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Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: The Sociology of Religion

Course Title:	RL520 - The Sociology of Religion
Department:	Religious Studies
Instructor:	Don E. Peavy, Sr., Ph.D. E-Mail Vita
Prerequisites:	None

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

Welcome to RL 520, The Sociology of Religion, where we will be studying two of the fathers of sociology and two of the major interpreters of religion. One has not truly understood religion unless one has spent time with Weber and Durkheim and wrestled with their concepts. Of course, at the heart of their explorations is the attempt to discover the origin of the religious impulse. It is this latter concept that is of critical importance to this course where we are exploring religious experience in an attempt to understand just what it is people mean by religion and why religion is so important to so many people around the world. Here, it is hoped that students will come to appreciate the social functions religion plays and how religion holds a society together. What is sought here is not unquestioned allegiance to Weber and Durkheim, but rather an understanding of their content and methodologies and how both enable us to make sense of religious experience. We are seeking understanding and not appropriation!

• Sociology of Religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use of both quantitative methods (surveys, polls, demographic and census analysis) and qualitative approaches such as participant observation, interviewing, and analysis of archival, historical and documentary materials.
• Sociologists of religion study every aspect of religion from what is believed to how persons act while in worship and while living out their stated convictions. They study the changing role of religion both in the public arena (political, economic and media) and in intimate interpersonal relationships. Global religious pluralism and conflict, the nature of religious cults and sects, the influence of religion on racial, gender and sexuality issues, and the effect of the media and modern culture has on religious practices are all topics of interest in current sociology of religion research.
  
  http://hirr.hartsem.edu/sociology/sociology_about_the_field.html

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 Gods will."

REQUIREMENTS

1. Readings. The required texts are: Online Bookstore
   
   The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: A New Translation by Karen E. Fields, by Emile Durkheim. The Free Press (1995). ISBN13: 9780029079379 ISBN: 0029079373
   
   There are other editions of this classic work available but this is the preferred edition. This work may also be available free on the Internet.
   
   The Sociology of Religion, by Max Weber. Beacon Press (1993). ISBN13: 9780807042052 ISBN: 0807042056
   
   There are other editions of this classic work available but this is the preferred edition. This work may be available free of charge on the Internet.

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 be no 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. There is a mid-term paper due of between 1500 and 2500 words. These papers are to be e-mailed to the professor. 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	60%
   Midterm Paper	40%

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

Read the biographical information on Weber at: http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/weber.htm. In addition, please bookmark this website as it provides additional readings on the work of Max Weber. Read Weber Introduction through the end of “Religious Congregation, Preaching, Pastoral Care.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Name three unique contributions Weber makes to the study of religion.
2. Weber writes that “the ends of the religious and magical actions are predominantly economic.” What does Weber mean by this statement? Do you agree/disagree? Why or why not?
3. Weber writes that “The two characteristic elements of ‘divine worship,’ prayer and sacrifice, have their origin in magic.” What do you understand Weber to be saying and what is the significance of this statement to understanding religious experience?
4. Name some key differences between the priest, magician, and prophet. Are there any similarities?

WEEK TWO

Read Weber “Castes, Estates, Classes, and Religion,” to the end of “Asceticism, Mysticism, and Salvation Religion.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the difference between the mystic and the ascetic?
2. Weber writes that only Judaism and Islam are strictly monotheistic. What is a monotheistic religion? Do you agree/disagree with Weber’s assessment? Why or why not?
3. What role does Weber say class play in religion?
4. What does Weber mean by the “soteriological myth?”

WEEK THREE

Read Weber “Soteriology and Types of Salvation,” to the end of this most fascinating work.

Mid-Term Paper: Weber says that only a community can practice religion and that the individual is left to practice magic. What does Weber mean by this statement? Do you agree or disagree and why or why not? Does this statement by Weber contradict what he writes about the mystic and the ascetic? Why or why not? Your paper should be between 1500 and 2500 words and in proper Turabian or APA format.

WEEK FOUR

Read Durkheim both introductions and chapter one. Also, review the website at: http://www.unc.edu/~elliott/durkheim.html.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you note any significant differences in Durkheim’s and Weber’s approaches to the study of religion? If so, what are they?
2. Durkheim writes, “Fundamentally, then, there are no religions that are false.” What do you understand Durkheim to mean by this statement? Do you agree or disagree?
3. According to Durkheim, “religion is broader than the idea of gods or spirits and so cannot be defined exclusively in those terms.” What do you understand Durkheim to mean by this statement? What is the implication of this statement in devising a definition of religion?

WEEK FIVE

Read Durkheim “The Leading Conceptions of the Elementary Religion” to the end of “The Principle Totemic Beliefs.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is animism and what is its role in the history of religion, according to Durkheim?
2. What is a totem?
3. What is an individual totem? Give two examples of an individual totem.

WEEK SIX

Read Durkheim “The Notion of Soul” to the end of “The Notion of Spirits and Gods,” and “The Piacular Rites and the Ambiguity of the Notion of the Sacred” to the end of the “Conclusion.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What are the differences between soul, ghost, and spirit?
2. Define what Durkheim means by the soul. What does he say is the origin of the soul? Are there an unlimited number of souls?
3. If humans have souls, then when do they receive them, according to Durkheim? Finally, how does Durkheim’s view of the soul compare/contrast to your own notion of soul?