1. Objectives of the Course:
Catalogue Description: A survey of the history, beliefs, practices and contemporary
influence of the major religions of the world: Primal Spiritualities, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; a discussion of basic
methods for understanding religion
2. Purpose of the Course:this course has three purposes:
A. to reexamine or introduce students to Catholic beliefs and practices;
B. to introduce and familiarize the students with the documents of Vatican II &ff.;
especially, the documents concerning relationships and dialogue with other christian
traditions and with non-christian; and 3)to introduce and stimulate students to
investigate other beliefs and practices here in the United States and their origins abroad
(if so) and religions' role in their contemporary world;to encourage them to continue to
develop an interest in ecumenical and inter-faith relationships (e.g.:
culture,race,gender,geography,and class) in their own milieus,and thereby dispel ignorance
that causes fear and sometimes jealousy and distrust;and to acquaint them with the
resources they can tap when related problems or insights are sought. It is not the purpose
of this course to weaken or dissolve one's current faith and practices, or to proselytize.
3. Required Texts:
a)Young,William A.,The World's Religions (World-views and Contemporary
Issues);Englewood Cliffs, N.J:Prentice Hall, 1995. ISBN 0-13-032806;
b)Young,W.Student Handbook;
c)(In the Library)Documents of Vatican II:Decree on Ecumenism and the Decree on Dialogue
with Non-Christian Religions.
d)Suggested for Nurses and others in the Health Care areas: Numbers,Ron. and
Amundsen,Darrel,Caring and Curing(N.Y.: Macmillan Publishing Company),1986. ISBN
0-919270-6,(#3 is not available in the Campus Store).
e)Dupl.-Chart of World Religions($1.00),available from Professor).
f)Supplementary Materials: Duplicated materials of the professor that will be handed out
in class.
4. Method (RESEARCHING, USE OF MULTIMEDIA/COMPUTER WILL BE USED):
Lectures, readings,discussions, visual aides,student visits to different churches and student reports on a particular faith tradition with discussion will be incorporated. Students will present an oral report(to be handed in the class before the final exam in typewritten form, with footnotes[or end notes and bibliography]),cf. 'notes'. The student will attend a worship service(if there is one)and then report on their knowledge and experience. There is no assigned length. Try to keep it short and to the point. The student will select a religion from the list provided (one to a tradition) cf. the following list).
5. Assignments:
Confer the following pages for reading and other assignments.
6. Collateral reading;BIBLIOGRAPHY:
A.PRIMARY SOURCES:
The individual Scriptures(Sacred Writings) of the particular Religious Tradition, if any.
Some may be oral only, e.g. many of the 'First Inhabitants of the Americas'(called Native
Americans by some).
B.SECONDARY SOURCES:
1)Books:
Abbot,J,S.J.,Documents of Vatican II(or any other collection
of the Documents).
Ahlstrom,Sydney E.A Religious History of the American
People, 2 vols, Garden City, N.Y:Doubleday,Image Books,1975.
Beaver, R. Pierce et al.,eds.,Eerdman's Handbook to the
World Religions, (Grand Rapids,MI.: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
1982) ISBN-0-8028-3563-5.
Brandon, S.G.F.,Dictionary of Comparative Religion,(N.Y.:Charles Scribner's Sons).
Burke,T.Patrick,The Major Religions,(Cambridge,Mass: Blackwell Publishers
Inc..1996)ISBN 1-55786-715-1.
Carmody, Denise Lardner and John Tully Carmody, Exploring American Religion,
Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company,1990.
Cleave, Richard, "Satellite Revelations: New Views of the Holy Land" in National
Geographic,Washington,D.C.:National Geographic Society, Vol.187, No. 6,
June 1995.
Corbett, Julia Mitchell.Religion in American,Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,1990.
Cole, W.Own, Five Religions in the Twentieth Century, (Chester Springs, PA:
Dufour Editions, Inc. 1981. ISBN-0-8023-1272-1.
Feldman, David M., Health and Medicine in the Jewish Tradition, (N.Y.: The Crossroad
Publishing Company),1987
Frost,Jr.,S.E.,The Sacred Writings of the World's Great Religions, (N.Y.:
McGraw-Hill Book Co,), 1972.
Greeley, Andrew, Sociology and Religion (A Collection of Readings), (N.Y.: Harper
Collins College Publishers), 1995.ISBN 0-06-501881-8
Hardon, John, S.J., et al., eds., Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses,etc.(Chicago,
IL.:Claretian Press),1967.
Holifield, E.Brooks, Health and Medicine in the Methodist Tradition, (N.Y.: The
Crossroad Publishing Company),1987.
Hood, Robert E., Must God Remain Greek?: Afro Cultures and God-Talk, Minneapolis:
Fortress Press,1990.
Hopfe, Lewis M., Religions of the World, (Encina,CA.: Glencoe Publishers (2nd ed.),
1979.ISBN-0-02-47820.
Hudson, Winthrop, Religion in American, 4thEd., NY: Scribner,1987.
Hutchison, John A., Paths of Faith, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill,Inc.,1991 (4th Ed.).
ISBN0-07-031543-4.
Jones, Major J., The Color of God: The Concept of God in Afro-American Thought,
Macon,GA:Mercer, 1987.
Knitter, Paul F., S.V.D., No Other Name, (Maryknoll,N.Y.:Orbis Books), 1985.
ISBN-0-88344-347-3.
London Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, Christian Faith and
Practices in the Experience of the Society of Friends, (London, Eng.,
Headley Brothers, Ltd.), 1966.
