Ethnographic Study Of Religion
Sociology of Religion / Sociology 3040-001
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 2:00 pm to 2:50 pm.
Fall Semester, 2007, University of Utah
Dr. Frank J. Page
Office Hours: 9:00 am till noon. Tuesday and Thursday, or by appointment.
Office Phone: (801) 531-3075 Home Phone: (801) 278-6413
Email: frank.page@soc.utah.edu
I. Goals:
The primary goal of this class is to afford students a historical, comparative, and critical understanding of religious institutions and practices that will help them to better understand religion and its impact upon societies, global-international events, and personal well-being. This overview of the nature, functioning, and diversity of religion should help students make more discerning decisions regarding …show more content…
cultural, political, and moral issues that are often influenced by religion.
II. Topics To Be Covered:
The course is laid out in four parts. The first section begins with a review of conventional and theoretical definitions of religion and an overview of the importance and centrality of religion to human societies. This is followed by a comparative and historical analysis of the major religious institutions in terms of beliefs, values, norms, practices, and rituals. This analysis surveys Western, Eastern, New Age, and Native American religions, and unaffiliated groups in terms of their defining beliefs and practices. It concludes with an analysis of the major commonalities and differences between Eastern and Western Religions, New Age, Native American religions, and unaffiliated groupings that include agnostics, atheists and existentialists. The second part of the course addresses religion in terms of social processes and phenomena that include socialization, social control, social identity, authority, power, law, political behavior, stratification, culture, social change, deviance, and gender. This section also covers the relationship between religion and other major institutions such as family, government, and economic institutions. It concludes with an overview the relationship between religion and human well-being in terms of physical and mental health, achievement, deviance, marriage, divorce, and crime. The third part of the course addresses biological, historical, sociological, anthropological, psychological, and philosophical explanations of the origin, development and practice of religion. This section includes theories taken from philosophy, biology, psychology, anthropology, and a variety of sociological perspectives that include functionalism, conflict theory, rational choice theory, socio-biology, symbolic interactionism, the sociology of knowledge, phenomenology, post-modernism, and critical theory. The fourth part of the course addresses the political and moral issues associated with religion. This section focuses upon the functions and dysfunction of religion and reflects a critical or conflict perspective. The issues discussed include the relationship between religion and a variety of social problems and issues that include the epistemological divide, separation of church and state, evolution and creationism, prejudice, violence, patriarchy, sexism, war, the environment, authoritarianism, democracy, birth control, overpopulation, abortion, diversity, freedom, and social change. The course concludes with a study of master trends in religion in the 21st century.
III. Pedagogy, Exams, and Papers:
This class will utilize a variety of teaching approaches that include lectures, in class discussion, films, and guest speakers representing many different religious perspectives.
The course requirements include three essay exams and a paper. The first midterm and the final will be take-home essay exams. The paper can be from 10 to 12 pages in length. There are four options for the paper. The first option calls upon the student to do participant observer or ethnographic research on a religion or religious practice. The student who chooses this option will spend time throughout the semester in a particular religious institution or group that she is not affiliated with and record her experiences in a journal. The journal will conclude with a summary of her observations in terms of what she has learned and any insights or hypotheses that have been generated by her research. The second option allows the student to write a formal research paper that addresses a particular religion, religious practice, or political or moral issue associated with religion or influenced by religious views. The third option asks the student to develop a hypothesis regarding religion and carry out an appropriate experiment or survey that will shed light on it. The fourth option entails writing a sociological analysis or response to one of the books on the suggested reading list. These papers should summarize the major ideas and conclude with a critical analysis of the book. Students …show more content…
who select this option, must write about a religion other than the one that they are normally affiliated with. There are 200 points possible for the course. Each exam is worth 50 points, and the paper is worth fifty points.
IV. Texts:
Gods in the Global Village, The World's Religions in Sociological Perspective, Second Edition Lester R. Kurtz
The Religious Experience, Classical and Philosophical and Social Theories, Irving M. Zeitlin
Sociology of Religion: A Reader. Edited by Susanne. C. Monahan, William A. Mirola, and Michael AO. Emerson.
Assigned Readings on E.
