Matthew  3), and Testing of Jesus (Matthew 4).  Origen on How to Interpret Scripture (227);  The Thunder, Perfect Mind (Nag Hammadi Library, 229);  also from course WebPages, Excerpts from the Nag Hammadi Library. 

3. Fisher, chp. 9, pp. 310 bottom-335 top.  In Fisher-Bailey, excerpt from St. Augustine, Confessions (231);  Everything Lives in God (Hildegard of Bingen, 234);  Faith Can Rule Only in the Inward Man (Martin Luther,  237);  I Don't Want to Eat Any Sugar (Mother Teresa, 239).  On WebPages:  Manifest Destiny; Search the Bible; Myth of Er (Plato).

4. OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT:  Fisher, chp. 9, pp. 335 top-357. Excerpts from liberation theologies (Fisher-Bailey, 240-249).  Write Response F9b.

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

Discuss the significance of Jesus' life in relationship with Christian beliefs.  What is known about Jesus' life and how is this similar to and different from the ways Jesus is presented in the New Testament?  Discuss the essential teachings of Jesus as revealed in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chps. 5-7)  and the parables. Discuss the impact of the Protestant reformations.  Were the changes good, bad, or both?  Was Jesus, in your view, more of a shaman, a teacher, a savior, or an unlucky political opponent of Rome?

 

Directed Judaism-Christianity Major Essay.

Show how the themes of "suffering love" and "sacrifice" in Judaism have continued in Christianity and are thought to be seen by Christians in the life and teachings of Jesus.

Among your key texts for this paper will be two readings from the first assignment in the unit:  the Fourth Song of the Suffering Servant in the Hebrew Bible Book of the Prophet Isaiah (52:13 - 53:12), and the story of Philip and the Ethiopian in the New Testament Book of Acts (8:26-40). You will also want to draw on material from the Judaism unit:  Job, Abraham and Isaac, and the History of the Persecution of the Jews are suggested. On Jesus ideas of sacrificial love, reread carefully Fisher, chapter 9, pp. 288-295 and the web link "Three Parables."  For those of you who want to venture further into the New Testament, look at Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew chapters 5-7, Fisher, 294-295) and John 3:16 (Fisher, 332-333).  Use any Bible you choose or  Search the Bible.  

We will discuss this assignment further in class. Don't forget to provide documentation (footnotes) for your research.

 

Unit VIII - Islam

1. Fisher, chp. 10, pp. 359-381 bottom. See also on course WebPages, the chronology contained in Notes to film, "The Message."    Write Response F10a.   Supplemental Resources:  Glossary of Islamic Terms and Concepts;   An Overview of Islam ;   Benchmarks in Islamic History ; Islam in Spain (Andalus) and Baghdad;  Middle East History Data Base; BBC's "Islam Around the World";  Tale of Submission ; Sufi Tale of the Sands.  See also: Shia and Sufism.

2. Fisher-Bailey, chp. 10, excerpts from the Qur'an and the Hadith (255-269).  Write Response F10b.   Supplemental Resources: 

The Qur'an Database

The Hadith Database

"Islamic Middle East" Course Resources; Muslim Times of Prayer, Muslim Calendar, and Other Resources .  

3. Fisher, chp. 10, pp. 381 bottom-409. On course WebPages, Malcolm X:  Letter from Mecca. Supplemental Resources:   An Overview of Islam (See especially the section on al-Talbiyah, "The Compliance."); BBC page on Hajj;  Muslim Architecture. 

4. "9/11 and Beyond" --  Read the following articles according to the group to which you are assigned and prepare an oral report with your fellow group members.

Preparation Guidelines:

1.  Select at least three passages from each article to summarize in class as "key points.

2.  Why do you think the passages you selected are important?

3.  Do you agree or disagree with the author in each case?  Why or why not?

Group One - Sources of Muslim Fundamentalism 

per.1 Panel: Chelsea, Charlie, Zack, James S.

Per. 2 Panel: Erica, Andrew P., Sam

Wahhabism and Deobandism (from course materials Models of Islamic Revivalism on Middle East History Data Base )

Also in Models of Islamic Revivalism, see Maulana Mawdudi, Sayyid Qutb, and Ayatollah Khomeini.

 

Group Two - The Muslim World in the Modern Age

Per.1 Panel: Charlotte, Geoff, Matt.

Per. 2 Panel:  Harv, Jason, Kylie, Jeremy.

Bernard Lewis, "What Went Wrong?" (Atlantic Monthly, January, 2002)

 

Group Three - Religious Responses to 9/11

Per.1 Panel: Alex W., Kyle, Anya.

Per. 2 Panel: Cody, Alex M., CJ.

Hamza Yusuf, "A Time for Introspection (Islam For Today, October, 2001)

Karen Armstrong, "Have We All Been Hijacked? (Beliefnet.com)

 

Group Four - Impact of Globalization

Per.1 Panel: Carl, James L., Caitlin, Dmitri.

Per. 2 Panel: Evan, Andrew F., Sarah.  

Benjamin R. Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld, THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY, March, 1992

 

5. Fisher-Bailey, chp. 10, The Incoherence of the Philosophers (al-Ghazali, 271);  How to Perform Salaat (274);  Sufi Mysticism (276);  Women and Islam (Ruth Mas, 280), Ecology:  A Sacred Science (Seyyed Nasr, 283).   Supplemental Resource:  Islam and Women. 

6. The Arab-Israeli Conflict:  You will be divided into debate teams.  One team will argue for the Arab position while the other will argue for the Israeli. To prepare, click on this link and follow links to the various time periods and topics including sub links. Divide up the material among you. Save material to your Virtual Desktop. Use the folder on SWIS to communicate with your teammates. 

7. The Gulf Wars:  You will be divided into debate teams. To prepare, click on this link and follow links to the various time periods and topics including sub links. Divide up the material among you. Save material to your Virtual Desktop. Use the folder on SWIS to communicate with your teammates. 

Suggested Written Response and Major Essay Topics: 

Compare and contrast what is known about the life of Muhammad with what we know about either the Buddha or Jesus. Discuss the interrelationships between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Discuss the differences between sunni, shia, and sufi Muslims.  Discuss the role of jihad in Islam.  How is it similar to and different from the call to "fight" the enemies of Islam?  Discuss the circumstances in history that make the emphasis on jihad understandable in Islam.

 

Unit IX - New Religious Movements

    1.  Fisher, chp. 12.  In class:  Fisher-Bailey, Life in a Peaceful World (Jehovah's Witnesses, 319);  Witchcraft (Diane Mariechild, 325);  A New Revelation from the Unifier (Baha'u'llah, 328).    Supplemental Resources:   some of the material at Belief Net;  also see the official website of the Jehovah's Witnesses

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