INTRODUCTION TO WORLD
SPIRITUALITY
Dr. Lewis Keizer
Required Core Course for
M.Div. and D.D. Divinity Degrees
COURSE
TEMPLATE:
Each of the twelve Modules requires
about 30 pages of reading for objective information in the text, Religions
of the World. The Modules are
arranged into four SECTIONS. The information from each Module
will be interpreted and entered by the student into a COURSE TEMPLATE that
identifies each world religion by geographical and cultural origin, historical
development, founder or founders, doctrines, calendar or festivals, and other
common criteria. The completed COURSE TEMPLATE is e-mailed to the instructor at
the end of the course to verify the credit toward a Divinity Degree. This
fulfills requirements for acquisition and interpretation of objective
information in each Module.
Additionally, the student reads short,
high interest sections from Embarking on the Way. Although this
book is an introduction to Western Taoism, it is pan-denominational and engages
the reader with issues in contemporary spirituality, especially the problem of
adapting ancient religious philosophy to the issues of modern
spirituality. These readings are
supplemented with the excellent classic selections of two to five pages at the
end of each topic in Religions of the World, and augmented by suggested
web sites representing contemporary schools of the religion studied. The student is required to comment on issues
of interest from these readings at the end of each SECTION in the Course
Template.
Course
Description
Religious
beliefs differ from person to person and culture to culture: yet there is often
a commonality among both formal and informal religions that speaks to humankind's
deepest character. This course explores and compares the modern world's major
religions, analyzing how they are intertwined with cultural and personal
diversity, and engaging the student in the process of interpreting traditional
religion to meet modern human spiritual needs.
Course Goals
and Module Objectives:
ACADEMIC GOALS:
1. To develop a general knowledge of major
world religions.
2. To gain an overview of the teachings and
principles of each religion
3. To become familiar with the founders of
major religions.
4. To develop analytic skills in
historical, comparative, and phenomenological approaches to the study of
religions of religions.
5. To identify common elements and themes
in human religious culture.
6. To track the evolution of human
spirituality from ancient to modern times.
CONCEPTUAL GOALS:
7. To better understand contemporary
spirituality through an overview of the history and development of major
religious traditions.
8. To understand the historical evolution
of human spirituality and find those streams which are relevant for us.
9. To confront the issues that separate
modern spirituality from its medieval and ancient roots, such as sexuality,
asceticism, male-female relations, other-worldly orientation, and patriarchy.
10. To better integrate an approach to
personal spirituality and the religious cultures of the world.
Required
Textbooks (two):
Hopfe,
Lewis M. and Mark R. Woodward, Religions
of the World,
Towler,
Solala, Embarking
on the Way: A Guide to Western Taoism,
Suggested
Topical
Historical Development of World
Religions:
Noss, David S., A History of the World’s Religion,
Psychological-Sociological
Interpretation of Myth:
Shamanic Roots of Religious
Experience:
Eliade, Mircea,
Trans. W. R. Trask, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy,
Suggested
Videotaped Resources Available from Online Sources:
The Long Search series, available at most public
libraries. This has 52-minute presentations on each
major world religion.
Gandhi, a three-hour presentation available at most video rental
stores.
The Voice of Zarathushtra, a 42-minute presentation.
The Prisoner of Akka, a Baha’i
videotape.
Radiant Life: Meditations
and Visions of Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval woman Christian mystic who
was greatly revered by suppressed European schools.
The Sage of Arunachala, Shri Ramana Maharishi, whom C.G. Jung
called “the purest of
Yakoana: The Voice of
Indigenous Peoples, a
documentary of the world conference held in
Suggested Online Journals on Contemporary Spirituality:
Parabola: Myth, Tradition and the Search for Meaning can be previewed and ordered at http://www.parabola.org
Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity is available at
Science and Spirit, a contemporary journal linking modern science, medicine, and
spirituality. Http://science-spirit.org
The Empty Vessel: A Journal of Contemporary Taoism can be previewed at http://www.abodetao.com
ONLINE GENERAL RESOURCES FOR THIS CLASS:
Online Strunk’s Elements of Style Guide
to Style and Grammar:
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
INTERNET GENERAL RESEARCH LINKS:
Photos and Graphics for the Study of World Religions:
http://www.odysseyphoto.com/major/wrel.html
Rites of Passage in World Religions (Birth, Marriage, etc.):
http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/re/passage/
Gateway Academic Link and Library Sites for World Religions:
http://www.ukans.edu/history/VL/bibliography/libraries.html
http://www.vlib.org/Religion.html
http://www.mcgill.ca/religion/link-ref.htm#lib
Example:
The Basic Topical Page is
http://www.ualberta.ca/~slis/guides/religion/
From this you can reach excellent link pages for all world
religions, such as:
Judaism:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~slis/guides/religion/judaism.htm
Buddhism:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~slis/guides/religion/buddhism.htm
Etc.
