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Introduction to World Religions

Religious Studies 1B06 2011-12
McMaster University

Lectures: Mon. 12:30-1:20; Tues. 1:30-2:20 + Tutorials Location: MDCL/1309 Instructors: Term 1: Dr. A. Pearson (pearsoa@mcmaster.ca); University Hall, 124, ext. 24239 Office hours: Mon. 5-6 pm; Tues. 2:30-3:30, or by appointment Term 2: Dr. P. Carter (carterph@mcmaster.ca); University Hall 127, x23391 Office hours: Mon. and Wed 5:30-6:30 pm, or by appointment Content and Objectives of the Course: Despite a lot of bad press, religion continues to play a vital role in the lives of the majority of the worlds people today. This course is intended to provide a broad introduction to the major world religions. Its objectives are: To familiarize students with the central figures and the basic history, beliefs, and practices of the religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese religions (Confucianism and Daoism), Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The course will acquaint students with some of the teachings of these religions on such questions as the nature of the universe and the divine, human identity, the human condition, religious ideals, and appropriate behaviour of human beings in the course of their lives. The course will also touch on religion in the modern world and issues that arise, for example, in the context of gender and religion. Requirements and Evaluation (each term is out of 100 marks): Term One: Class participation 5% Quizzes (2 @ 10%, 1 @8%) 28% Tutorials (attendance, participation) 10% Writing Assignments (4 @8%) 32% Exam, during exam period in Dec. 25% Term Two: 5 on-line quizzes @ 2% each 3 written submissions @ 15% each Class participation Tutorial Final exam

10% 45% 5% 10% 30%

Required Texts: Custom text from Pearson Custom Library called Religion = Asian

religions (from Mary Pat Fisher, Living Religions, 8th edition, 2011); packaged with e-access to MyReligionLab; and with, for term two, a separate text called Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction by Corrigan.

Online Textbook Support: The textbook has a companion website from the publisher, called MyReligionLab. Access to this site comes with the purchase of your custom textbook. Otherwise, it is not free. It is an essential part of the course. For each chapter of the Fisher text (term one) you will find additional readings, video clips, key points, study questions, testyourself quizzes, websites, a multi-media library & maps. Class Participation and Learning Enrichment Tool: This year we are using an online learning enrichment tool called MonocleCAT in the classroom. (See handout describing this tool and how to get access to it through a subscription fee, posted on our course website in Avenue-toLearn or see link to a video that explains how to register and how to use your devices to answer questions: http://vimeo.com/27510615). Subscription is strongly recommended, as it will help prepare you for the quizzes, and it will be the basis for your 5% participation mark. If you do not wish to subscribe, the 5% participation mark will be added to your exam, so your exam in term one will be worth 30%+Q3=38%. You must let the professors know via email message if you are not subscribing. How will this tool be used? During lectures quiz-type questions will be launched by the professor and students can use their Monocle-CAT subscription access via their laptops, ipods, smartphones and cell-phones to answer the question(s) right away. The data is collected and results tabulated immediately. Each students participation in answering these questions is thus recorded. The participation mark is based 50% on getting the answers right and 50% just for attempting to answer the questions. You must be in class to participate. Course Website: This course will be using McMasters online learning technology called Avenue to Learn to assist you in various ways. You will thus need to be able to log in to the website for this course. Go to http://avenue.mcmaster.ca and type in your Mac id, and log into this course. You need to have your Mac id activated in order to access Avenue to Learn. (For help navigating the site, refer to student resources section of the avenue to learn homepage, www.avenue.mcmaster.ca/help.) On the website for this course you will find: updated information pertaining to the course, TA contact information, and in the content tab, the course outline, handouts, and many of the powerpoint slides shown in lectures, usually in outline form only. There is also a gradebook to keep track of your grades (e.g, quiz marks, assignment marks, exam marks), and there is a discussion board, where you can post comments and questions about course content that may be addressed by TAs, the professors or by your fellow students.
Note: Students should be aware that, when they access the electronic components of this course, private information such as first and last names, user names for the McMaster e-mail accounts, and program affiliation may become apparent to all other students in the same course. Continuation in this course will be deemed consent to this disclosure. If you have any questions or concerns about such disclosure please discuss this with the course instructor.

Email Etiquette: When e-mailing the professor, please use your Mac email address, put

something in the subject line, and indicate which course you are in. When to use email: Do contact either your Teaching Assistant or the professor via email if you have an administrative question, a technical query, or an emergency. Also contact us if you want to set a time to meet apart from regular office hours. If you have a question about course content you can ask it in class, or in your tutorial, or during the professors office hours, or best, post it on the course Discussion Board.

