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Canyon College
Canyon College
COURSE SYLLABUS: DV546 – Religion in America

Course Title: DV546 – Religion in America
Department: Divinity
Instructor: Rev. Don E. Peavy, Sr., J.D., M.Div. E-Mail Vita
Prerequisites: None


PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

Our task in this course will be to examine religion, with particular and sustained attention being paid to Christianity, to discern to what degree, if any, religion changed as it reached the shores of North America and the degree to which it helped shape the United States. When we use the term “America,” we mean it as it is commonly used to refer to the United States. This is in no wise a derogation of the other nations that make up the North American continent.

By the conclusion of our journey through the readings and discussions of this course, students should have an understanding of American religion in all its diversity as well as its unifying factors. Students should also have a basic understanding of Native American religions, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, African-American religion, Metaphysical and Occult religions, Asian religions, civil religion, and religious elements in popular culture.

Course Objectives:

Specifically, at the end of the course, Students should be able to:
  1. Explain and criticize several common definitions of religion.
  2. Distinguish academic from theological approaches to the study of religion.
  3. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
  4. Identify the major 19th and 20th century sectarian groups.
  5. Illustrate the operations of contractive and expansive tendencies in American religious history.
  6. Enumerate the major components of the creed, code, and cultus of public or ordinary American religion.
  7. Explain how myths and rituals function through popular culture to shape the lives and values of Americans.
  8. Give specific examples of the different patterns of interactions, both hostile and cooperative, among members of different American religious groups.
  9. Demonstrate how America is a society characterized both by great diversity and also by common assumptions, values, and goals.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT

Canyon College is a non-sectarian, non-denominational school committed to the study of God in all the richness and diversity of God's revelations to humanity and an exploration of what those revelations mean to the everyday lives of finite human beings. Canyon College does not advocate any particular belief, creed, doctrine or idea other than the reality of God and does not require that its students and faculty subscribe to any particular belief, creed, doctrine or idea other than a willingness to be challenged and a commitment to an investigation into truth and the pursuit of academic honesty and excellence.

INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

Students should strive to use inclusive language in their writings. By inclusive language is meant language that is not gender specific and which attempts to include as many people as possible. For instance, instead of writing that "God wills that every man obeys His will," inclusive language would require us to write, "God wills that everyone obeys God's will."

REQUIREMENTS

Required Texts  Online Bookstore

Albanese, Catherine L., America: Religions and Religion, 4th ed., Belmont, CA: Thompson/Wadsworth (2007).

Niebuhr, H. Richard, The Kingdom of God in America, with an introduction by Martin E. Marty, Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press (1988).

Recommended

Deloria, Vine, God Is Red, New York: Grosset & Dunlap (1973).

Edwards, Jonathan, The Nature of True Virture, University of Michigan Press (1960).

Eller, Cynthia, Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America, New York: The Crossroad Publishing Co. (1993).

Lincoln, C. Eric and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience, Duke University Press (1990).

Peavy, Sr., Don E., “What Must I Do?: Bridging the Gap Between Being and Doing,” Kendall/Hunt (2006).

Textbooks should be ordered from the Canyon College Online Bookstore to insure that the correct volume and edition is obtained.

Conferences. Students may schedule no more than two Internet conferences between the student and the professor. These should be scheduled as necessary by the student. Of course, students may ask questions of the professor at any time by sending an E-mail to the address at the link above or by posting them to the message board.

Exams. There will be a midterm exam and a final examination. The exam will cover the assigned readings. The midterm exam should be taken prior to the end of the week indicated below.

Papers. There will be weekly papers of at least two but no more than four double- spaced pages written in response to the questions listed below. The papers are to be e-mailed to the professor. Papers should conform to the form and style outlined in Kate L. Turabian's "A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations," 6th ed. Students should use end notes instead of footnotes. Finally, the papers are intended to be reflection papers and not research or the "author said" papers. Students should indicate their understanding of the texts and this cannot be done merely by quoting the authors.

Grades. Course work will be weighted as follows:

Weekly Papers
 35
Midterm Exam
 30
Final Exam
 35
Total
 100


Grading Scale

90 - 100%
 A - Excellent
80 - 89%
 B - Above Average
70 - 79%
 C - Average
60 - 69%
 D - Below Average
59% or below
 F - Failing Grade


A = Clearly stands out as excellent performance. Has unusually sharp insight into material and initiates thoughtful questions. Sees many sides of an issue. Articulates well and writes logically and clearly. Integrates ideas previously learned from this and other disciplines. Anticipates next steps in progression of ideas.

B = Grasps subject matter at a level considered to be good to very good. Is an active listener and participant in chats, message boards, e-mails and conferences. Speaks and writes well. Accomplishes more than the minimum requirements. Work is of high quality.

C = Demonstrates a satisfactory comprehension of the subject matter. Accomplishes only the minimum requirements, and displays little or no initiative. Communicates at an acceptable level for a college student. Has a generally acceptable understanding of all basic concepts.

D = Quality and quantity of work is below average and barely acceptable.

F = Quality and quantity of work is unacceptable.

