50187 Comparative Belief Systems

UTS: Communication: Social and Political Change
Credit points: 8 cp
Result Type: Grade, no marks

Handbook description

This subject investigates understandings of divinity and the sacred held by different cultures, historical periods, and individuals. It discusses the world's framing cultural systems: the major religious traditions together with the outlooks of science and secular humanism. Students inquire into the nature of religion, and consider theories that attempt to explain its existence and variability. They consider doubt, conflict and persecution, as well as continuity, certainty and conversion, and reflect upon the contemporary 'postmodern' situation and its fluid mingling of innovation, fundamentalism, science and mysticism.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On completion of this subject, students are expected to be able to:

understand belief systems, particularly all-encompassing ones such as those of the great religious traditions
understand the relationships between beliefs, actions and social institutions
appreciate the variety of human belief
recognise the basic doctrines, activities and history of the major religious and secular traditions
describe a contemporary religious or similar movement
identify influential theories of religion and ideology
use research and analytic skills, and interpret diverse literatures
demonstrate lucid exposition and innovative questioning
use collaborative research and presentation skills.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject will contribute to the development of:

historical and theoretical knowledge in social inquiry
critical and analytical skills in cross-cultural and global contexts
sensitivity to the multiple dimensions of social difference
critical understanding of contemporary ethnic, religious and ideological relationships
ethical practice, especially in historical and cross-cultural contexts
research skills in social inquiry, especially with respect to phenomenologically based and participant-observation practices
reflective appreciation of the role of theory in social and political life, facilitating a commitment to lifelong learning.

Teaching and learning strategies

This class is taught on a lecture/tutorial basis. It will include the following activities:

Lectures
Seminar discussions of set texts
Participant-observation field research of a movement based on a religious or other world-view
Written items on set topics
Seminar presentation of participant observation research.

Content

The subject reviews the history of the major world religions, emphasising the ways in which religious belief and experience shapes social and community life. The subject will introduce basic tenets and history of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Rationalism, and refer to many other belief systems, but the recurring notes will be the relevance of these beliefs for contemporary society and politics, and their profound significance in forming and framing understandings of self, others, the universe, and the nature of understanding itself.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Presentation on participant observation research

Objective(s):	Demonstrate critical and analytical skills and foster cooperative work. Enable students to engage in an in-depth empirical study. Facilitate articulate oral communication. Identify problems and assumptions implicit in the arguments and theories studied.
Weighting:	35%
Task:	Class presentation on participant observation research of a religious or ideological practice in contemporary Sydney.
Assessment criteria:	Critically analyse arguments and theories in the field of social inquiry. Identification of the issues raised in the lectures and texts. Formulate questions resulting from these identifications. Close and sympathetic understanding of the group studied. Knowledge of the group's history, social context and affinities. Informative class use presentation tools and media.

Assessment item 2: Report on participant observation research

Objective(s):	Demonstrate expository, analytic and critical abilities. Demonstrate knowledge of the field. Enable development of research skills. Enable students to engage in an in-depth examination of an issue. Facilitate articulate written communication.
Weighting:	15%
Length:	1,000 words
Task:	A brief report on item 4, including: the contributions you made to the presentation, fieldwork and background research difficulties and successes of the project interesting information and ideas you discovered but could not use in the presentation reflection on the class presentation and discussion.
Assessment criteria:	Same as Assessment task 1 above.

Assessment item 3: Essay

Objective(s):	Demonstrate expository, analytic and critical abilities. Demonstrate knowledge of the field. Enable development of research skills. Enable students to engage in an in-depth examination of an issue. Facilitate articulate written communication.
Weighting:	50%
Length:	3,000 words
Task:	An essay on one of the topics listed below. The essay must compare and contrast at least two different religious traditions. It must make significant use of material studied in lectures and tutorials. You can present the essay in whatever format you believe best suits your material. However, you must provide a list of sources, and reference your presentation in a way that performs the functions of one of the standard academic referencing systems.
Assessment criteria:	Ability to initiate and sustain an individual research project, including the discovery of suitable sources of information. Ability to synthesise and summarise academic writing in an accessible manner. Address the topic and explore its implications. Correct referencing and English expression. Critically analyse arguments and theories in a field of belief systems. Develop an argument or point of view and provide evidence to support that view. Identify relevant issues raised by the literature. Lucid writing style. Read and analyse writings in the area. Reflect on the merits and flaws in these arguments and theories.

Minimum requirements

There are three graded items of assessment. All items must be completed to achieve a pass. The following ungraded activities are also required:

Regular attendance
Reading the material set for discussion
Leading discussion on one of the set readings.

Students are expected to read the subject outline to ensure they are familiar with the subject requirements. Since class discussion and participation in activities form an integral part of this subject, you are expected to attend, arrive punctually and actively participate in classes. If you experience difficulties meeting this requirement, please contact your lecturer. Students who have a reason for extended absence (e.g., illness) may be required to complete additional work to ensure they achieve the subject objectives.

Attendance is particularly important in this subject because it is based on a collaborative approach which involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas. Students who attend fewer than ten classes are advised that their final work will not be assessed and that they are likely to fail the subject.

Indicative references

Smart, Ninian, The World's Religions Cambridge 1998. 2nd edition

Bellah, R.N. 'Religious Evolution', American Sociological Review, 29 (1964)

Boyer, P. Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought, Basic Books, 2002.

