REL 501: World ReligionsRobert S. Ellwood, Ph.D.This course in world religions reviews and summarizes all of the great spiritual traditions of the world. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and others are introduced, with an emphasis on both Judeo-Christian and Eastern thoughts on consciousness. Student Outcomes for This CourseOutcome #1: Students will acquire a basic knowledge of the teaching, practice and sociology of the world's religions. Outcome #2: Students will understand and experience how awareness of world religions can enhance one's own consciousness. Outcome #3: Students will identify any ideas or practices from other religions that can be helpful in one's own spiritual path. Outcome #4: Students will appreciate the universality of Science of Mind teachings through locating convergent ideas in world religions. Outcome #5: Students will enrich their own ministry by understanding better the religious and cultural heritage of persons of diverse backgrounds with whom one may be called to work. Outcome #6: Students will acquire tools for better understanding, and so be able to assess and critique one's own church and ministry. For example, learning to analyze another religious service and institution in terms of the interaction of the three forms of religious expression, theoretical or teaching; practical or worship and personal devotion; sociological or the role of leadership, social interaction, demographics and institutional structure, ought to help one to see and perhaps improve how they function in one's own. Course Sessions and TopicsThis course is organized into ten one-hour audio sessions. The introductory session, Understanding the World's Religious Heritage, is presented in both audio and video format to better acquaint the student with Dr. Ellwood. The ten sessions are organized into a thoughtful effective presentation on this topic. We recommend you study the tapes in their sequential order:
Required ReadingEllwood, Robert & McGraw, Barbara, Many People, Many Faiths, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Porterfield, Amanda, The Power of Religion, Oxford University Press, 1997. Recommended Reading and ResourcesBalm, Archie, The Heart of Confucius, Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1977. Burtt, E.A., The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha, NY: Mentor Books, 1955. Byrom, Thomas, Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha, Boston: Shambhala, 1993. Ellwood, Robert & Partin, Harry, Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1988. Gia-Fu Feng, & English, J. (Transls.) Tao te ching, NY: Vintage Books (Random House). Prabhavananda, Swami, & Manchester, The Upanishads, New York: Mentor Books, 1948. Prabhavananda, Swami, & Isherwood, C. (Transl.), The Song of God: Bhagavad Gita, Mentor Books, 1951. Reps, Paul, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, NY: Doubleday, 1989. Shah, Idries, The Sufis, NY: Doubleday, 1964. Thurman, Robert A., The Tibetan Book of the Dead, NY: Bantam, 1994. Waley, A., The Analects of Confucius, New York: Vintage Books (Random House), originally published by MacMillian in 1938. Watt, William M., What is Islam?London: Longman, 1968. Wouk, Herman, This Is My God, Garden City: Doubleday, 1950 (Judaism from an Orthodox perspective). Faculty note: Most, if not all of these books should be available through amazon.com on the Internet or by special order from any good bookstore, or in good libraries. Use interlibrary loan if necessary. In some cases the present publisher may be different from that given here. Video Resources
Phone Conferences – Thursdays, October 5 and November 16, 2006From 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Pacific Coast time, all students participate in these conferences with Dr. Ellwood. Each of these two conferences has been designed around topics and issues. The first conference will also give you an opportunity to clarify any general questions related to the course. Credit will not be given for participation. See Phone Conferences with Faculty in this guide for the conference calling process. Topics for First Conference Call – Thursday, October 5, 2006
Topics for Second Conference Call – Thursday, November 16, 2006
Email Discussion Group "quantumquest"Email discussion groups encourage group discussion on the topics, issues and concepts presented in each course. Students are encouraged to use this discussion forum to share their ideas, insights and questions with one another. No credit will be given for participation. A single -mail message reaches all students and the faculty member at one time. This discussion group has also been put in place to help remove some of the geographic isolation which may be felt between students, and add an extra link to the natural and vital bond that develops in any spiritual community. All students with a current email address listed with Holmes Institute are automatically subscribed to the email discussion group for this course. Use this email address: If you desire to respond to an individual in the group, please use his/her personal email address on your class roster or the Faculty Directory for Fall 2006 in this guide. Course Outline - Weeks 1 through 3This outline gives a brief description of how to pace your self-study and gauge your progress in the required course activities throughout the academic quarter. Lesson Objectives: By the end of the third week, students will demonstrate the ability: Objective #1: To meet the objectives identified at the beginning of each of the assigned chapters in the text: Many Peoples, Many Faiths.
It is highly recommended that your studies emphasize a complete understanding of the three forms of religious expression found in Chapter 1 and the introductory video. These should be examined, reviewed and be thoroughly understood before going on to the rest of the course lectures and reading. Course Outline - Weeks 4 through 7Lesson Objectives: By the end of the seventh week, students will have the ability: Objective #3: To meet the objectives identified at the beginning of each of the assigned chapters and answer the study questions listed at the end of each chapter without looking back at the text: Many Peoples, Many Faiths. Objective #4: To meetthe following objectives by reading required information in Porterfield: Objective #5: To describe and analyze a visit to a religious service.