Reserve: These can be accessed on line through the Student Portal. To do this, you should log on to My.Utah.edu with your UNID. Click on Academics and a list of your current courses along with any course reserves will be listed. Click on the course reserve for this course and the E-reserve readings will appear. Click on a particular reading and you can read it on line or print it out. If you have problems, please call the Multi-media Center, 581-6494 or 581-4808. They will be happy to assist you.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement:
The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin
Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism Statement:
Please be careful not to plagiarize. If in doubt review the university’s policy on academic misconduct, available on-line at http://ww.admin.utah.edu/ppmanual/8/8-10.html. Plagiarism can result in course failures and expulsion.
V. Course Outline:
Week One, August 20, 23, 25): Defining and Studying Religion / Issues in Conventional and Theoretical Approaches to
Religion.
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction, Wade Clark Roof Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Classical Sociological Definitions of Religion, Patricia Chang Sociology of Religion Reader: Elementary Forms of the Religious life, Emile Durkheim. Sociology of Religion Reader: From Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Law, Karl Marx Sociology of Religion Reader: Religion as a Cultural System, Clifford Geertz Sociology of Religion Reader: The Sacred Canopy, Peter L. Berger
Week Two (August 27, 29, 31): Introduction to Western Religions:
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Belief and Ritual, Susanne Monahan Sociology of Religion Reader: Salvation on Sand Mountain, Patrice Gaines Sociology of Religion Reader: Civil Religion in America, Robert N. Bellah Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Religious Experience, William MacDonald Angels, and Kenneth Woodward. Sociology of Religion Reader: Angels, Kenneth L. Woodward and Anne Underwood, Tim Pryor Karen Springen, and Steve Levin Sociology of Religion Reader: Ways of Seeing Ecstasy in Modern Society: Experiential-Expressive and Cultural-Linguistic Views., David Yamane, Megan Polzer
Week Three, (September 5, 8): Axial Age, Judaism, Christianity
No Class Monday, Labor Day Gods in the Global Village: Chapter One: Religious Life in the Global Village God's in the Global Village: Chapter Three: The Tour, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
Week Four, (September 10, 12, 14): Islam
Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Two: A Sociological Tour: Turning East Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Race, Ethnicity, and Religion, Michael Emerson
Week Five, (September 17, 19, 21): Hinduism, Buddhism Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Four: The Religious Ethos Sociology of Religion Reader: Becoming American by Becoming Hindu: Indian Americans Take Their Place at the Multicultural Table, Prema Kurien, Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Alternative Religions: Wendy W. Young
Week Six: (September 24, 26, 28): Comparative Analysis, East, West, Native American, atheists, unaffiliated groups. E-Reserve: Tomorrow's God, Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge. Neale Donald Walsch, Chapters 1, 2, 3. E-Reserve: The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, Rodney Stark, Chapter One: Blessings of Theology E-Reserve. The Sacred Canopy; Elements of a Sociological theory of Religion. Peter L. Berger, Chapter Three, The Problem of Theodicy
Week Seven: (October 1, 3, 5): Midterm Review and Midterm # 1, Weeks One through Six.
Midterm Review Midterm
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Gender and Religion, Lori Beaman Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Social Class and Religion, William Mirola Sociology of Religion Reader; Introduction to Sexual Identity and Religion, William Mirola. Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Religious Organizations, Institutions, and Authority, Susanne c. Monahan Sociology of Religion Reader: Negotiating a Religious Identity: The Case of the Gay Evangelical, Scott Thumma
Week Eight: (October 8, 10, 12): Fall Break
Fall Break No Class
The Religious Experience: Preface The Religious Experience: Chapter One: Rousseau The Religious Experience: Chapter Two: Hegel
Week Nine: (October 15, 17, 19): Religion as Institution and Social Process and Phenomena. Religion and well-being, marriage, divorce, deviance, socialization, social control, authority, power, stratification, politics, self, culture, and gender.
The Religious Experience: Chapter Three: The Young or Left Hegelians The Religious Experience: Chapter Four: Marx The Religious Experience: Chapter Five: Nietzsche
Week Ten: (October 22, 24, 26): Early Philosophical Theories of Religion
The Religious Experience: Chapter Six: Max Weber The Religious Experience: Chapter Seven: Max Weber on the World's Religions The Religious Experience: Chapter Eight: E. B. Tylor
Week Eleven: (October 29, 41, Nov. 1) Sociological, Anthropological, and Theories of Religion
The Religious Experience: Chapter Nine, James George Frazer The Religious Experience: Chapter Ten: Bronsislaw Malinowski The Religious Experience: Chapter Eleven: Sigmund Freud
Week Twelve: (November 3, 5, 7): Anthropological, Psychological, and Biological Theories of Religion
The Religious Experience; Chapter Twelve: Emile Durkheim E-Reserve, The God Part of the Brain, A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God, Mathew Alper, Chapter Three E-Reserve. The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, Chapter Five.
