Religion and Violence (Rel. 462), Section 60122
2:00 PM-4:50 PM (GFS Rm. 105)
Tuesdays Fall 2010
Course Description
What religious teachings lead to and legitimate violence? How do religious traditions interpret themselves authoritatively for their followers? Just because someone says that an act is religiously motivated, is that act an authentic expression of the religion? Who can determine what is an authentic religious act, or just a politically motivated one? Does an emphasis on ethics unite people while an emphasis on religious doctrine divides them? Do religions inevitably lead to violence when the political, economic and ethnic conditions are “right”? Is it true that there would be less violence if religious belief were kept a private matter, and thought of as only matter of personal opinion? And is it true that ethics rightly belong to the public sphere since it is based on reason, which everyone can use, whether they are religious or not? Is it really possible to separate culture and religion? Is a USC football game, with all its rituals, less religious than a service in a mosque, a synagogue or a church? In the “secular” western democratic nation states, is violence now legitimated by the state (the military, the police) and not permitted by religions?
This course examines recent instances of violence associated with various religions, asks whether there is any intrinsic relationship between religion and violence, whether religion in contemporary society is especially vulnerable to political exploitation, and whether religions are less dangerous when they are limited by political authority only to forms of interior piety and charitable works. Specific cases that have been connected to various religions will be studied. Particular attention is given to the developments in Catholicism as they relate to religious authority, violence, and the relationship between politics and religion.
Expectations
This course will be conducted as a seminar; therefore, the size of the class is limited. It is a 400 level course. That means two things: (1) there will be a good deal of reading; and (2) informed participation is expected during every class meeting. Attendance is, of course, important, especially since we meet only once a week. There will be two written examinations, one before midterm and one as a final. There will also be two papers: one five page paper due midway through the semester, and a second longer paper (10 pages) due at the end of the semester. Additional requirements for any graduate students will be determined. At the beginning of any class meeting, a quiz may be given on the required readings for the day. Plagiarism will result in an automatic F.
Required Texts:
Heft, James, Ed. Beyond Violence (Fordham University Press, 2004). ISBN 0-8232- 2334-5.
Himes, Kenneth R. Responses to 101 Questions on Catholic Social Teaching (Paulist Press, 2001). ISBN 0-8091-4042-X.
Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God (University of California Press, 2003;
3rd ed.). ISBN 978-0-520-24011-7
Course Reader—at the bookstore.
Recommended Texts:
Appleby, Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred (Rowman and Littlefield, 2000).
Boswell, J. S., F. P. McHugh and J. Verstraeten, Eds. Catholic Social Thought: Twilight or Renaissance? (Leuven University Press, 2000).
Casanova, Jose. Public Religions in the Modern World (University of Chicago Press, 1994).
Himes, Kenneth, Ed. Modern Catholic Social Teaching (Georgetown University Press;
2004).
Phan, Peter. Being Religious Interreligiously (Orbis Press, 2004).
Syllabus
August 24th: Introduction: Religion, Violence and Peacebuilding:
Juergensmeyer, Terror, “Terror and God” (pp. 3-15) and “The Mind of God” (pp.
219-249).
The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence and Reconciliation,
Chapter 1, “The Growing End of the Argument,” (pp. 25-56).
August 31st: Catholic Social Teaching: An Overview: (Guest Speaker: S. Lamy).
Globalization and Catholic Social Thought, chapter 1, “Making the Connections: Globalization and Catholic Social Thought,” by John Coleman (pp. 9-27); Responses to 101 Questions on Catholic Social Teaching, by Kenneth Himes, Questions 1-8 (pp. 5-11), 18-91 (pp. 25-100).
September 7th: Christianity and Violence:
Juergensmeyer, “Soldiers for Christ” (pp. 19-43).
Phan, Being Religious, “The Claim of Uniqueness and Universality” (pp. 85-101),
and “Jesus as the Universal Savior” (pp. 137-145).
September 14th: Christianity and Violence Continued:
Scott Appleby, BV, “Resources for Nonviolent Peacebuilding” (pp. 113-144).
America magazine, “Hard Questions About Just War,” by Kenneth Himes (pp.
13-15).
September 21st: Judaism and Violence:
Juergensmeyer, “Zion Betrayed” (pp. 45-60).
Firestone, BV, “Judaism on Violence and Reconciliation” (pp. 74-87)
September 28th: Judaism and Violence Continued: (Guest Speaker: Prof. Firestone)
BV, “Religion as a Force for Reconciliation and Peace,” I. Greenberg (pp. 88-
112).
October 5th: Review, Pinpointing and Clarifying Issues:
First Paper Due
October 12th: Buddhism and Violence: (Guest Speaker Jim Fredericks)
Juergensmeyer, “Armageddon in a Tokyo Subway” (pp. 103-118).
Phan, Being Religious Interreligiously (pp. 194-209: will be given out).
An Additional Article Suggested by the Speaker
October 19th: Hinduism and Violence
Juergensmeyer, “The Sword of Sikhism” (pp. 85-102)
First Examination
October 26th: Hinduism and Violence Continued (Guest Speaker: Dean Varun Soni)
Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavadgita, ed. By Robert N. Minor, “Ghandi and the Bhagavadgita” (pp. 88-109); Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India, by Peter Van Der Veer, chapter 1, “Religious Nationalism,” (pp. 1-24).
November 2nd: Pentecostalism and Social Change; (Guest Speaker, Prof. Donald E. Miller—date tentative):
Global Pentecostalism (Un. of California Press, 2007), Introduction, pp. 1-14;
Ch. 1, “Global Pentecostalism: An Emerging Force within World
Christianity,” pp. 15-38.
November 9th: Islam and Violence: (Guest Speaker, Amir Hussain).
Juergensmeyer, “Islam’s ‘Neglected Duty’”, pp. 61-84.
BV, “Judaism, Christianity, Islam: Hope or Fear of our Times,” by Mustafa Ceric
(pp. 43-56).
BV, “God is the All-Peace, the All-Merciful,” by Fathi Osman (pp. 57-73)
November 16th: Islam and Violence (con’t):
Video, Obsession; “A Common Word Between Us” (access at Benedict XVI, Regensburg Address, September 12, 2006 (access at Vatican
website:
september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensberg_
en.html.
November 23rd: Catholic Social Teaching and the Politics of Forgiveness:
Modern Catholic, “The Reception of Catholic Approaches to Peace and War in the United States,” by Todd Whitmore (pp. 493-531); The Ambivalence,
chapter 5, “Reconciliation and the Politics of Forgiveness (pp.
167-204); and 101 Questions: Questions 92-101 (pp. 103-112).
Final Paper Due in the Office Noon Friday November 26th.
November 30th: Resurrection, the Body and Social Justice.
Origins (Vol. 37, #40, Mar. 08), “The Bones of Jesus: Bodily Resurrection and Christian Faith” by Donald Senior (pp. 642-647);
Gavin D’Costa, Christianity and World Religions: Disputed Questions in the
Theology of Religions (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), chapter 4, “An
Alternative: The Secular Construction of the Sacred: Modernity as the Establishment of a new Ruling Religion,” Pp. 74-102).
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