York University
College of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

Department of Humanities

AP/HUMA 1860 6.00 ONLINE
The Nature of Religion:

An Introduction

Spring/Summer Term 2016 SectionA

Course Director: Dr. Jason C. Robinson

1

Office: TBA
Virtual Office Hours: By appointment
Email:

Table of Contents

Course Calendar Description

Course Overview

Learning Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Performance Expectations

Evaluation

Required Texts

About the Readings

Moodle

Schedule of Dates, Readings, and Assignments

Weekly Conference Participation

Groups

When

How

Grading

Conference Participation Grading Rubric “Guide”

Essays

Submission

Late Submissions

Format

The Role of Quotations in Essays

Essential elements that should be present in all papers:

Essay Topics

Basic Essay Structure

What is a Research Paper?

Why Write a Research Paper?

Plagiarism

Online Exam

Technical Problems:

Alternative Assignments

Netiquette

Other Course Related Information

What is in a Grade?

York Grading Scheme

Definitions of Grading Descriptions

Grading

Re-grading

Grade Appeal Timeline

Grade Appeal Procedure

York as a Secular University

Course Calendar Description

Explores the nature of religious faith, religious language (myth and symbol) and clusters of religious beliefs through an examination of the primary texts of several major world religions. Methodologies for the study of religion will also be examined.

Course Overview

This course is a critical study, based on classical and contemporary readings, of such issues as: the basis of religious claims, the meaning of religious discourse, the relationship between faith and reason, the nature and existence of God, the nature of religious experience, and the problems of evil and human destiny.

We will critically examine the nature and various expressions of religious questions about human life, death, suffering, and the afterlife. One of our main goals is to better appreciate religion as it exists in a modern global society.We will examine many different views and ideas in this course. What is sacred? What role do myth, ritual, and scripture play in people’s lives today? Should we (I) care about the transcendent?

Note: There are a number of ways one might engage in a “disciplinary” study of the “nature” of religion, e.g., sociology of religion, comparative study of religion, history of religion, and so on. This course takes a broad “philosophy of religion” approach. This is not a philosophy course per se but you may expect it to feel very philosophical in nature. This means that we will be asking big questions and focus on argumentation, critical thinking, and reflective (personal) analysis. While we will discover many facts in class, thereby generating a great deal of knowledge about religion, you should expect a lot of thought-provoking discussion and controversy that asks you to think philosophically (radically/deeply) about religion and the supernatural.

Learning Objectives

  • The purpose of this course is to provide students with a sense of the main topics and questions in the (philosophy)study of religion.
  • Students will examine and analyze important topics and questions about religion as they relate to the contemporary world.
  • We will be asking both specific and broad questions, such as:
    What is the nature of religion? What is religious experience, language, truth? In what ways are these things relevant to my own life?May we genuinely study religion from a rational/logical approach or must we suspend logic and reason to a degree?
  • This is a “big questions” course meant to encourage your reflection and personal involvement with continuing problems and questions.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • identify many of the key questions that have occupied scholars of religion throughout the centuries;
  • better articulate and recognize persistent questions about the nature and role of religion that you may (or may already) have to work through in your own life;
  • appreciate the general historical and social context for the study of religion; and
  • engage in dialogue about religion as an informed and conscientious citizen.

Performance Expectations

Students are expected to:

  • participate in online discussion groups, offering critical dialogue on the issues;
  • read the relevant materials;
  • learn how to identify parts of arguments and critically examine arguments;
  • defend their own views and consider the views of others;
  • show that they have thoroughly read and considered all of material covered in the course by fulfilling the course terms of evaluation (exams, essays).

Students are therefore responsible for:

  • knowing the material presented in online notes, online lectures, and readings;
  • participating in course discussions and developing critical-rational skills necessary for academic thinking and dialogue.

