Syllabus ANT 249, Religion and Violence, Fall 2017 (ANT249-0990).Aug. 28-Dec. 8, 2017. Henry Munson, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Instructor. Email: .
The purpose of this online course is to provide you with an overview of some recent debates about the relationship between religion and violence. We shall see that the arguments about this issue tend to overlook a key point: Religion is a malleable thing. Religions change as the societies in which they are embedded change. Ancient sacred texts are routinely reinterpreted to make them conform to prevailing values in specific historical contexts. To illustrate this point,we shall focus primarily on changing views of violence in the Bible and the evolution of the Christian-Jewish relationship. I discuss Islamic violence in greater detail in ANT 261, Islamic Fundamentalism, and Hindu and Buddhist violence in greater detail in ANT 252, Civilization in South Asia.
You will need a Blackboard account to take this course. Access Blackboard by clicking on the icon when on the University of Maine Launch Pad site. I will email you the announcementson the course website on Blackboard. Make sure that the university has your correct email address, or you will not receive my email messages. You will need a high-speed (broad-band) internet connection. If you do not have a broad-band connection at home, you may need to view the lectures at a university, school, or library. Broad-band connection is available at computer labs at UC Centers throughout Maine. For help locating a UC Center nearest you, please dial UC Tele-service at 1-800-868-7000. Answers to questions frequently asked about Blackboard can be found under “Blackboard Help” under “Help & Support” on the menu on the left of the course website and at
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Lectures and films are on the Course Content page of the course website—except for the film Bonhoeffer, which is part ofFogler Library’s Films on Demanddatabase. You should be able to access Bonhoeffersimply by pressing the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard and clicking on the hyperlinked title in the online version of this syllabus--when you are logged onto the University of Maine’s website—or by clicking on Bonhoeffer on the Course Content page.If you are not logged on to the university’s website, you will be asked for the username and password you use to log on to can also click on “Fogler Library” on the menu of this course’s website, then on “Databases,” then on “Films on Demand,” then on “Bonhoeffer.”
The course website includes resources we will not be using this semester, but which you can use on your own if you want. Most of these are on the Content page (as opposed to the Course Content page where required readings and films are listed). The Content page and the Web Links section are, in effect, cluttered and as yet poorly organized digital storage areas.
Grade: Three online Blackboard multiple-choice exams, equally weighted. No extra credit is offered. Grades are on the +/- system, that is 93+ is an A, 90-92 is an A-, 87-89 is a B+, and so on.
Exams: The three online exams are located under “Assessments” on the course website on Blackboard. WHEN EXAMS CAN BE TAKEN: If, for some reason, you cannot take the exam during the specified dates, you must make arrangements with the instructor in advance. Only documented excuses, i.e., doctor's note, obituary, etc., will be accepted as reasons for extensions. The exams are not open-book and should be done individually, not in pairs or as a group. You will have 90 minutes in which to take each exam—in one sitting. In other words, you cannot take a break in the middle of an exam and come back to it. Once you start an exam, you have to finish it. Only students with documented disabilities will be allowed to take more than 90 minutes on exams.Exams must be submitted by the specified date on the syllabus. Students who fail to follow these rules will receive a 0 for the exam in question. (However, students without documented disabilities can exceed the 90-minute limit by 5 minutes without receiving a 0 on their test.)Failure to keep track of test dates is the main reason students fail or drop this course. Do not let this happen to you. Tests will be available from 8 am on the first day until 8 pm on the last day.
To take exams, click on log on, then click on assessments, then click on the title of the exam.
Disabilities
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact Student Accessibility Services, 121 East Annex, 581.2319, as early as possible in the term.
Required Course Texts
Jenkins, Philip. Laying Down the Sword: Why We Can't Ignore the Bible's Violent Verses. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Jenkins stresses that believers tend to “forget” violent passages in their sacred texts that conflict with currently prevailing values.
Collins, John Joseph. Does the Bible Justify Violence? Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2004. This is a slightly altered version of Collins, “The Zeal of Phinehas,” Journal of Biblical Literature, 122/1 (Spring 2003), 3-21, which is posted on the Course Content page of the course website. You can read either the book or the article—or both.
Kessler, Edward. An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. This is a good overview of the radical transformation of Christian-Jewish relations over time—especially since the Holocaust or Shoah. Kessler has been actively involved in efforts to improve Jewish-Christian relations in England.