Marty, Martin E., Health and Medicine in the Lutheran Tradition,(N.Y.: The Crossroad
Publishing Company),1987.
---------------, Pilgrims in Their Own Land: 500 Years of Religion in American,
Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1984.
Matthews, Warren, World Religions, St.Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1991.
ISBN 0-31482972.*
McCormick, Richard A., Health and Medicine in the Catholic Tradition, (N.Y.:
The Crossroad Publishing Company), 1987.
Murphy, Joseph M., Working the Spirit: Ceremonies of the African Diaspora, Boston,
Ma: Beacon Press, 1995.
----------------, SANTERIA: African Spirits in American, Boston, Ma.: Beacon Press,
1994.
Noss, John B., Man's Religions, N.Y: Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc., 1988.
ISBN 0-02-388440-1
Numbers, Ron.& Amundsen,Darrel (Eds.), Caring and Curing, (N.Y.: Macmillan Publising
Company), l986. ISBN 0-919270-6
Paden, William E.,Religious Worlds,The Comparative Study of Religion, (Boston, MA.:
Beacon Press), 1988. ISBN-0-8070-1211-4
Rahman, Fazlur, Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition, (N.Y.: The Crossroad
Publishing Company), 1987 ISBN 0-82435-0797-5
Ross, Nancy Wilson, Three Ways of Asian Wisdom, (N.Y.:Simon and Schuster),1966.
Rosten, Leo, Religions in America, N.Y: Simon and Schuster, 1963.CC.55-7133
Schimmel, Annemarie, Islam, An Introduction, (N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1992.
ISBN 0-7914-1328-4
Sharpe, Eric J.Comparative Religion-A History, (N.Y.:Charles Scribner's Sons),
1975 ISBN-0-684-14675-4
Smart, Ninian, The Religious Experience, N.Y.: Macmillian Publishing Company,
1991 (4thEd.). ISBN 0-02-412735
Smith, David H., Health and Medicine in the Anglican Tradition, (N.Y.: The Crossroad
Publishing Company), 1987.
Smith, Huston, The Religions of Man, (N.Y.: Harper and Row Publishers), 1958
(F.P.I.ed.) I.C. 56-11923
Vaux, Kenneth L., Health and Medicine in the Reformed Tradition, (N.Y.: The Crossroad
Publishing Company), 1987
Wimbush, V. & Valantasis, R. (Eds.) Asceticism, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1995.
ISBN 0-19-508535-3
Weir, Robert F.Gen.ED., The Religious World: Communities of Faith, (N.Y.: Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc.), 1982. ISBN-0-02-317480
2)Multimedia Resources
INTERNET-RELIGIONS (ALSO,when able check on the Menu on; e.g., 'NET SEARCH' or DIRECTORY on NET SCAPE or MOSIAIC ON THE (W)ORLD (W)IDE (W)EB FOR OTHER PARTICULAR RELIGIONS,e.g.Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam,Bahai, Zorastrianism,etc.,BIBLE,ETC. BUDDHISM,Wainwright House Foundation,260 Stuyvesant Avnue,Rye,N.Y., 10580; (914) 967-6080(Dharma Talks,meditation and prayer center[one of many now in the U.S.A.]with Sinsais trained by various Roshis. Meeting House Zen Group,624 Milton Road, Rye, N.Y.,10580. There are many others,e.g.Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel,N.Y. There are several in the Boston area, as well as, Chicago,San Francisco,etc.
CHURCH DOCUMENTS (Conciliar and Post Conciliar)Daughters of St. Paul, 1994,3 and 1/2" disks; and, BIBLES; WORLD RELIGIONS on CD VIDEOS:1)Films for the Humanities:The Five Pillars of Islam,Islam Today;Testament. National Geographic Videos:Jerusalem:Within These Walls;The Legacy Series(e,g,The Cradle of Civilization); etc.
7. Tests:(and Reading assignment Quizes[no make ups],unless excused by professor):
Mid-term and Final(confer the schedule on assignment pages).
8.Grade Evaluation:
Mid-term...................................(30%)
Report & Discussion........................(30%)
Class Participation*.......................(10%)including attendance & interactivities
Final......................................(30%)
* Class participation - If a student misses more than 3(Summer- Semester,1 class is equalivant of 3) scheduled classes and no acceptable excuse is offered, then the student automatically loses this 10% of the Final Grade. The absentee/tardy policy of the School of Arts and Sciences in binding for this class;i.e.,six absences will automatically result in a grade of "F" in the course, and two tardinesses are equivalent to one absence. There will be 4 Quizes (or more) on the reading materials and Chart on the History of World Religions and parallel dates of relativity, given during the semester, which will constitute the 10% of the grade. No make ups for unexcused absences will be allowed for these quizes. Opportunities will be given in class for the students to ask questions, discuss, listen in silence,etc. to contribute to this evaluation, as well as, class attendance. If you are more than 10 mins. late for class(without explanation) you are considered absent automatically. Communication is two sided: speaking and listening; if you are absent,you miss out on both and the other students miss out on your shared ideas.
A = 92 - 100%(Total Grade at the end of the Semester) B = 87 - 91 " C = 70 - 86 " D = 65 - 69 " F = below 65 "
Grades will not be posted, students will receive their report of grades from the registrar's office upon completion of all University requirements.
'Cheating',in any (subject to the professor's decision) form,will merit an automatic "F" Grade in the course, in justice to the other students. All statements in the student mannual are binding on the students, in this and other matters regulated therein.