Week Thirteen: (Nov. 12, 14, 16): Review and Midterm on Origins of Religion (Weeks through Twelve)
Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Five: Modernism and Multiculturalism Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Six: Religious Movements in a New Century Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Seven: Religion and social Conflict
Week Fourteen: (Nov. 19, 21): Modernity, Conflict, and Issues and Problems Associated with Religion, Interdisciplinary Critical Analysis:
No Friday: Thanksgiving
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to the Secularization Debate Sociology of Religion Reader : Introduction to Science and Religion, Eric Gormly and William MacDonald Sociology of Religion Reader. Introduction to Social Movements and Religion, William Mirola Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Politics and Religion, Richard Wood. E-Reserve, The True Believer, Eric Hoffer, Chapter Two: The Desire for Substitutes, E-Reserve, The Causes of World War Three, Chapter 21, A Pagan Sermon, C. Wright Mills.
Week Fifteen: (Nov. 26, 28, 29): Issues and Problems Associated with Religion, Interdisciplinary Critical Analysis:
E-Reserve: Acts of Faith, The Story of An American Muslim, The Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, Eboo Patel. E-Reserve: Is Religion Killing Us, Chapter Two, Religion and Violence, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, E-Reserve: Infidel, Ayann Hirisi, Chapter Two. Under the Tala Tree E-Reserve: The End of Faith, Chapter One, Reason in Exile, Sam Harris
Week Sixteen: (December 3, 5): Master Trends and Conclusions, Turn In Papers, Final Review.
Turn in papers Wednesday E-Reserve, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchins, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter 16. E-Reserve: Strong Religion. The Rise of Fundamentalisms Around the World, Gabriel A. Almond, R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan, Introduction. E-Reserve: Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, Mark Juergensmeyer. Chapter One. Terror and God. E-Reserve: Does God Have A Future, Karen Armstrong
Week Seventeen: (December 10)
Final Exam: Monday December 10th, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
VI. Suggested Readings:
Why God Won't Go Away, Brain Science & the Biology of Belief, Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene D Aquili, M.D., PH.D., and Vince Rause Why I Am Not A Christian, Bertrand Russell Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud Varieties of Religious Experience, William James Life is a Miracle, Wendell Berry The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, Emile Durkheim The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber The "God" Part of the Brain, A scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God, Mathew Alper Strong Religion, The Rise of Fundamentalism Around the World, Gabriel A. Almond, R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan The True Believer, Eric Hoffer When Religion Becomes Evil, Charles Kimball Escape From Evil, Ernest Becker The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker Consilience, Edward O. Wilson The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, Peter L. Berger The Sociology of Religion, Max Weber The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, Rodney Stark The End of Faith, Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason, Same Harris Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer The Devil, Peter Stanford A History of God, Karen Armstrong Fundamentalism, Karen Armstrong Wherever You Go There You Are, Jon Kabat Zinn Mountains and More Mountains. Dr. Paul Farmer Under the Banner of Heaven, A Story of Violent Faith, John Karkauer Galileo's Daughter, A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love, Dava Sobel Elmer Gantry, Sinclair Lewis The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins American Theocracy, Kevin Phillips Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Think on These Things, Krishnamurti Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali Acts of Faith, The Story of An American Muslim, the struggle for Soul of a Generation. Eboo Patel Tomorrow's God: Our Greatest spiritual Challenge. Neal e Donald Walsch, Atria Books Siddhartha, Herman Hesse The Art of War, Sun Tzu (Taoist text) The Glorious Qu'Ran, Marmaduke William Pickthall Upanishads (Hindu philosophical meditations) Rig-Veda (Hindu hymns to Pantheon of gods) Quran (Koran) Old Testament, Bible New Testament, Bible Torah (First five books of the Bible) The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith Wu Ching, (Confucianism, five classic works) Sutra Pitka (Discourse of the Buddha) Tao Te Ching, Lao Tse (Taosim)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 2:00 pm to 2:50 pm.