Evaluation

Assignment / Weight / Due Date
Conference
Participation / 15% / Weekly conference participation. Think of this as a substitute for in-person tutorials. While comprising a relatively modest amount of your overall course grade, you are expected to contribute a significant amount over the term to this component.
Online
Exam One / 20% / See schedule below for specific date. Available online at 6pm for 24hrs.
You may expect questions in true/false, multiple choice, matching format, and more.
***Quiz/Exam answers are not released.
Essay Assignment One / 20% / *Note that there are two due dates.
If you submit (on Moodle, dropbox) your project on either date you will receive a mark without late penalty.
However, if you submit your paper after the first due date, you will not receive any comments on your assigned grade.
***You only submit your essay once. You decide which of the two dates that submission will take place.
Online
Exam Two / 20% / Similar in structure to the last exam, this one covers all course materials to this point (see schedule).This exam is noncumulative. It includes all course material “since the last exam.”
Essay Assignment Two / 25% / *Note that there are two due dates.
If you submit (on Moodle, dropbox) your project on either date you will receive a mark without late penalty.
However, if you submit your paper after the first due date, you will not receive any comments on your assigned grade.
*Bonus Mark / 1% / A 1% bonus mark will be given to every student who completes the student course evaluation at the end of the year (last twoweeks of class). There will be an email and link circulated by the university for students to access this evaluation.
To receive your 1% bonus mark you must email your TA “after” it is completed. In the email simply state your full legal name and that you have completed the evaluation.
The 1% bonus mark will be awarded when confirmation has been received by your TA no later than the last day of Unit 12.
OR whenever the online evaluation window closes (which is controlled by the university)
No bonus will be given after that date.

Required Texts

There are two texts for this course:

(1)Understanding Religion in a Global Society, Richter, et. al., eds., Wadsworth, ISBN 978-0-534-55995-3.

Note: If you cannot find a used copy of this text, our York Bookstore will soon carry the reduced price version at around $120.00. The previous price was over $200.00. I contacted the press directly, and expressed concern with the extreme cost and they very kindly agreed to reduce it for us. That’s a great press!
In other words, either “used” or “at York” is probably your best bet. Amazon.ca will probably have some used ones.
This text has a companion website that will be of significant use:
Link Here or copy and paste from here:

  • It is expected that you will do the online exercises for your own benefit.
    While there is no grade associated with the exercises they are designed to help you perfect your academic skills such as research and critical inquiry.
  • In fact, the online resources provide access to selections of primary texts that are highly recommended.

(2)Reason and Religion: Philosophy of Religion in The Western Tradition, by Jason C. Robinson.
11th Dimension Press, 2015. ISBN is 978-0-9939629-3-6
NOT the Reason and Religion book by Nicholas Rescher.

For the last seven years I have used another text for primary readings. Sadly, the press decided that they wanted to charge over $200.00 for it. Like most of you, I realize publishing books is a business but I find it increasingly absurd how much they cost. And like many of you it makes me angry. So I created my own and, thankfully, found a publisher willing to sell it very cheaply (11D Press).

I do make money on the sale of this text. If everyone buys a copy for this class I expect to be able to buy two boxes of donuts (not the gourmet kind).

Here are the the URLs to purchase the book:
11D Press:

Amazon.ca:

Chapters/Indigo:

Barnes & Noble (USD):

For less than $40.00, including shipping, you should receive it in less than a week (I’m told four days). This price is less than an average course pack of comparable size, and the book is of much higher quality than a course pack of photocopies.

**I get donuts and you get a cheap textbook.

This book is NOT in our bookstore, which would also increase the price (each “middle-person” adds a profit margin, e.g., amazon increases the cost by about 40% over the publisher’s costs, etc.).

***You may also find our primary readings (in this book) for free online through places like Project Guttenberg but that is not always efficient. One of themajor reasons for the book is that it is edited so you know what sections (which parts of much larger books) to read.

About the Readings

  • We shall be reading challenging literature that considers big questions. This means that some, perhaps most, of the material will be difficult to understand. Readings will require extra time and effort on your part to interpret.
  • The readings are not often long but some are “deep,” especially in theReason and Religion text.