Assessment Experience #1: You are to prepare a topical paper of a visit by you personally to a service, formal presentation, or tour at a religious institution. Attendance at a formal service, or something like a yoga class or Zen meditation, in a formal religious setting, is preferred. A visit in which you do not participate in an activity but examine the architecture and symbolism would probably only be acceptable in a large or historic building that is exceptionally lavish, and probably only when there is a guided tour in which it is explained. A little background and inquiry may help you to understand more about the religion and your visitation experience, but this paper is intended to be chiefly observation. Preparing for Your Visitation ExperienceYou are expected to go to a religious site in which you have had little or no previous experience. Remember, however, that this is intended to be an observational, not a book-researched, project. Tell and analyze what you actually saw and heard, not what some written source says you should have! Be sure to dress appropriately, remembering that too casual dress is inappropriate in some places. However, you will find that nearly all places of worship will welcome you warmly, truly appreciate your interest, and answer your questions. It is usually all right to take notes inconspicuously during a religious service, but I do not recommend taking tape recordings, videos or pictures without the courtesy of first asking permission. It is all right to go more than once if you can and you feel that would enhance your understanding. You may also talk with the priest, minister, or informed lay people at the time, or later over the phone, for needed clarification, and read available pamphlets and other resource material. Writing Up Your Visitation ExperienceA little background reading and inquiring may help you to understand more about the religion and your visitation experience, but this paper is intended to be chiefly observational. This paper must follow precisely the outline on pp. 467-68, 7 th edition; 484-85, 8 th edition of Many People, Many Faiths. Failure to do so will seriously lower your grade or require the paper to be rewritten. Part 4, Analysis, should receive your major attention and represent about a third of the paper. A superior paper that would be in the "A" range usually is especially sensitive and acute here. This paper must be at least five full pages in length. Remember, finally, this whole paper is intended to be an experience of sensitivity and empathy. It is not the place to express your own opinions of the religion, much less indulge in derogatory or satirical humor. The only point of the project is to understand and to know how to analyze any religion in terms of its forms of expression. Please do not submit tapes, videos, picture, pamphlets, etc., with your paper. I am only interested in your own writing about the experience. Your paper must be mailed to Dr. Ellwood postmarked on or before Monday, October 24, 2005. See Faculty Directory for Fall 2006 for mailing address. Your paper will be returned to you directly by the instructor. Be sure to include a large SASE with adequate postage.Course Outline - Weeks 8 through 10Lesson Objectives: By the end of the tenth week, students will have the ability: Objective #6: To meet the objectives identified in the beginning of each required chapter in the textbook, Many Peoples, Many Faiths. Objective #7: To meet the objectives by reading the text by Porterfield:
Final Written Examination : The best way to prepare for the final exam is to be sure you can answer the chapter objectives at the beginning of each chapter in Many Peoples, Many Faiths, and the study questions at the end of each, plus the topics from Porterfield given above, independently of the text. The final exam will focus on material in assignments for the entire term. It will consist of two parts: (1.) four 1 to 1 ½ page essays and (2.) objective questions. Your examination will be emailed to you in November from the Administrative Office of Holmes Institute. Any resources you wish may be used in writing your exam. Possible essay topics might be a comparison of mysticism with the experience of Presbyterian grace, a request to describe and interpret the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, or a call to define the different forms of Judaism. In all these factual accuracy and sensitivity to the three forms of religious expression will be important. Your response must be mailed to Dr. Ellwood postmarked on or before December 4, 2006. Final Notes - Important1. The paper and examination must be typed or printed, with 1" margins on all four sides, double spaced, standard 12 size font type. The minimum length means full pages. Footnotes, endnotes or bibliography must be used for any quotes or exact references in both the visit paper and the exam; they must be in standard form and placed on a separate sheet at the end; they do not count as part of the minimum pages for each exercise. 2. There is no maximum length for either the visit paper or the exam. Write as much as you feel you need to. But do not "pad" your work; your writing will be judged on quality not quantity. Ability to isolate the really important things and deal with them elegantly and succinctly is a sign of good writing and of really knowing the material. 3. YOUR VISITATION PAPER AND FINAL EXAMINATION MUST BE MAILED TO DR. ELLWOOD. NO FAXES EMAIL, OR ATTACHED DOCUMENTS ACCEPTED FOR THIS COURSE. The paper and examination must be mailed (postmarked) by the due dates or before. 4. You are encouraged to contact Dr. Ellwood by email to ask any questions about these assessment experiences or to have a discussion on a topic. Contact information is in the Faculty Directory for Fall 2006 section of this Guide. Guidelines for SuccessGrading of the topical paper and your examination will be on the following scale and point distribution:
A grade below 70 points is an F. Late papers will drop by 1 point for each day following published due date. "A" quality paper and examination: A paper or examination of "A" quality will demonstrate an exceptional level of organization, balance, research and insight. It will be well written in lucid and virtually flawless English with correct spelling and documentation (i.e., footnotes, endnotes, bibliography). The visitation paper will follow the letter and spirit of the outline, offering empathetic but non-judgmental observations, and will show very acute insight in getting at the message behind the message in the analysis section: i.e., why do people with these beliefs, or of this sociological background, worship in this way, etc.? About 1/3 of the "A" paper will be in the analysis section, part 4. The same level of work will be found in an “A” exam. "B" quality paper or examination: Paper or examination meets basic requirements adequately but without conveying any sense of exceptional research or insight, or is too loose or unbalanced in organization. Writing contains some but relatively minor mistakes of fact, observation or understanding. The paper is basically acceptable but too vague or sloppy or hastily done; or it has several mistakes in grammar, punctuation, spelling or documentation. "C" quality paper or examination : Paper or examination, while passing, contains serious flaws in all of the above areas of organization, balance, facticity, insight, and writing skills. It will probably show signs of having been written based on a student's prior knowledge or prejudices than on new reading, learning, field observation, and acquiring methods of study done for this course. A student who is qualified to take this course, and who devotes adequate time and sincere attention, should not get a "C" or below.
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