World Religions – RS101



World Religions – RS101

Section 03

TR, 12:30pm – 1:45pm

CR Hall – RM 101

Fall 2009

Instructor: Rev. Patrick Ike Nwokoye, PhD

E-mail: Pnwokoye@semo.edu or Fatherpatrick@

Website:

Office Addresses

Catholic Campus Ministry Dept. of Political Science, Philosophy and Religion

512 N pacific Carnahan Hall 211

Tel. 573-335-3899 Tel. 573-651-2183

Office Hours: After each class or by appointment.

Required Text:

Malloy, Michael: Experiencing the World’s Religion: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. (Fourth Edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2008.

Other Resources:

i. Smith, Huston: The World’s Religions. New York, NY: Harper San Francisco, 1991.

ii. Noss, John B: Man’s Religion, New York, NY: Macmillan, 1984.

iii. Kushner, Harold: Who Needs God, New York, NY: Fireside – Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Course Objectives – Envisioned Outcomes

i. Provide an introduction to the historical background and development of the major religions of the world.

ii. Provide an introduction to the beliefs, rituals and practices found in the major religions of the world.

iii. Provide a sense of the universality of the phenomenon of religions.

iv. Examine the relationship between religion and culture.

v. Expose students to selected sacred texts from the major religions.

Class Expectations

i. Class attendance and punctuality for the full, conscious, and active participation of each student. Regular class attendance is expected – the official statement about attendance, derived from the Undergraduate Bulletin, may be accessed at: It is your responsibility to know what the statement implies.

ii. Academic honesty: The undergraduate Bulletin defines academic dishonesty as “…those acts which would deceive, cheat, or defraud so as to promote one’s scholastic record…”, and states that “violations of academic honesty represent a serious breach of discipline and may be considered grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal from the university”. The official statement about academic honesty, including plagiarism, may be accessed at: Additional information may be accessed at:

iii. A close and careful reading of each assigned text.

iv. Late assignments will not be accepted.

v. All papers turned in must be typed!

GRADING IS BASED ON:

Midterm Exam

Class presentation/Group projects

Discussion Classes

Media Exercises

Finals

GRADES

90% - 100% A

80% - 89% B

70% - 79% C

60% - 69% D

PAPERS DUE DATES:

Date Assignment Points

9/10 Religion and Media Exercise paper (1 page) 40

9/17 Religions and Taboos (2 pages) 20

10/20 Religion & Politics 20

10/22 Night by Elie Wiesel (3 pages) 20

10/27-29 Group Presentation 20

11/12 -24 Individual Presentations 20

CLASS SCHEDULE

Dates Topics Reading Assignment

Introduction/Understanding of Religion

Tue. 8/25 Alternative Paths Ch. 11 (501-535)

Thu. 8/27 Religion and Media Exercise Library (Study Day)

Tue. 9/1 Oral Religions Ch. 1 & 2

Thu. 9/3 Hinduism Ch. 3 (73-121)

Tue. 9/8 Buddhism Ch. 4 (123 –140)

Thu. 9/10 Buddhism Ch. 4 (140-189)

Tue. 9/15 Jainism & Sikhism Ch. 5 (191-213)

Thu. 9/17 Class discussion (Religions & Taboos?)

Tue. 9/22 Daoism & Confucianism Ch. 6 (215-263)

Thu. 9/24 Shinto Ch. 7 (265-291)

Tue. 9/29 STUDY DAY Library

Thu. 10/1 MIDTERM EXAM

Tue. 10/6 Judaism Ch. 8 (293-316)

Thu. 10/8 Judaism Ch. 8. (316-338)

Tue. 10/13 Judaism Ch. 8 (339-349)

Thu.10/15 FALL BREAK

Tue. 10/20 CLASS DISCUSSION: Religion & Politics

Thu. 10/22 The Role of Philosophy in Theology

CLASS DISCUSSION…Night by Elie Wiesel

Tue. 10/27 Group Presentations Groups 4-6

Thu. 10/29 Group Presentations Groups 1-3

Tue. 11/3 Christianity Ch. 9 (351- 372)

Thu. 11/5 Christianity Ch. 9 (373-394)

Tue. 11/10 Christianity Ch. 9 (394-435)

Tue. 11/12 Presentations

Tue. 11/17 Presentations

Thu. 11/19 Presentations

Tue. 11/24 Presentations

Tue. 12/1 Islam Ch. 10 (437-459)

Thu. 12/3 Islam Ch. 10 (460-482)

Tue. 12/8 Islam Ch. 10 (483-499)

Thu. 12/10 Reflection on World Religions/Philosophers on Religion – Critical examination of World Religions

* 12/14 - 18 FINALS WEEK

*Attendance required for all class discussions and presentations.

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