Moodle

  • Moodle be used for this course.
  • The materials stored on Moodle are for your eyes only.
    None of the material on Moodle should be reproduced for or shared with others outside of this class, whether in an online format or otherwise.
  • The materials on Moodle should be considered copyrighted—as either the intellectual property of your instructor, the university, or that of the relevant copyright holders noted.
  • Having trouble with Moodle? Start here:

Quick start guide to Moodle

Instructions for accessing, logging-in, navigating, and managing your Moodle profile can

be found at

Moodle documentation and instructions on how to use different tools in Moodle can be

found in Moodle student resources at

Schedule of Dates, Readings, and Assignments
*Readings and schedule may be adjusted during the term. If the schedule changes students will be given notice. It is the student’s responsibility to remain aware of such changes in the “Course Announcements” section (top of course site).

This is an accelerated course. Each Unit equals a two (2) week period, for a total of 12 Units (24 weeks). Each Unit runs from a Monday to a Sunday.

Units / Topics and Questions / Readings / Assignments
Unit ONE
May 9th-15th / Intro to Course
Part I The Major Divisions of Thinking (study)
Part II Reason, Nonreason, and Foundationalism; The Problem of the Rational Study of Religion
Part III The Concept of God, His/Her/Its Nature, and Attributes
Part IV The Nature of the Dispute over the Existence of God / Lecture Notes Only / NO weekly discussion participation expected in Unit One.
**Note:Conference groups will be set up Unit Two.
Do not expect to be in a group until Unit TWO.
Students tend to arrive late and sometimes drop the course during the first couple of weeks.
Unit Two
May16th -
May 22nd / Religion in a Global Society
What is Religion?
Part I
Section A Why Study Religion?
Section B Transitioning: From the Pre-industrial to Now
Section C The New World
Part II
Section A What is Religion?
Section B Attempted Definitions of Religion
Part III
Section A The Feel of Religion
Section B Approaching the Absolute
Section C Exclusivism, Inclusivism, Pluralism / URGS Chapters 1 & 2
URGS Chapter 3 / Conference Participation
Unit Three
May 23rd-May 29th
(May 23rd Victoria Day) / Arguments for the Existence of God
The Ontological Argument
St. Anselm
Part IIntroduction to St Anselm
Part IISt. Anselm’s Ontological Argument
Part IIIPlato and St Anselm’s “Necessary Existence” Argument
Part IV Gaunilo’s Criticisms
The Cosmological Arguments
St. Aquinas
Part I Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas
Part II Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas’ Five Ways
Part IIIHume’s Criticisms of the Design Argument / “St. Anselm”Reason and Religion
“Aquinas” Reason and Religion including “Gaunilon” material
Also, parts of “Hume” material in Reason and Religion (see Hume section near end of notes for specific parts and paragraphs to read). / Conference Participation
Unit Four
May 30th – June 5th / Origins
Cosmology and Modern Physics
Arguments Against the Existence of God
PartISociological Criticism of Religion
PartII The Psychological Criticism of Religion
PartIIIFeuerbach: Subject Projects Object (God)
/ No readings for Sociological Criticism (only lecture notes)
“Feuerbach” Reason and Religion / Conference Participation
Online Exam One
June 1st beginning at 6pm.
Covers material up to and including Unit Three.
Unit Five
June 6th – June 12th / World Scriptures, Myths, Stories
Part I Why Scripture?
Part II Authority and Canon
Part III From Where?
/ URGS Chapters 5 & 6 / Conference Participation
Unit Six
June 13th – June 19th / Suffering and EvilPart I
PartIIntroduction to the Problem of Evil
Part IIPossible/Impossible Solutions
Part IIIReligion and Suffering
Part IV Karma and Reincarnation
Part V Buddhism and Suffering / URGS Chapter 7 / Conference Participation
First Essay Due Date ONE
Upload to Moodle Dropbox by Midnight June 13th
OR
(alternate)
First Essay Due Date TWO
Upload to Moodle Dropbox by Midnight June 19th
Unit Seven
June 20th – June 26th / Suffering and EvilPart II
Part IWho is St. Augustine?
Part IISt. Augustine’s Ideas in a Nutshell
Part IIIThe Beatific Vision and the Problem of the Will
Part VISt Augustine on the Problem of Evil
Part VThe Problem of Evil and God’s Foreknowledge
/ “St. Augustine”
Reason and Religion / Conference Participation
Unit Eight
June 27th – July 3rd / Religion, Morality, and Ethics
In the Global Age
PartIAn Introduction to the Ethics of Religion
PartIILaw, Religion, and Morality
Part IIIEthical and Religious Relativism / URGS Chapters 10 & 14 / Conference Participation
Unit Nine
July 4th – 10th / Religion, Art, and Ritual
Religious Experience / URGS Chapters 8 & 9 / Conference Participation
Unit Ten
July 11th – 17th / Existentialism Introduction to Existentialism, Kierkegaard & Non-Rational Theism
Religion, Personality, and the Individual
Part I Introduction to Existentialism
Part II The Spirit of the Times: Alienation and Estrangement
Part IIIKierkegaard “The Father of Existentialism” and Non-Rational Theism
Satan / “Kierkegaard”
Reason and Religion
URGS Chapter 11
URGS Chapter 13
Notes only for Satan content. / Conference Participation
Unit Eleven
July 18th – 24th / Paul Tillich & the Existential Approach / “Tillich”
Reason and Religion / Conference Participation
Second Essay Due Date ONE
Upload to Moodle Dropbox by Midnight July 18th
OR
Second Essay Due Date TWO
Upload to Moodle Dropbox by Midnight July 24th
Unit Twelve
July 25th – 31st / William James on Mysticism & Religious Experience
William James & “The Will to Believe” / “James Mysticism”
Reason and Religion
***This reading is very long. Do your best to get a sense of it. You do “not” need to read it all.
“James Will to Believe” Reason and Religion / Conference Participation
Online Exam Two
August 1stbeginning at 6pm
This exam is noncumulative so it covers material “since” the last midterm.

