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Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: The Anatomy of Religious Belief

Course Title: Department: Instructor: Prerequisites:

RL505 - The Anatomy of Religious Belief Religious Studies Don E. Peavy, Sr., Ph.D. E-Mail Vita None

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

There are many people today who do not believe Elvis Presley is dead. There are probably just as many who continue to believe that the United States has never put a man on the moon. How is it that people can hold such beliefs in the face of significant evidence that contradicts their beliefs? How is it that people believe in things that cannot be proven using the scientific method? What is the nature of religious belief? These are the essential issues which this course seeks to explore and to answer. By the end of this course, students should have an understanding of the nature of belief and how humans come to believe the things they do. Students should also be able to distinguish between truth claims and factual assertions as well as have a healthy respect for belief as a way of knowing.

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

1. Readings. The required texts are: Online Bookstore
   
   Shermer, Michael, How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company (2000).
   
   James, William, The Will to Believe. (1896) Available online at: http://falcon.jmu.edu/%7Eomearawm/ph101willtobelieve.html
   
   Textbooks should be ordered from the Canyon College Online Bookstore to insure that the correct volume and edition is obtained.

2. 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.

3. Exams. There will NOT be any exams in this course.

4. Papers. There will be a short paper of at least two single-spaced pages or 1,250 words (not counting end-notes and bibliography), due at the end of each week's readings in which students will answer the discussion questions and give a reaction to their readings. These papers are to be e-mailed to the professor. There will also be a mid-term paper which will be between 1500 and 2500 words. Those who do not feel comfortable with e-mailing the papers can contact the professor for a mailing address. 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.

5. Grades. Course work will be weighted as follows:
   
   

   Papers Midterm Paper

   50% 50%

6. 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.

WEEK ONE

Introduction to Course. Review syllabus. What is belief? What is religious belief?

Readings: Shermer Preface, chapters one, two and three.

FOR DISCUSSION: 1. In what way can it be argued that God is real and what we need to discover is what is the nature of God?

2. Is believing in God or any divine being the same as believing in the boogey man? Why or why not?

3. What is the Belief Engine and why is it important, according to Shermer? WEEK TWO

Readings: Shermer chapters four and five. Film: Watch “Virgin,” 2003.

FOR DISCUSSION: 1. Why is it that Jessie Reynolds is so willing to believe that she is carrying “the Christ Child”?

2. Shermer says at page 83 that “Men tended to justify their belief with rational reasons, while women tended to justify their belief with emotional reasons.” What is the point Shermer is making here?

3. How do you explain Jessie’s sudden knowledge and insight that comes when she believes she is carrying the Christ child?

4. How do you interpret the story of the man who kills his dog that is told by the Latina woman in “Virgin”?

WEEK THREE

Read the article “The Will to Believe” by William James. Watch the movie, “AI” 2001.

Write a 1500 to 2500 paper in which you discuss the movie and the article by James and in which you answer the following questions:

1. Why is it that David believes in the Blue Fairy even though he is told she is a character in a story and is not real?

2. Does David have a pre-existing condition that causes him to believe in the Blue Fairy? In other words, is David “wired” for belief?

3. How do you interpret the story of the man who kills his dog that is told by the Latina woman in “Virgin”? Does the story relate to David? If so, in what ways?

WEEK FOUR

Readings: Shermer chapters six and seven.

FOR DISCUSSION: 1. Most humans believe that we have souls. What is some of the evidence humans use to support notions of the soul?

2. What is the “best reason” Shermer gives for keeping science and religion separate? Do you agree/disagree?

3. What does Shermer mean by humans are “pattern seeking and story telling animals” and what does this distinction have to do with belief?

WEEK FIVE

Reading: Shermer chapters eight, nine, and 10; Appendix I and Appendix II.

FOR DISCUSSION: 1. In the movie, “Virgin,” we know something that Jessie does not know –her pregnancy is the result of a rape and not divine conception. In the Ghost Dance, we see the tragic end and discount the initial revelation. In both instances, we have a phenomenon and then an interpretation. Can we conclude that religion is a human response to some type of phenomenal experience? Why or why not?

2. Does your answer to question one depend on whether or not we can eventually analyze the phenomenon which gave rise to the religion? For instance, can we evaluate Judaism’s validity without access to the burning bush encountered by Moses?

3. We have said elsewhere that one of the things religion does is to invest our lives with meaning in a meaningless universe. How did Shermer find meaning to his life once he abandoned religious belief?