Required Texts
 
 

The Sacred and the Profane, by Mircea Eliade
Black Elk Speaks, by John Neihardt
Bhagavad Gita
Tao Teh Ching (Dao De Jing)
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
selections from the Qur'an located at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/koran.html
The Bible (Old and New Testaments) any edition except a "Good News Bible"
Course Manual for World Religions

Grading Policy
 

a) 2 exams worth 35% each
Exams will consist of short answers and essay. No multiple choice questions will be asked. Emphasis will be placed on clear expression of arguments and conclusions based on the examination of various kinds of data, rather than on rote memorization of facts. No make-up exams will be given except in case of documented medical emergency.

b) homework assignments worth a total of 30%
There will be eight writing assignments, each consisting of a one or two page essay responding to a specific question designed to prepare you for the day's discussion. For that reason, no late papers will be accepted for a grade for any reason whatsoever. These papers will be graded “pass”/”pass minus”/”not pass”, and one grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.  A "P" counts as an "A" (95), a "P-" counts as a "C" (75), a "NP" counts as an "F" (50), and any paper not turned in counts as a 0. Any student who receives a grade of "Pass" on every paper assigned will receive an "A+" for the final homework average, which counts as a 100. All papers must be typed. These are not meant to be research papers, and are to be written on the basis of your understanding of  the assigned reading only. Use of uncited sources of any kind will be taken to constitute plagiarism.

c) Participation and Attendance
The class will be discussion oriented, so regular attendance and participation is required. Consistent participation will be noticed and taken into consideration when determining final grades. If you must miss class for some reason you will still be responsible for the work you miss. You will also be expected to be prepared the next time you come to class. This means getting the notes and assignments from someone. At midterm, the instructor will begin taking attendance for those students suspected of missing class regularly. If it becomes obvious at any time that anybody is regularly missing class or other work for any reason, the instructor reserves the right to insist upon a medical withdrawal in lieu of failure after an attempt is made to warn the student.

Course Objectives
In this course we will take a critical yet sympathetic view of a wide range of religious traditions, including Native American, Hindu, Buddhist, Daoist, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. This will require that we allow ourselves both to identify with and to maintain our distance from each of the traditions covered. We propose to explore textual roots and fundamental concerns, and to look for similarities and differences. We will not be experts on World Religions after taking this course, but we will be more sensitive to the kinds of issues at stake in the study of religion, and more familiar with the origins and evolutions of today's living religions, both Eastern and Western. In general, it must be remembered that this is a philosophy class, so that emphasis will be placed on critical thinking, clarity, and argumentation.

Tentative Schedule

#	date	subject	reading	assignment
1	2/9	Introduction
2	11	Eliade: Sacred Space	Eliade Ch. 1	What does Eliade mean by "sacred?"
3	14	Eliade: Sacred Time, Natural Symbols	Eliade Ch. 2,3
4	16	Eliade: Rites of Passage	Eliade Ch. 4
5	18	Native American Tradition	Black Elk Speaks
6	21	Native American Tradition	Black Elk Speaks
7	23	Native American Tradition	Black Elk Speaks	What elements of Eliade's thought do you find in Black Elk Speaks?
8	25	Hinduism: Vedic Origins	Bhagavad Gita
9	28	Hinduism: metaphysics	Bhagavad Gita
10	2/2	Hinduism: metaphysics	review readings
11	4	Hinduism: Yoga		Discuss one of the three kinds of yoga mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita
12	7	Hinduism: Yoga
13	9	Hinduism: conclusions
14	11	Buddhism: origins, introduction	Rahula, Ch. 1-5
15	14	Buddhism: Fourfold Axiom	Rahula, Ch. 1-5
16	16	Buddhism: 8fold Path	Rahula, Ch. 1-5
17	18	Buddhism: causality
18	21	Buddhism: anatman	Rahula, Ch. 6	Discuss the idea of "anatta" ("anatman") or "no-soul." Don't simply recite the book.
19	23	Buddhism: meditation, review for exam	Rahula, Ch. 7	bring questions
20	25	Midterm Exam
21	4/4	Laozi and the Dao De Jing	Tao Te Ching ch. 1-40
22	6	Laozi and the Dao De Jing	Tao Te Ching ch. 41-81
23	8	Laozi and the Dao De Jing		Interpret two chapters: imagery, main points, suggested titles.
24	11	Semitic Traditions: Introduction
25	13	Judaism: Creation	Genesis 1-30
26	15	Judaism: Creation	Genesis 1-30
27	18	Judaism: Fall from Paradise	Genesis 1-30
28	20	Judaism: Fall from Paradise	Genesis 1-30
29	25	Judaism: Why Bad Things Happen to Good People...	Job	What is Job's problem and what is God's repsonse? (offer more than a mere summary of the plot)
30	27	Judaism: Covenant and Promise	Exodus 1-30
31	29	Judaism: Covenant and Promise	Chronicles
32	5/2	Intertestamental Period and Persian influence	Book of Isaiah
33	4	Christianity: Jewish Roots	Matthew
34	6	Christianity: Jesus and the Jewish Law	Matthew	What does Jesus do to the Jewish Law?
35	9	Christianity: Paul and the Early Church	Acts of the Apostles
36	11	Christianity: Gnosticism and other alternative Churches
37	13	Islam: Origins and Central Concerns	Qur'an sura 2: "the Cow"  http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/koran.html	What basic attitudes and practices of Islam do you find discussed in Sura 2?
38	16	Islam: Central Concerns	Qur'an sura 2: "the Cow" http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/koran.html
39	18	Islam: attitudes towards other religions	Qur'an sura 19: "Mary" http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/koran.html
40	6	Review for Final Exam