Ericksen, Robert P., and Heschel Susannah, eds. Betrayal: German Churches and the Holocaust. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999. This is a shocking and by now classic book about the role of Christian churches during the Holocaust. (The assigned chapters of this book (all but one) are also on the Course Content page of the course website.)
Idliby, Ranya, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner. The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew--Three Women Search for Understanding. New York: Free Press, 2007. This is a moving book by three women who demonstrate that people of different religions do not necessarily have to hate one another.
In addition to the readings in these books, there are also some assigned readings on the Course Content page.
Assignments should be completed by the dates indicated:
Week 1. 8/28-9/3Overview of Religion and Violence.
Lecture: “Introduction.”
Readings:Munson, “Religion and Violence”; Watanabe, Teresa. "Religion; It Sounds Like Hate, but Is It?" Los Angeles Times, Feb. 16, 2002, B20 (on Course Content page).
Key points: Religion is a malleable thing. It changes as the societies in which it is embedded change. Believers have various ways of wrestling with or ignoring problematic texts that no longer conform to prevailing values. Evolution of Christian-Jewish relationship as example of the malleability of religion. The Us/Them (in-group/out-group) distinction.
Buddhist example of the dehumanization of people of different religions:
Mahavamsa(Buddhist epic from Sri Lanka), CHAPTER XXV, THE VICTORY OF DUTTHAGAMANI (Dutugemunu):
And thereon the king said again to them: `How shall there be any comfort for me, O venerable sirs, since by me was caused the slaughter of a great host numbering millions?'
`From this deed arises no hindrance in thy way to heaven. Only one and a half human beings have been slain here by thee, O lord of men. The one had come unto the (three) refuges, the other had taken on himself the five precepts. Unbelievers and men of evil life were the rest, not more to be esteemed than beasts. [In other words, non-Buddhists are not really human beings.]
last accessed 8/2/2017.
Week 2. 9/4-10.(No classes Labor Day, Sept. 4)Violence in the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.
Lecture: Religion and Violence in the Hebrew Bible [Old Testament].
Readings: Collins, John Joseph Collins. Does the Bible Justify Violence?[or Collins, “The Zeal of Phinehas,” Journal of Biblical Literature, 122/1 (Spring 2003), 3-21) on Course Content page]. Jenkins, vi-viii, 1-26 (Motes and beams), 29-47 (Everything that Breathes); “Biblical verses that legitimate and celebrate violence portrayed as the wrath of God” (Course Content page)
Week 3. 9/11-17. Violence in the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Lecture: Sacred Genocide in the Bible.
Readings: Jenkins, 49-57, 64-71 (Truth and History), 99-122 (Sons of Joshua);
“Verses in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament stressing compassion and tolerance” (Course Content page).
Week 4.9/18-24. Violence in the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Readings: Jenkins,123-41 (Warrant for Genocide), 143-63 (Amalekite Nightmares), 167-82 (Judging God), 183-208 (Coming to terms), 243-52 (Scripture Alone?).
“Excerpts from the Book of Esther”(Course Content page)
Week 5: 9/25-10/1. Test 1 to be taken online.
Week 6. 10/2-8. Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture: Demonization of the Jews I.
Readings: Kessler, Timeline (vii-xvi), Introduction (1-24), The New Testament (25-44).
“New Testament verses often used to legitimate violence against Jews,”(Course Content page)
“Jesus to Canaanite woman I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,”(Course Content page)
“Sermon on the Mount, KJV, Matthew 5-7.”(Course Content page)
Week 7.10/10-15. (Fall break 10/9-10)Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture:Demonization of the Jews II.
Readings: Kessler, The writings of the church fathers (45-64), the writings of the rabbis (65-80), Medieval relations (102-23).
Week 8. 10/16-22. Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture: Demonization of the Jews III.
Readings:Luther “On the Jews and their Lies” (excerpts);
“Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,April 18, 1994”;
Kessler, Antisemitism and the Holocaust (124-46);
Ericksen, Robert P., and Heschel, Susannah. "Introduction." In Betrayal: German Churches and the Holocaust, 1-21.
Film: The Longest Hatred.
Week 9: 10/23-29. Test 2 taken.
Week 10. 10/30-11/5.Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture: Protestant Churches of Germany, Part 1
Readings:Bergen, “Storm Troopers of Christ: The German Christian Movement and the Ecclesiastical Final Solution,” in Betrayal, 40-67; Heschel, "When Jesus Was an Aryan: The Protestant Church and Antisemitic Propaganda," in Betrayal, 68-89. Look at the pictures between pp. 89 and 90 of Betrayal.