Fall Semester, 2007, University of Utah
Dr. Frank J. Page
Office Hours: 9:00 am till noon. Tuesday and Thursday, or by appointment.
Office Phone: (801) 531-3075 Home Phone: (801) 278-6413
Email: frank.page@soc.utah.edu
I. Goals:
The primary goal of this class is to afford students a historical, comparative, and critical understanding of religious institutions and practices that will help them to better understand religion and its impact upon societies, global-international events, and personal well-being. This overview of the nature, functioning, and diversity of religion should help students make more discerning decisions regarding …show more content…
cultural, political, and moral issues that are often influenced by religion.
II. Topics To Be Covered:
The course is laid out in four parts. The first section begins with a review of conventional and theoretical definitions of religion and an overview of the importance and centrality of religion to human societies. This is followed by a comparative and historical analysis of the major religious institutions in terms of beliefs, values, norms, practices, and rituals. This analysis surveys Western, Eastern, New Age, and Native American religions, and unaffiliated groups in terms of their defining beliefs and practices. It concludes with an analysis of the major commonalities and differences between Eastern and Western Religions, New Age, Native American religions, and unaffiliated groupings that include agnostics, atheists and existentialists. The second part of the course addresses religion in terms of social processes and phenomena that include socialization, social control, social identity, authority, power, law, political behavior, stratification, culture, social change, deviance, and gender. This section also covers the relationship between religion and other major institutions such as family, government, and economic institutions. It concludes with an overview the relationship between religion and human well-being in terms of physical and mental health, achievement, deviance, marriage, divorce, and crime. The third part of the course addresses biological, historical, sociological, anthropological, psychological, and philosophical explanations of the origin, development and practice of religion. This section includes theories taken from philosophy, biology, psychology, anthropology, and a variety of sociological perspectives that include functionalism, conflict theory, rational choice theory, socio-biology, symbolic interactionism, the sociology of knowledge, phenomenology, post-modernism, and critical theory. The fourth part of the course addresses the political and moral issues associated with religion. This section focuses upon the functions and dysfunction of religion and reflects a critical or conflict perspective. The issues discussed include the relationship between religion and a variety of social problems and issues that include the epistemological divide, separation of church and state, evolution and creationism, prejudice, violence, patriarchy, sexism, war, the environment, authoritarianism, democracy, birth control, overpopulation, abortion, diversity, freedom, and social change. The course concludes with a study of master trends in religion in the 21st century.
III. Pedagogy, Exams, and Papers:
This class will utilize a variety of teaching approaches that include lectures, in class discussion, films, and guest speakers representing many different religious perspectives.
The course requirements include three essay exams and a paper. The first midterm and the final will be take-home essay exams. The paper can be from 10 to 12 pages in length. There are four options for the paper. The first option calls upon the student to do participant observer or ethnographic research on a religion or religious practice. The student who chooses this option will spend time throughout the semester in a particular religious institution or group that she is not affiliated with and record her experiences in a journal. The journal will conclude with a summary of her observations in terms of what she has learned and any insights or hypotheses that have been generated by her research. The second option allows the student to write a formal research paper that addresses a particular religion, religious practice, or political or moral issue associated with religion or influenced by religious views. The third option asks the student to develop a hypothesis regarding religion and carry out an appropriate experiment or survey that will shed light on it. The fourth option entails writing a sociological analysis or response to one of the books on the suggested reading list. These papers should summarize the major ideas and conclude with a critical analysis of the book. Students …show more content…
who select this option, must write about a religion other than the one that they are normally affiliated with. There are 200 points possible for the course. Each exam is worth 50 points, and the paper is worth fifty points.
IV. Texts:
Gods in the Global Village, The World's Religions in Sociological Perspective, Second Edition Lester R. Kurtz
The Religious Experience, Classical and Philosophical and Social Theories, Irving M. Zeitlin
Sociology of Religion: A Reader. Edited by Susanne. C. Monahan, William A. Mirola, and Michael AO. Emerson.
Assigned Readings on E.