Re. e-mail communication. It is the policy of the Faculty of Social Sciences that all e-mail communication be send from students to instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the students own McMaster University e-mail account. If a communication has come from an alternate address, the instructor may not reply at her discretion. =============================

TUTORIALS: DO NOT SKIP OUT ON TUTORIALS! They are a very important part of this course. Tutorial sections are pre-assigned by the Registrars Office. If you have to change tutorials, you need to try to do so via SOLAR. Professors DO NOT have access to tutorial sectioning processes. It is out of our hands. *Tutorials begin the week of September 19. In term two, tutorials begin immediately following the first lecture on January 9. Purpose of tutorials: Tutorials are an opportunity to discuss course content: lectures, films, textbook, plus assigned online readings, and to address the review questions. Tutorials also provide a chance to engage in meaningful discussion with your TA and fellow students, and provide valuable opportunities to gain clarification on the requirements and expectations of course assignments, as well as to review test and assignment results. Your attendance and active participation in tutorials is expected. ASSIGNMENTS: In Term One your TA will explain expectations regarding the 10% mark for attendance and participation. Details for the four short writing assignments worth 32% are posted on the Avenue course website under the Content tab; look for assignments.
In Term One, do not hand in your assignments/essays only as email attachments, unless so instructed by your TA.

Late Penalty: Late assignments will receive a 2% per day late penalty. Note: Staff in the office of the Department of Religious Studies will not date-stamp or receive papers and
other assignments.

In Term Two tutorials will focus on specific discussion topics that will be available at the beginning of term on the course website. Paper topics will be separate from tutorial discussion topics and will be posted on the course website at the beginning of term two. QUIZZES: To test your retention of some basic information, there will be scheduled quizzes prepared by the instructor. In Term One, the first two quizzes are worth 10% and will take place in tutorials. The last quiz (#3) for Term One will be included as part of the exam; thus the total for the exam will 8+25 (or 33%). In term two, however, all the quizzes will be written online. The dates for each quiz are in the course outline. The first quiz will be on Hinduism. Lectures, films, required readings, are all part of testable material. Each quiz will follow a similar format, consisting mostly of true/false and multiple-choice questions. You will have 25 minutes to complete quizzes 1 & 2 in Term One. To help you study for the quizzes use the flash cards found on the MyReligionLab for each religion (refer to Fisher, 8th edition). You will be responsible for ensuring that you understand the meaning and significance of these terms for each religion covered in the course. Make-up Quizzes. If you miss taking a quiz without official documentation (e.g., a doctors note), you will receive a 0% on that particular quiz. However, if you know that you are going to

miss the quiz in advance, you must notify the instructor. If the reason for missing the quiz is valid, a make-up quiz may be scheduled at the discretion of the professor.
There have been changes to the MSAF (McMaster Student Absence Form) for September 2011: The maximum value of the missed work for which the online MSAF can be used will decrease from 49% to 29%. The maximum number of uses will be reduced from 2 to 1 per term. 'Personal Reasons' will no longer be a valid reason for using the MSAF. The e-mail message that goes to students following their submission of the MSAF will better describe the steps that students must take to receive relief for the missed work, and the timelines for doing so. As of September 2011, students will be required to visit their Faculty/Program Office and complete a Permission to use MSAF form, for the following reasons: The request for relief for missed academic work is personal. The request for relief for missed academic work is religious. A component of work they have missed is valued at more than 29%. They have already used the MSAF once in the Term. Such students may be asked by their Faculty/Program Office to provide appropriate supporting documentation. If the students request to use the MSAF is approved, the MSAF link will be made available (on a one-time basis) to the student. The student and faculty member will continue to receive the same email correspondence regarding the details of the request for relief for missed academic work.

Academic Honesty: You are expected to exhibit honesty and use ethical behaviour in all aspects of the learning process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in principles of academic integrity. Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour has serious consequences, e.g., the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity/ . The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: 1. Plagiarism, e.g., the submission of work that is not ones own or for which other credit has been obtained. 2. Improper collaboration in group work. 3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations. Remember: Cheating on tests and exams and plagiarism in any written assignments are very serious offenses! If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism ask your TA or professor for clarification. Be aware that we will report any case of plagiarism that we detect and confirm. ============== EXAM each term there will be a two-hour exam during the formal examination period (December and April), scheduled by the exam office. In term one, the exam is worth 25% of your mark, but because it includes the 3rd quiz (for 8%), it is altogether worth 33%. (Thus, the first 20 or so minutes of the exam should be allocated to writing the quiz, the remaining time for

the exam.) In term two, the exam is worth 30% and does not include a term quiz; it will cover only the religions studied in the second term. The exam will cover all the lectures, films, and required readings for each term. The exam format will described later in the term, but may include a combination of quiz-style questions, religion-specific paragraph answers, and (in Term One) an Eastern religions comparative paragraph question. =================
Last Note: The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check his/her McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.

