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Introduction to the Study of Religion

PowerPoints:

• On Defining Religion

• Ways to Study Religion

• What is Religion?

• Major Religions of the World: a brief overview

• Responses to Religious Diversity

• Beliefs about Ultimate Reality

• Arguments for (and against) the existence of God

• Mysticism/Spiritual Experience

• Sacred Stories

• Sacred Texts

• Sacred Action  

• Sacred Community (religion and society, religion as society)

• What the religions believe about the nature of life

• Suffering & Evil

• Morality

• Death and the afterlife

Websites:

• Websites on specific topics in religion (online resources to explore as a supplement to reading)

• Websites on the World's Religions

• On Eastern Religions

• On Western Religions

Handouts:

• Definitions of Religion

• The World's Religions

• Timeline of the World's Religions

• World Religions Word Search

• Interfaith Relations and the Unity(?) of Religion (an essay)

• Bibliographic and Other Resources

• The "99 Names of God"

• Beliefs about Ultimate Reality

• What the Religions Believe

• Metaphors be with You... (an essay)

• A Millennial Interpretation of History

• The Seven Days of our Spiritual Creation

• The Word of God or Man? (an essay)

• My God (an essay)

• Interpersonal Relationships as a Spiritual Ideal (an essay)

• The Golden Rule

• Encounters with the Holy

• Was Jesus a Mystic? (an essay)

• Mysticism Scale

• Holidays and Holy Days

• Ethnic vs. Universal Religions

Overheads:

• What is Religion?

• Elements of Religion

• History of Religion

• Religion: East & West

• Religious Demographics (worldwide population)

• Stages of Faith Development

• Symbols and Their Meaning

• Science, Religion and Philosophy

• Rational Arguments for the Existence of God

• Holy Rites and Rituals

Examples of student work:

Note: some of these projects are better than others. Review and assignment directions (click on link for "project") and then take a look at the various projects and see if you can tell what makes for a better or worse interpretation/presentation of the project (what's missing from those that are not as good?)

Project I: Baha'i Faith Buddhism Catholicism Islam Mormons Rastafarianism1 Rastafarianism2 Seventh Day Adventists Shinto Sikhism Spiritualism (a website) Wicca Voodoo Zoroastrianism1 Zoroastrianism2

Project II (fall 2005) Beliefs about God Flood Stories Evil & Suffering Important People Sacred Texts Spirituality Meditation Women in Religion 1 Women in Religion 2 Afterlife Beliefs Death & the Afterlife Funerals Coming of Age Rites Interfaith Marriage Religious Commandments Dietary Regulations Dress in Religion Dress