Weekly Conference Participation

Groups

  • You will be assigned automatically to a group of 25 for Unit Two.
  • There will be a teaching assistant to help guide discussion and answer questions. For the most part the TA will only observe interactions and evaluate contributions so you should not rely on him/her to provide group discussions or content. It is important to develop your own discussion/conversation.

When

  • Beginning Week/Unit Two conference groups will be available.
  • Each discussion window runs for one weekfrom Monday morning until Sun night (11:59pm).
  • No late posts will be considered. You must contribute during the specific unit/week.
  • If you enroll in the class after the first week, it is your responsibility to immediately check in Moodle to find your assigned week.If you do not have an assigned week you must email your course director immediately.

How

  • The Moodle site associated with this class will feature a conference/discussion section in each unit called “Conference Participation.”
  • The discussion may be guided in part by a facilitator, but you and your classmates are responsible for asking questions, suggesting answers, proposing examples and illustrations, and providing opinions about the concepts from the lecture notes, readings, and videos.
  • There are no pre-set questions to discuss.
  • You decide the content based on your reading of that specific unit’s material (notes, texts, and videos). In this respect the assignment is wide open to whatever interests you the most.
  • In addition to your own questions, you may wish to use the posted “thought probes” to start conversation.
  • You are expected to make at least 2 meaningful contributions to the week, at least 1 of which must be in response to a contribution by another student.
  • As a general guide, a meaningful thought is rarely achieved in less than a paragraph. Aim for more than the minimum.
  • Participation should exceed merely saying “Yes, I agree” or “No, I don’t like that idea.” It is your responsibility to make sure you have participated in this area regularly.
  • Posts should also be done in a timely manner.
  • At least one post should be at the beginning of the Unit (e.g., Monday/Tuesday) so as to allow other students time to respond, thereby generating conversation.
  • Sometimes other group members will wait until the last minute to post. Don’t wait until the end! Waiting only makes things more difficult for others, and yourself.
  • Offering all of your posts last-minute (i.e., Sat/Sun) may negatively impact your grade, e.g., due to lack of possible engagement with and by others.

Please remember to be respectful of your peers and to follow basic Netiquette best practices(see Netiquette below).