Plagiarism

It is plagiarism to go to the Internet, find an article, copy it to the clipboard and then drop it into your word processor. Listing the article as a reference on the last page will not cover you. This is plagiarism. There are a couple of things you can do that will help prevent yourself from being charged with academic dishonesty. Note the following:
  1. Any time that you use the words or ideas of another person without giving credit, it is considered plagiarism, WHETHER IT IS INTENTIONAL OR NOT!
  2. Differences between direct and indirect quotes:
    1. Direct Quotes: Include the exact wording from the source.
    2. Indirect Quotes: Summarizes or paraphrases the content from the source.
  3. APA in-text requirements:
  4. Punctuation requirements: ALL word-for-word quotations MUST be placed in quotation marks.
  5. Exception to the rule: Common Knowledge -- if the same information can be found in three or more sources and those sources don’t cite an earlier source, the information is considered common knowledge. Also, commonly known facts (e.g., Washington D.C. is the capital of the U.S.) do not need a citation even if you had to look them up.
  6. When in doubt, CITE.
WEEK 1 Coming to America


Introduction to course. Review syllabus. Circumscribing the subject.

READINGS: Albanese Preface and Introduction. Niebuhr vii to 15. Read Lecture One.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Explain and criticize several common definitions of religion.
  2. Distinguish academic from theological approaches to the study of religion.
  3. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
ASSIGNMENTS:
  1. Complete your Student Information Sheet and return it to the instructor via email.
Movie: Watch “The Scarlet Letter” starring Demi Moore.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. What are the reasons given for the vast exodus from Europe to the Americas?
  2. Did those who left Europe for the Americas find what they were looking for?
  3. How are the Puritans portrayed in the movie? Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
WEEK 2 The Early Colonies


Native American Religion.

READINGS: Albanese Chapter 1. Read Lecture Two.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
Movie: Watch “The Mission,” starring Jeremy Irons and Robert Di Niro.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. In the movie the Indian chief asks who speaks for God? How do you answer that question?
  2. What is the difference between a proprietary colony and a charter colony?
  3. Explain how the Ghost Dance represents Albaneses’ concept of the expansive and contracting nature of religion.
  4. What does Albanese mean by ordinary religion and extraordinary religion?
WEEK 3 Jewish Religion


READINGS: Albanese Chapter 2. Read Lecture Three.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. What is Kaballah? Name at least two celebrities who follow this tradition.
  2. How did the Jewish arrival in North America contrast to that of Protestants, if it did?
  3. Some have argued that Judaism is not only a religion, it is an ethnic classification. Do you agree? Why or why not?
WEEK 4 MIDTERM EXAM


PLEASE COMPLETE THE MID-TERM EXAMINATION BEFORE THE END OF THIS WEEK.

WEEK 5 Roman Catholicism


READINGS: Albanese Chapter 3. Lecture Four.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. Authority is a vital issue which continues to cause conflicts among Christians. Explain how apostolic succession answers the question of authority for Catholics.
  2. How did the Catholic arrival in North America differ from that of Protestants?
  3. How is the practice of Catholicism in North America different that that in Europe and other countries?
WEEK 6 The Protestant Reformation


Early and Liberal Protestantism.

READINGS: Albanese Chapter 4. Read Lecture Five.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
  2. Identify the major 19th and 20th century sectarian groups.
  3. Illustrate the operations of contractive and expansive tendencies in American religious history.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. What is the social gospel and how does it differ from the theology of the Puritans?
  2. What are some of the factors which gave rise to the Protestant Reformation?
  3. What are some factors which distinguish liberal Protestantism from Puritan Protestantism?
Week 7 The Kingdom of God


Evangelical Protestantism.

Readings: Albanese Chapter 5. Read Lecture Six. Read Niebuhr 17-87.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Trace the historical development of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, African-American religion, and Native American religion in the United States.
  2. Identify the major 19th and 20th century sectarian groups. 3. Illustrate the operations of contractive and expansive tendencies in American religious history.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

In his seminal work, The Kingdom of God in America, H. Richard Niebuhr writes at page 24, “But Protestantism was never liberal in the sense that it made the free man the starting point of its theology or its ethics.”

What did Protestants in America use as “the starting point of its theology or its ethics?” How did this starting point give rise to what these Protestants called the Kingdom of God and what did they understand the Kingdom of God to mean? What were the elements of their notion of kingdom?

These questions can be answered by reading pages 17-44.

Week 8 East Meets West


Metaphysical Religion.

READINGS: Albanese Chapter 8, and Edwards 73-75, 161-164. Read Lecture Seven.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. Identify the major 19th and 20th century sectarian groups.
  2. Illustrate the operations of contractive and expansive tendencies in American religious history.
  3. Enumerate the major components of the creed, code, and cultus of public or ordinary American religion.
  4. Explain how myths and rituals function through popular culture to shape the lives and values of Americans.
  5. Give specific examples of the different patterns of interactions, both hostile and cooperative, among members of different American religious groups.
  6. Demonstrate how America is a society characterized both by great diversity and also by common assumptions, values, and goals.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. Explain how metaphysical religions represent Albanese’s concept of extraordinary religion.
  2. One of the themes of her book is that America has always been a diversity of religions, each of which with its own history, and these have coalesced to make up what Albanese calls the history of religion in America. Explain what Albanese means by this seemingly contradictory concept.
  3. Are metaphysicians Christians? Why or why not?
Week 9 Final Examination


PLEASE TAKE THE FINAL EXAMINATION BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.