Reserve: These can be accessed on line through the Student Portal. To do this, you should log on to My.Utah.edu with your UNID. Click on Academics and a list of your current courses along with any course reserves will be listed. Click on the course reserve for this course and the E-reserve readings will appear. Click on a particular reading and you can read it on line or print it out. If you have problems, please call the Multi-media Center, 581-6494 or 581-4808. They will be happy to assist you.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement:
The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin
Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism Statement:
Please be careful not to plagiarize. If in doubt review the university’s policy on academic misconduct, available on-line at http://ww.admin.utah.edu/ppmanual/8/8-10.html. Plagiarism can result in course failures and expulsion.
V. Course Outline:
Week One, August 20, 23, 25): Defining and Studying Religion / Issues in Conventional and Theoretical Approaches to
Religion.
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction, Wade Clark Roof Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Classical Sociological Definitions of Religion, Patricia Chang Sociology of Religion Reader: Elementary Forms of the Religious life, Emile Durkheim. Sociology of Religion Reader: From Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Law, Karl Marx Sociology of Religion Reader: Religion as a Cultural System, Clifford Geertz Sociology of Religion Reader: The Sacred Canopy, Peter L. Berger
Week Two (August 27, 29, 31): Introduction to Western Religions:
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Belief and Ritual, Susanne Monahan Sociology of Religion Reader: Salvation on Sand Mountain, Patrice Gaines Sociology of Religion Reader: Civil Religion in America, Robert N. Bellah Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Religious Experience, William MacDonald Angels, and Kenneth Woodward. Sociology of Religion Reader: Angels, Kenneth L. Woodward and Anne Underwood, Tim Pryor Karen Springen, and Steve Levin Sociology of Religion Reader: Ways of Seeing Ecstasy in Modern Society: Experiential-Expressive and Cultural-Linguistic Views., David Yamane, Megan Polzer
Week Three, (September 5, 8): Axial Age, Judaism, Christianity
No Class Monday, Labor Day Gods in the Global Village: Chapter One: Religious Life in the Global Village God's in the Global Village: Chapter Three: The Tour, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
Week Four, (September 10, 12, 14): Islam
Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Two: A Sociological Tour: Turning East Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Race, Ethnicity, and Religion, Michael Emerson
Week Five, (September 17, 19, 21): Hinduism, Buddhism Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Four: The Religious Ethos Sociology of Religion Reader: Becoming American by Becoming Hindu: Indian Americans Take Their Place at the Multicultural Table, Prema Kurien, Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Alternative Religions: Wendy W. Young
Week Six: (September 24, 26, 28): Comparative Analysis, East, West, Native American, atheists, unaffiliated groups. E-Reserve: Tomorrow's God, Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge. Neale Donald Walsch, Chapters 1, 2, 3. E-Reserve: The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, Rodney Stark, Chapter One: Blessings of Theology E-Reserve. The Sacred Canopy; Elements of a Sociological theory of Religion. Peter L. Berger, Chapter Three, The Problem of Theodicy
Week Seven: (October 1, 3, 5): Midterm Review and Midterm # 1, Weeks One through Six.
Midterm Review Midterm
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Gender and Religion, Lori Beaman Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Social Class and Religion, William Mirola Sociology of Religion Reader; Introduction to Sexual Identity and Religion, William Mirola. Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Religious Organizations, Institutions, and Authority, Susanne c. Monahan Sociology of Religion Reader: Negotiating a Religious Identity: The Case of the Gay Evangelical, Scott Thumma
Week Eight: (October 8, 10, 12): Fall Break
Fall Break No Class
The Religious Experience: Preface The Religious Experience: Chapter One: Rousseau The Religious Experience: Chapter Two: Hegel
Week Nine: (October 15, 17, 19): Religion as Institution and Social Process and Phenomena. Religion and well-being, marriage, divorce, deviance, socialization, social control, authority, power, stratification, politics, self, culture, and gender.
The Religious Experience: Chapter Three: The Young or Left Hegelians The Religious Experience: Chapter Four: Marx The Religious Experience: Chapter Five: Nietzsche
Week Ten: (October 22, 24, 26): Early Philosophical Theories of Religion
The Religious Experience: Chapter Six: Max Weber The Religious Experience: Chapter Seven: Max Weber on the World's Religions The Religious Experience: Chapter Eight: E. B. Tylor
Week Eleven: (October 29, 41, Nov. 1) Sociological, Anthropological, and Theories of Religion
The Religious Experience: Chapter Nine, James George Frazer The Religious Experience: Chapter Ten: Bronsislaw Malinowski The Religious Experience: Chapter Eleven: Sigmund Freud
Week Twelve: (November 3, 5, 7): Anthropological, Psychological, and Biological Theories of Religion
The Religious Experience; Chapter Twelve: Emile Durkheim E-Reserve, The God Part of the Brain, A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God, Mathew Alper, Chapter Three E-Reserve. The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, Chapter Five.
