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Class
Notes for 07-100
Religion and Culture
Last Updated:
December 15, 2006
University
of Windsor
Fall Semester, 2006
Dr. B. L. Whitney, B.A., Ph.D.
Office Hours: 7104 Lambton Tower,
T and TH: 2:15-3:45 (before class)
Email: whitney@uwindsor.ca:
type "07-100" in
the subject area of emails
OFFICIAL
CLASS OUTLINE ("Official
Outline" -- basic course information)
ASSIGNED TEXTS
1. J. Sire, The
Universe Next Door
2. D. Groothius, Unmasking
the New Age
3. Assigned web documents
Reference (optional): R. Fuller, Spiritual,
But Not Religious
Reference (optional): Lewis, et al, eds. Perspectives
on the New Age
Reference (optional): Newport, The
New Age Movement and The Biblical Worldview
WEEKLY OUTLINE
of Topics AND ASSIGNED READINGS
Specific readings will be listed here for each week's class;
the schedule is flexible and tentative insofar as the selection
and amount of material assigned and the speed at which
the class proceeds will be determined by the flow of the
class -- specifically, how well the material is being understood
and appropriated. As such, only
the readings entered in the box below are "officially
assigned"
as "required readings." The
professor may decide to remove one or more of these
assigned readings as required for the Tests if they
have not been discussed in class. The detailed
lists of topics and readings
below the box list potential readings: not all of
these will be officially assigned and further readings
are continually being added to the detailed list
as the professor finds new relevant web documents,
some of which may then be officially assigned.
» INTRODUCTION
Sept 12: Week 1: First Class: *Class
Overheads (for Part One)
» PART ONE: RELIGION
AND CULTURE BASICS and THE THEISTIC WORLDVIEW:
Sire, The
Universe Next Door, ch 1; web documents, and overheads
Sept 19: Week 2: "Study
Skills" presentation; Religion and Culture
Stats: World
Religions (chart only); Canadian
Religions 1 (tables 1, 5, 6, 8); Canadian
Religions 2 (charts); USA
Religious Beliefs (charts); Ethical
Relativism (charts); Religious
Beliefs of Scientists; Specific details
on the focus of each document were given
in class: check also the overheads for
the basic information on which to focus
Sept 26: Week 3: Leffel,
Tests;
Samples,
Worldview assessment/testing; UND text,
ch 1
Oct 03: Week 4: UND text, ch 2 (theistic worldview)
Oct 10: Week 5:
TEST 1 (ER
1118; 4:00-5:00 for A-L, 5:00-6:00 for
M-Z): *Items for Test 1: Test
Info 1; Test
Info 2: Information about what to prepare
for the first test was given in class;
the main points are given in the
pdf files. The overheads summarize the main
point discussed in class re: the religion &
culture states as a guide
» PART
TWO: THE THEISTIC AND ATHEISTIC WORLDVIEWS:
Sire, The
Universe Next Door, ch 1 and 2; web documents,
and overheads
Oct 17: Week 6:
UND ch 2 (summary); UND text, ch 4
Oct 24: Week 7: UND, ch 4 and 5; Naturalism:
Definitions; Naturalism
and Theism: Contrasts;
Naturalism vs Theism: Religion,
Philosophy,
Ethics
Oct 31: Week 8: Secular
Humanism vs Christianity; Naturalism:
Basics, Consequences, Spirituality; Humanist
Manifesto I (all), II (preface and sections 1-6), and
III: introduction
Nov 7: Week 9:
TEST 2 (Ambassador
Auditorium, 4:00-5:00 for all students):
*Items
for Test 2: Information was given in class
about what to prepare for each assigned reading (book
chapters, documents and lecture notes): make
summaries of the basic points in the lecture notes
and for each assigned item; look for information
about the 10 worldview aspects of theism, naturalism
(and the implications of naturalism discussed in class
and in UND ch 5) as well as information unique to
the individual web documents. The assigned readings
for Test Two are as follows: Besides lecture
notes, UND ch 2 (theism), ch 4 (naturalism), ch 5
(nihilism: the implications of naturalism), and the
web documents listed under weeks 6-8, including supplementary
discussions from the lecture notes; note also that
some of these readings (or parts of some of them)
are independent study to be prepared by students without
specific commentary in class.
» PART
THREE: THE NEW AGE WORLDVIEW, COMPARED WITH THEISM
AND ATHEISM: Sire,
Universe
Next Door, ch 8; Groothius, Unmasking
the New Age (selected chapters, depending on
the time available; a limited
number of web documents are assigned
Nov 14: Week 10: ---
Nov 21: Week 11: New Age Worldview: the 10 Worldview
aspects:
Chart
2, Chart
3
Nov 28: Week 12: Sire UND ch 8,
Groothuis, ch 1, 2, 8; Alternative Medicines and Health
Philosophy (UNA, ch 3) and Mystical Science (UNA, ch
5); Alternative
Healing Techniques; Therapeudic
Touch; The
Occult 1; Occult
2
Dec 05: Week 13: --There
will be no class on December 5 -- check "the Final Exam
preparation list" in the link just below
NOTE; FINAL EXAM: Dec 16 at 3:30, St Denis Centre,
Rows 41-45.