Film:Storm Troopers of Christ.
Week 11. 11/6-12. Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture: Protestant Churches of Germany, Part 2
Readings:Baranowski, Shelley. "The Confessing Church and Antisemitism: Protestant Identity, German Nationhood, and the Exclusion of Jews," in Betrayal, 90-109;
Barnes, Kenneth C. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Hitler's Persecution of the Jews," in Betrayal, 110-28.
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (US Holocaust Memorial Museum) at
Films:Bonhoeffer (about Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s opposition to Hitler) andWeapons of the Spirit (Course Content page)Most students usually like both of these films, especiallyWeapons of the Spirit. This is a touching and inspiring film about Pastor André Trocmé of the Reformed Church of France, his wife Magda, and his assistant Pastor Edouard Theis,and the mostly Protestant villagers of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and nearby villages who saved over 3,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Much of this course focuses on how religion can encourage people to kill “the Other.” Weapons of the Spirit demonstrates that it can also induce people to be kind to “the Other.”
As noted earlier in this syllabus,Bonhoefferis part of the Films on Demand database. You should be able to access Bonhoeffersimply by pressing the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard and clicking on the hyperlinked title in the online version of this syllabus--when you are logged onto the University of Maine’s website—or by clicking on the title of the film on the Course Content page.If you are not logged on to the university’s website, you will be asked for the username and password you use to log on to
Week 12.11/13-19. Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture: The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, I
Readings:Lewy, "Pius XII, the Jews, and the German Catholic Church," in Betrayal, 129-48; Lukens, Michael B. "Joseph Lortz and a Catholic Accommodation with National Socialism," in Betrayal, 149-68. Start reading The Faith Club. It is about three women--one Muslim, one Jewish, and one Christian, who demonstrate that people of different religions do not have to hate each other, though they do sometimes have to grapple with sensitive issues.
Week 13.11/20-26. (Thanksgiving break 11/22-26) Christianity and Violence against the Jew.
Lecture: The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, II
Readings: Kessler, 147-69 (Zionism and the State of Israel), 170-90 (Covenant, Mission and Dialogue), 191-211 (Jewish-Christian Relations and the Wider Interfaith Encounter). Read more of The Faith Club.
Week 14:11/27-12/3. Concluding Remarks.
Lecture: Concluding Remarks.
Readings: Reread Watanabe, Teresa. "Religion; It Sounds Like Hate, but Is It?" Los Angeles Times, Feb. 16, 2002, B20.
FinishThe Faith Club.
Test 3 taken 12/4-10.(12/8 last day of class.)
Academic honesty:
It is dishonest to cheat on exams, copy term papers, submit papers written by another person, fake experimental results, or copy or reword parts of books or articles into your own papers without appropriately citing the source. Students committing or aiding in any of these violations may be given failing grades for an assignment or for an entire course, at the discretion of the instructor. Documented cases of cheating will result in an F in this course. In addition to any academic action taken by an instructor, these violations are also subject to action under the University of Maine Student Conduct Code. The maximum possible sanction under the student conduct code is dismissal from the University.
Sexual violence policy:
Sexual Discrimination Reporting:
The University of Maine is committed to making campus a safe place for students. Because of this commitment, if you tell a teacher about an experience of sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, relationship abuse (dating violence and domestic violence), sexual misconduct or any form of gender discrimination involving members of the campus, your teacher is required to report this information to the campus Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention or the Office of Equal Opportunity.
If you want to talk in confidence to someone about an experience of sexual discrimination, please contact these resources:
For confidential resources on campus: Counseling Center: 207-581-1392 or Cutler Health Center: at 207-581-4000.
For confidential resources off campus: Rape Response Services: 1-800-310-0000 or Spruce Run: 1-800-863-9909.
Other resources: The resources listed below can offer support but may have to report the incident to others who can help:
For support services on campus: Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention: 207-581-1406, Office of Community Standards: 207-581-1409, University of Maine Police: 207-581-4040 or 911. Or see the OSAVP website for a complete list of services at
Learning Outcomes Assessment
This course satisfies Department of Anthropology Learning Outcomes Criteria 1-4:
1) Understand the intricacies and implications of cultural diversity in the past and present;
2) Understand the important theoretical and methodological issues of the discipline;
3) Have the ability to provide, integrate, analyze, and assess evidence as it applies to a larger theoretical framework (i.e. statistical, historical, ethnographic, archaeological, etc.); and
4) Have the ability to think critically and communicate ideas effectively.
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