Brandon, S.G.F. Man and His Destiny in The Great Religions, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1962

Brown, F.B. The Evolution of Darwin's Religious Views

Clack, B. An Introduction to Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Religion, Edinburgh University, Press, 2000

Descartes, R. Meditations Many editions, and text available on the internet (pub 1641)

Eliade, M. (ed) From Primitives to Zen: a thematic sourcebook of the history of religions, Collins, 1967, London

Faruqi, I. Historical Atlas of the Religions of the World, Macmillan, New York, 1974

Foy, W. (ed) Man's Religious Quest: A Reader, Croom Helm, London, 1978

Geertz, C. 'Religion as a Cultural System' in M. Banton (ed), Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion, Tavistock Publications, London, 1968

Goody, J. 'Religion and Ritual: the Definitional Problem'. British Journal of Sociology, 12(2), 1961.

Hefner, R. W. 'Multiple Modernities: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism in a Globalizing Age', Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 27, 1998, pp. 83-104

Hume, D. 'On the Immortality of the Soul', and an anonymous response. (pub 1783)

Inglehart, R. & Baker, W. E. 'Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values', American Sociological Review, Vol. 65, No. 1, 'Looking Forward, Looking Back: Continuity and Change at the Turn of the Millenium', Feb., 2000, pp. 19-51

Kepel, G. The Revenge of God, the resurgence of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in the modern world, Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pa., 1994

Kung, H. Does God Exist?, Doubleday, New York, 1980

Lawrence, B. Defenders of God, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1989

Lessa, W. A. et al Reader in Comparative Religion, Harper & Row, New York,1979

Luckmann, T. The invisible religion: the problem of religion in modern society, Macmillan, New York, 1970

Levi-Strauss, C. 'The Sorcerer and his Magic', Structural Anthropology,

Martin, M. A (critical) appraisal of the Wittgenstein lectures. www.infidels.org/ library/ modern/ michael_martin/ wittgenstein.html.

Marty M, E. and Appleby, R. S. (eds) Religion, ethnicity, and self-identity: nations in turmoil, University Press of New England, Hanover, NH, 1997

Marty M, E. and Appleby, R. S., The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, Beacon, Boston, 1992

Miles, J. God: a Biography, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1995

Nagel, E. 'Philosophical Concepts of Atheism' in Klemke op cit, also in J. E. Fairchild (ed) Basic beliefs : the religious philosophies of mankind, Sheridan House, New York, 1959

Nehamas, A. The art of living: Socratic reflections from Plato to Foucault, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1998.

Pappas, N. Routledge philosophy guidebook to Plato and the Republic, Routledge, London & New York, 1995.

Pecora,V. P. 'Rethinking modernity and religion', Studies in the Humanities, June 2002 v29 i1 p52(19)

Phillips, D. Z. Religion without Explanation, Blackwell, 1976

Plato. The last days of Socrates, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth 1969

Plato, The Republic, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1974

Pyysiåinen, I. 'True fiction: philosophy and psychology of religious belief', Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2003

Kraut, R. Cambridge Companion to Plato, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1992

Rawls, J. Political Liberalism, Columbia University Press, New York, 1996

Richter, D. J. 'Wittgenstein' Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/w/wittgens.htm Excellent article

Robertson, R. The Sociological Interpretation of Religion, Blackwell, Oxford, 1970

Rowe, J. L. Plato Harvester 1984

Rowe, W. I. & Wainwright W. J. (eds) Philosophy of Religion, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1973

Rudolph, K. 'Mircea Eliade and the History of Religions', Religion 19 (2), 1989

Cantwell-Smith, W. Faith and Belief: the Difference Between Them, 1998

Russell, B. On Religion, (eds.) L. Greenspan And S. Andersson, Routledge, New York, 1999.

Taylor, A. E. The mind of Plato. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1960.

Tilghman, B. R 'Isn't belief in God an attitude?' International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Feb 1998, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p 17-29

Van Riel, G. Pleasure and the Good Life: Plato, Aristotle, and the Neoplatonists, Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Westlake, M. 'The Unconscionably Long Death of God', Theory and Society 1 (1)

Wittgenstein, L. 'Lectures on Religious Belief' in Lectures and conversations on aesthetics, psychology and religious belief, Oxford 1966; also in Klemke (op cit) and in Lectures and Conversations, Berkeley 1972.

Wolpert, L. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief, Faber & Faber, 2006.

New religions

Ammerman, N. T. Bible Believers: fundamentalists in the modern world, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 1987.

Atwood, M. The Handmaid's Tale, J. Cape, London, 1986

Clarke, P. B. New Religions in Global Perspective, Routledge, London, 2004

Cupitt, D. After God: the Future of Religion, Basic Books, New York, 1997

Evans, A. 'The Politics of Anxiety' (Review of Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking of World Order) http://www.kashmirgroup.freeserve.co.uk/huntingd.htm

Heelas, P. and Woodhead L. The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality, Blackwell, Malden, 2005

Huntington, S. P. 'The Clash of Civilizations?' Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993. Do a web search for this to find this famous article.

Katz, D. S. and Popkin R. H. Messianic Revolution: Radical Religious Politics to the End of the Second Millenium, Penguin, London, 2000

Kavan, H. 'Glossolalia and Altered States of Consciousness in two New Zealand Religious Movements', Journal of Contemporary Religion, 19 (2), 2004, pp. 171-184

Possamai, Adam, 'Alternative Spiritualities, New Religious Movements, and Jediism in Australia', Australian Religion Studies Review, 16 (2) pp 69-86

Ruthven, M. Fundamentalism: the search for meaning, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York, 2005

Trompf, G. W. Cargo Cults and Millenarian Movements: Transoceanic comparisons of New Religious Movements, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York,1990.

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