TERM ONE: THE HINDU, BUDDHIST, CONFUCIAN AND DAOIST RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
TOPICS AND READINGS
Note: Fisher = the custom version of the Fisher textbook. It is suggested that students read the entire chapter for each religion initially to get an overall feel for the religion, and then go back and re-read the designated pages for each week. Additional learning material is found in the MyReligionLab (MRL), plus there may links to sources posted on the course website.

Week 1--Sept. 12/13: INTRODUCTION to the Course and to the Study of Religion o Introduction to the study of religion: What is religion? What are its key characteristics and patterns? How do we study religion academically? Why is it important to study religions? Read: Fisher chapter 1 (Religious Responses); see also printable handout posted on Avenue (content tab) defining religion. Readings from MyReligionLab (see under MyLibrary): The sacred and the Profane by M. Eliade (8pp.) Supplementary (not required): R. Dawkins, The God Delusion extract (53pp.) Week 2--Sept. 19/20: Intro. to HINDUISM & Its Historical Roots o What are the characteristics of Hinduism? Issues in defining Hinduism o Historical Roots: Indus Valley Civilization and the Aryans o Earliest texts (Vedas and Upanishads) and their Central Themes and Concepts (cosmology, sacrifice and the Vedic gods; transformations of Vedic religion in the Upanishads: nature of Selfwho are you? and ultimate realitywhat is it?) Read: Fisher Hinduism chapter, pp. 35-42; 79-80; MRL readings from MyLibrary: Hindu-ness by Savarkar. See also under web Resources: Hindu Websitevarious articles under Origin, definitions and Intro. To Hinduism; and under video resources: Hinduism and Introduction Sacred Texts, Om Handouts: see Hinduism Scriptures and Texts and Classical Hindu Views Week 3--Sept. 26/27 CLASSICAL HINDUISM: Central Themes and Concepts o Karma and rebirth/reincarnation

o The goal of Liberation (moksha) and the practice of asceticism, yoga o Codification of the tradition (concept of dharma and the Dharmashastras) Caste/class (varna-dharma); 4 stages in life & 4 aims in life (purushartha); the samskaras or life-cycle rites Read: Fisher, 43-45; 61-65; MRL: Duties of the four castes, The faithful wife (=ch. 5 of the Manu Dharma-shastra), Gandhi on Untouchability; and Video excerpts: union with God, caste, women, Gandhi & Untouchables Handout: Central Hindu Concepts Week 4--Oct. 3/4 (finish topics from last week and) HINDU Views of the Divine o The Bhagavad Gitacentral themes and concepts; three paths or disciplines (yogas) to liberation/ self-realization (knowledge: jnana, action: karma, and devotion: bhakti) o Major Hindu gods and sects (Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta) Read: Fisher, 46-59; MRL: Bhagavad Gita excerpt (I am the Beginning); description of Durga from a Purana: In praise of Durga; From the writings of the Bhakti saints: Without Krishna I cannot sleep and Worship Him in Silence Video excerpt from MRL: Brahma Tolerance Monday October 10Thanksgiving, no class Week 5: Tuesday Oct. 11continue lecture themes and readings from last week, start themes and readings for following week Week 6Oct. 17/18 The Practice of HINDUISM/ Contemporary Hinduism o Domestic religion and ritual observances, and o Worship (puja), temple, and festivals o Hinduism in the West Read: Fisher, 59-61; 65-78; MRL: Visions of the Mother (Reading the Fisher chapter on Sikhism is optional) Week 7Oct. 24/25 note: QUIZ 1 on Hinduism (in tutorials) Introduction to BUDDHISM o The Life of the Buddha o The Buddhas first sermon o Buddhism as the Middle Path o the Triple Gem In-class Film: title to be confirmed (e.g., The Life of the Buddha, BBC, 2004, 50 min.) Read: Fisher, 85-91 Week 8Oct. 31/Nov.1 Early BUDDHISM: Central Themes and Concepts o The Four Noble Truths o Concepts of nirvana, anatta (no-self), dukkha (suffering) and anicca (impermanence) o The practice of meditation

Read: Fisher, 91-102; MRL: The Dhammapada (6pp); Buddhism is not what you think by Hagen (4pp); Essential Teachings by the Dalai Lama; Buddhism by Smith & Novak, on vipassana meditation (15pp) Handout: see Two Principal Divisions Week 9--Nov. 7/8 BUDDHISM: Historical developments & Buddhist Practice o The Sangha and the ordination of women o Buddhist ethics (how do you live a Buddhist life?) o Buddhist schools/ sects: Theravada and Mahayana Read: Fisher, 102-110; MRL: The Heart Sutra Conze, tr. (3pp); Buddhism after patriarchy Rita Gross (11pp) Week 10Nov. 14/15: Buddhism in East Asia and the West o Spread of Buddhism (to China, Japan; and to the West) o Chan and Pure Land o Engaged Buddhism; Buddhism in the West Read: Fisher, 110-130; MRL: Zen Mind, Beginners Mind excerpt by D. T. Suzuki Week 11Nov. 21 Quiz 2 on Buddhism (in tutorials) Class lecture: Introduction to CHINESE CIVILIZATION and to the Religious Landscape of China