Week Thirteen: (Nov. 12, 14, 16): Review and Midterm on Origins of Religion (Weeks through Twelve)
Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Five: Modernism and Multiculturalism Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Six: Religious Movements in a New Century Gods in the Global Village: Chapter Seven: Religion and social Conflict
Week Fourteen: (Nov. 19, 21): Modernity, Conflict, and Issues and Problems Associated with Religion, Interdisciplinary Critical Analysis:
No Friday: Thanksgiving
Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to the Secularization Debate Sociology of Religion Reader : Introduction to Science and Religion, Eric Gormly and William MacDonald Sociology of Religion Reader. Introduction to Social Movements and Religion, William Mirola Sociology of Religion Reader: Introduction to Politics and Religion, Richard Wood. E-Reserve, The True Believer, Eric Hoffer, Chapter Two: The Desire for Substitutes, E-Reserve, The Causes of World War Three, Chapter 21, A Pagan Sermon, C. Wright Mills.
Week Fifteen: (Nov. 26, 28, 29): Issues and Problems Associated with Religion, Interdisciplinary Critical Analysis:
E-Reserve: Acts of Faith, The Story of An American Muslim, The Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, Eboo Patel. E-Reserve: Is Religion Killing Us, Chapter Two, Religion and Violence, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, E-Reserve: Infidel, Ayann Hirisi, Chapter Two. Under the Tala Tree E-Reserve: The End of Faith, Chapter One, Reason in Exile, Sam Harris
Week Sixteen: (December 3, 5): Master Trends and Conclusions, Turn In Papers, Final Review.
Turn in papers Wednesday E-Reserve, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchins, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter 16. E-Reserve: Strong Religion. The Rise of Fundamentalisms Around the World, Gabriel A. Almond, R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan, Introduction. E-Reserve: Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, Mark Juergensmeyer. Chapter One. Terror and God. E-Reserve: Does God Have A Future, Karen Armstrong
Week Seventeen: (December 10)
Final Exam: Monday December 10th, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
VI. Suggested Readings:
Why God Won't Go Away, Brain Science & the Biology of Belief, Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene D Aquili, M.D., PH.D., and Vince Rause Why I Am Not A Christian, Bertrand Russell Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud Varieties of Religious Experience, William James Life is a Miracle, Wendell Berry The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, Emile Durkheim The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber The "God" Part of the Brain, A scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God, Mathew Alper Strong Religion, The Rise of Fundamentalism Around the World, Gabriel A. Almond, R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan The True Believer, Eric Hoffer When Religion Becomes Evil, Charles Kimball Escape From Evil, Ernest Becker The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker Consilience, Edward O. Wilson The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, Peter L. Berger The Sociology of Religion, Max Weber The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, Rodney Stark The End of Faith, Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason, Same Harris Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer The Devil, Peter Stanford A History of God, Karen Armstrong Fundamentalism, Karen Armstrong Wherever You Go There You Are, Jon Kabat Zinn Mountains and More Mountains. Dr. Paul Farmer Under the Banner of Heaven, A Story of Violent Faith, John Karkauer Galileo's Daughter, A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love, Dava Sobel Elmer Gantry, Sinclair Lewis The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins American Theocracy, Kevin Phillips Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Think on These Things, Krishnamurti Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali Acts of Faith, The Story of An American Muslim, the struggle for Soul of a Generation. Eboo Patel Tomorrow's God: Our Greatest spiritual Challenge. Neal e Donald Walsch, Atria Books Siddhartha, Herman Hesse The Art of War, Sun Tzu (Taoist text) The Glorious Qu'Ran, Marmaduke William Pickthall Upanishads (Hindu philosophical meditations) Rig-Veda (Hindu hymns to Pantheon of gods) Quran (Koran) Old Testament, Bible New Testament, Bible Torah (First five books of the Bible) The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith Wu Ching, (Confucianism, five classic works) Sutra Pitka (Discourse of the Buddha) Tao Te Ching, Lao Tse (Taosim)