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Canyon College

online world religions course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS:  World Religions

Course Title: TH375 - World Religions
Department: Bachelor of Theology
Instructor: Dona Williams, MTh, BS, E-Mail Vita
Prerequisites:Survey of the Bible or an equivalent course and Introduction to Theology.

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

The purpose of the course is to acquaint the student with some of the known religions in the world and to initiate the student into critical thinking and reflection on religion. It is important that the student realize that what are sought here are understanding and not acceptance, appreciation and not evangelism. That is, this course does not attempt to evaluate the religions presented here in an attempt to seduce the student into a particular faith or belief. This course will have achieved all that it intended to do if the student leaves the course with an understanding of some of the main religions which are prevalent in the world and that the student appreciates the pluralism which makes up the religious landscape.

It is also intended that this course will afford the student a respite from the demanding readings and papers of Survey of the Bible or Introduction to the Old Testament and Introduction to Theology. The student should be able to catch his/her breath without losing his/her stride in negotiating the Bachelor of Theology Degree plan.

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 and particularly in their sermons. 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:
A. Armstrong, Karen. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994, soft-cover.  ISBN: 0345384563. ("Armstrong")
B. Fisner, Mary Pat. Living Religions, 5th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002, soft-cover.  ISBN: 0130992283. ("Fisher")
C. Mcgrath, Alister. Christian Theology: An Introduction. Blackwell, 2001, 3rd ed., soft-cover,  ISBN: 0631225285. ("McGrath")
2. Conferences. Students may schedule up to two Internet conferences between the student and the professor. 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 bulletin board.

3. Exams.
A. There will be a midterm examination. The exam will cover the assigned readings and the conferences. The midterm exam will be taken by the end of the fourth week

B. Students are required to complete the quizzes that correspond to the chapter(s) assigned from the Fisher book each week. Only the multiple choice quizzes need to be answered and e-mailed to the professor. The web address for the quizzes is: http://www.prenhall.com/fisher.

4. Papers. There will be a final paper due of between five and seven double-spaced pages on the topic of how God is portrayed in three religions--two of which must be Eastern or Asian which we have studied throughout the course. The final paper is due by the end of the seventh week. The paper is to be e-mailed to the professor. Those who do not feel comfortable with e-mailing the paper can contact the professor for a mailing address.

5. Grades. Course work will be weighted as follows:
Midterm Exam 40 points
Weekly Quizzes 10 points
Final Paper 50 points

6. Grading Scale.
90-100 points A - Excellent
80-89 points B - Above Average
70-79 points C - Average
60-69 points D - Below Average
59 points or below F - Failing Grade

WEEK 1
Introduction. Read McGrath Theology pages 522-38. Read Armstrong pages 3-39. Read Fisher chapter one.

WEEK 2
Eastern Religions. Read Fisher chapters three, four, and five. Read Armstrong pages 40- 78.

WEEK 3
Asian Religions. Read Fisher chapters six and seven. Read Armstrong pages 79-106.

WEEK 4
Judaism. Read Fisher chapter eight. Read Armstrong pages 40-78.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAKE MIDTERM EXAM BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.

WEEK 5
Christianity. Read Fisher chapter nine. Read Armstrong pages 107-31.

WEEK 6
Islam. Read Fisher chapter ten. Read Armstrong pages 132-69.

WEEK 7
Native Religions. Read Fisher chapters two and twelve. Read Armstrong pages 209-56; 377-99.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOUR FINAL PAPER IS DUE BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.