Private
Sites with Excellent Links:
Links to World Scriptures:
http://davidwiley.com/religion.html
Links to World Religion Sites:
http://www.bcca.org/~cvoogt/Religion/
SYLLABUS
SECTION ONE,
Modules 1-3
Module 1:
Introduction
to the History, Comparison, and Phenomenology of Religions
Specific
Internet Research Links for Module 1:
http://www.psychwww.com/psyrelig/index.htm
http://virtualreligion.net/vri/
Topics:
I.
Theories
of the Origin of Religions
A.
Animism
B.
Nature
Worship
C.
Original
Monotheism
D.
Magic
E.
Psychological
Projection
II.
Cultural-Geographical
Origination of Religions
A.
Basic
Religions
B.
Religions
Originating in
C.
Religions
Originating in
D.
Religions
Originating in the
III.
Basic
Religions
A.
Neanderthal
Religion
B.
Cro-Magnon
Religion
C.
Neolithic
Religion and Homo Sapiens
IV.
Common
Features of Basic Religions
A.
Animism
B.
Magic
C.
Divination
D.
Taboo
E.
Totems
F.
Sacrifice
G.
Myth
H.
Rituals
I.
Rites
of Passage
J.
Ancestor
Veneration
Assignments:
TEXTBOOK:
RW (Religions of the World) pp. 1-30
SOURCE MATERIAL
http://www.odysseyphoto.com/major/tc.html
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/huichol/huicholindex.html
CONTEMPORARY SPIRITUALITY:
WAY (Embarking on the Way) Introduction through
p.15 (Adapting
the Best of Eastern Taoism to the Spiritual Needs of Modern Westerners)
Module 2:
Shamanism
and Tribal Religions
Specific
Internet Research Links for Module 2:
http://www.bloorstreet.com/300block/aborl.htm
Topics:
I.
The
Spirit World
II.
Animism
III.
Spirit
Contacts
A.
Sacrifice
B.
Taboos
C.
Ceremonies
and Rituals
D.
Vision
Quest
E.
Religious
Leadership
F.
Other
Means of Spirit Contact
IV.
Death
and Afterlife
V.
Modern
Native American Religions
VI.
Native
African Religions
A.
The
High God
B.
The
Lesser Spirits
C.
Ancestors
D.
Sacrifice
E.
Rites
of Passage
F.
Religious
Leaders
VII.
Non-Native
African Religions
A.
Judaism
B.
Christianity
C.
Islam
VIII.
Modern
African Religions
Assignments:
TEXTBOOK:
RW pp. 31-72
SOURCE MATERIAL
RW pp. 49-53
CONTEMPORARY SPIRITUALITY:
WAY pp. 16-18
(How and Why Lao-tzu Wrote the Tao Te Ching)
Module 3:
Religions
originating in
Specific
Internet Research Links for Module 3:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/indology.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/indiasbook.html
Topics:
I.
Origins
of Hinduism
A.
Pre-Aryan
B.
Aryan
(See http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley.html
and
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCINDIA/ARYANS.HTM for opposing arguments about whether the Aryans ever existed.)
C.
Muslim
II.
Hindu
Scriptures and Their Major Themes
A.
The
Four Vedas
B.
The
Brahmanas
C.
The
Upanishads
D.
The
Law (Code) of Manu
E.
The
Ramayana and the Mahabharata Epics
III.
Hindu
Sects and Their Sacred Literature
A.
Puranas: Scripture of the Common People
B.
Shaktism
IV.
Devotional
Life
A.
Pilgrimage
B.
Holy
men
V.
Major
Hindu Movements
A.
Brahmo Samaj
B.
Arya Samaj
C.
Ramakrishna
VI.
The
Life and Legends of Mahavira
VII.
The
Teachings of Jainism
VIII.
Practices
of Jainism
A.
Ahimsa: Non-Injury
B.
Truth-Speaking
C.
Honesty
D. <