The exam
is partly cumulative, multiple choice, with focus
on Part 3 and the comparison of the three worldviews'
10 aspects. The
exam will test again UND, chapters 1, 2, 4,
5. Items from the New Age worldview will be added: selceted
chapters from UNA and UND, and a limited number of web
documents -- to be listed here after each week of the
final three classes. *FINAL
EXAM PREP: *Check
here for the list of readings for the Final Exam
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DETAILED OUTLINE
of TENTATIVE TOPICS and READINGS
Only the readings listed in the
box above are "officially assigned" as "required readings";
the readings listed below are optional references only
(for those who want more information beyond what is assigned
for the course)
PART 1: COMPETING WORLDVIEWS: CULTURAL
WARFARE
TEXT: Universe Next Door (UND),
chapter 1
Web: World View overview
chart-1
(Xenos)
Web:
Worldview Test online
Web:
Testing Basic Beliefs (Leffel)
Web:
Logical Fallacies 1 (Carm) and Web:
Logical Fallacies 2
Basic Stats on Religion and Culture:
Web:
World
Population
Web:
World Religions (chart
only):
major religions: numbers, percentage
of total populations
Web: Barna
USA Religious Beliefs (charts):
5 segments: percentages, profiles, main beliefs
Web:
Barna: Faith Influences Views
Web:
Barna USA Growing Relativism:
(charts): 5 age groups re: moral
decision-making
Web:
Moral Decay (charts)
Web: Religious
Beliefs of Scientists
Web: Worldview
of the Media (Probe)
Web:
Beliefs of Ivy League Professors (FrontPage)
Web:
Canadian Religions 1 (including
tables:
#1, #5, #6, #8)
Web:
Canadian Religions 2 (charts only: #1,
#2, # 4, #5)
Web:
Religions in Canada (details)
Web:
Religion in Canada: Census 2001
Web:
Culture Wars (Kalb)
Web:
Culture Warfare (Kreeft)
PART 2: TWO WORLDVIEWS
COMPARED: ATHEISM AND THEISM
TEXT: Universe Next Door, chapter 2
(Theism)
TEXT: Universe Next
Door, chapter 3 (Deism)
TEXT: Universe Next Door, chapter 4 (Naturalism)
TEXT: Universe
Next Door, chapter 5 (Nihilism)
Web:
WorldViews 1 (Solomon):
Theism and Naturalism
Web: WorldViews
2 (Wade): Deism, Nihilism, and Existentialism
Web: Theism; The Attributes of God; What is God Like?
Web:
Naturalism: Definitions
Web:
Naturalism and Theism: Contrasts
Web:
Naturalism vs Theism: Religion
Web:
Naturalism vs Theism: Philosophy
Web:
Naturalism vs Theism: Ethics
Web: Secular Humanism vs Christianity
Web:
Naturalism: Main Tenets
Web: Consequences of Naturalism
Web: Naturalistic Spirituality
Web:
American Humanist Association: Humanist Manifestos, etc.
Web:
Secular Humanism Assessed
Web:
Humanist Manifestos: selected sections
Web: Cultural Warfare with Naturalism (Kreeft)
Note: Secular
Humanism, the Humanist Manifestos, Naturalism, Atheism, Skepticism,
and Agnosticism are discussed, assessed and compared to
Theism in 07-322, "God and Atheism," including
a discussion of the theists' arguments for--and the non-theists'
arguments against--God's existence. 07-100 presents an introductory
(shortened) version of this discussion
PART 3: THREE WORLDVIEWS
COMPARED: NEW AGE RELIGION/POSTMODERNISM, ATHEISM and
THEISM
TEXT: Universe Next Door, chapter 6
(Existentialism)
TEXT: Universe Next
Door, chapter 7 (Eastern Religions),
ch 8 (New Age), ch 9 (Postmodernism)
TEXT: Unmasking the New Age, chapters
1-8
Western Culture Overview: Web:
Enlightenment (Wade) and Web:
Religious Knowledge (Kappelman)
Summary of several
chapters from the Death of Truth book: Web:
Postmodernism (selected)
New Age (Postmodern)
Science: Web:
Science #1, Web:
Science #2, Web:
Science #3
New Age
(Postmodern) Alternative Medicine: Web:
Holistic Health; Web:
Reisser; Web:
Alternative Healing; Chopra's
Quackery; More quantum Quackery
New Age (Postmodern) Psychology: Web:
Psychology and other web documents (to be listed here)
New Age (Postmodern) Ethical Relativism: Web:
Beckwith;
(morality); Web:
Johnson (religions)
...and others
New Age Religion: Basic Beliefs
and Examples: Gnosticism, Neo-Paganism, Wicca, ... and others
New Age Religion and the Occult: Web:
Cana (several); Occult
Eastern Religions: Web: World
Religions: comparison chart (Hinduism+Christianity)
World Religions: Web:
Ultimate Reality; Web:
Humanity Web:
Salvation; Web:
Evil
Western Mysticism and
Transcendental Religions: Web:
Scientology;
New Thought; Theosophy, Christian Science, Mormonism. Jehovah
Witnesses, Science of Mind; ... and others
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