Read: Fisher, 136-141; MRL: The Way of Perfect Truth by Wang Zhe, 11th C. Daoist sage (5pp) Weeks 11/12: Tues. Nov. 22; Mon. Nov. 28 DAOISM o Central figures of early Daoism: Lao Tzu (Laozi) and Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi) o Early history, texts and basic concepts and practices of Daoism (including Tai Chi Chuan) Read: Fisher, 141-154; MRL: Great and venerable teacher; Story of He Xiangu, female immortal (4pp) Handout: Major Differences between Confucianism and Daoism Weeks 12/13 Tues. Nov. 29; Mon. Dec. 5 CONFUCIANISM o Life of Confucius and his central teachings, along with those of Mencius; texts o Historical developments; Neo-Confucianism Film: excerpt from Curse of the Golden Flower Read: Fisher, 155-166; MRL: read Books I and II from the Analects of Confucius (5pp); The Great Learning (first couple of pages)=pp.58-9 in the online source trans. By Legge]; Doctrine of the Mean (22pp) Review and Exam Preparation Class (optional)date/time/location to be determined.

TERM TWO The Abrahamic Traditions (Jan-Apr, 2011-12) Instructor: Dr. P. Carter REQUIRED TEXTS: Corrigan et al., Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (2nd ed.) COURSE OBJECTIVES FOR TERM 2: 1. To become familiar with the truth-claims and practices of Jews, Christians and Muslims; 2. To explore the origins, historical development and interactions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; 3. To examine the contemporary experience of Jews, Christians and Muslims with particular reference to the social and political context. COURSE REQUIRMENTS FOR TERM 2 (WORTH 50% OF FINAL GRADE): 5 on-line quizzes @ 2% each 10% 3 written submissions @ 15% each 45% Class participation 5% Tutorial 10% Final exam 30% AVENUE to LEARN: In this course this term we will continue to use AVENUE. NOTES ON THE EXAMINATION, WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES: 1. Written assignments should be submitted to Avenue. No hard copies will be accepted in term 2 and there will be a 5% penalty per day for late submissions. Each paper should be between 700 and 1000 words in length. Please do not include a cover page. The topics are as follows: First written assignment due January 31st, 11:59 p.m. Analyze and compare the following sections from the Bible, the New Testament and the Qur'an. Compare Surah 19:16-40 (Qur'an) to Luke 1:26-38 (New Testament) OR Compare Surah 2:30-39 and Surah 7:11-25 (Qur'an) to Genesis 2-3 (Tanakh). Second written assignment due March 6th, 11:59 p.m. Compare the varieties of religious authority discussed in the textbook with your experience of authority at McMaster University, in Hamilton and in Canada. Third written assignment due March 20th, 11:59 p.m. With reference to the section Ethics in the textbook, discuss the meaning of the phrase ethical monotheism. Can there be unethical monotheism? Can there be ethics independent of religion? 2. The quizzes will be available on AVENUE for 48 hours after the end of the class on the dates noted in this outline below. The quizzes will consist of true/false and multiple choice

questions. If you go over the time-limit AVENUE will not cut you off BUT you will lose 1 mark for every minute you exceed the allotted period. 3. The final examination will be scheduled by the registrar's office in April. It will be two hours in length and will cover materials from term 2. The exam will be essay format and study questions will be distributed on the last day of class. SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS for TERM 2 INTRODUCTION Jan 3, 9, 10 THE RELIGIONS OF ABRAHAM Video: Hats of Jerusalem SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION (Corrigan, 1-53) Jan 16,17 Jan 23, 24 Quiz 1 MONOTHEISM (Corrigan, 55-113) Jan 30, 31 Assignment 1 due Feb 06, 07 Quiz 2 AUTHORITY (Corrigan, 115-156) Feb 13, 14 Feb 27, 28 Quiz 3 WORSHIP AND RITUAL (Corrigan, 157-203) Mar 05, 06 Assignment 2 due ETHICS Mar 12, 13 (Corrigan, 205-251) Quiz 4

MATERIAL CULTURE (Corrigan, 253-308) Mar 19, 20 Assignment 3 due RELIGION AND POLITICS (Corrigan, 309-357) Mar 26, 27 Quiz 5 EXAM REVIEW Apr 02, 03