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Announcements

Announcements. Attendance begins on Wednesday, January 18 th. Be sure to check the blog regularly. Grades will be tracked through iCollege. Studying religion. What? How? Why? RELS 3300 Spring 2017. “Is religion a valid category of scholarly inquiry?”.

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Announcements

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  1. Announcements • Attendance begins on Wednesday, January 18th. • Be sure to check the blog regularly. • Grades will be tracked through iCollege.

  2. Studying religion What? How? Why? RELS 3300 Spring 2017

  3. “Is religion a valid category of scholarly inquiry?” • “Three Approaches to the Study of Religion.” Cecile Laborde, The Immanent Frame • Critique of “religion” as a distinct category (NO): • Religion is a Western construct used to normalize or privilege certain forms of religiosity over others. • Alternatively, there is so much that could be classified as religion, with no (or few) universal similarities.At that point, is it even a category?

  4. “Is religion a valid category of scholarly inquiry?” • “Three Approaches to the Study of Religion.” Cecile Labourde, The Immanent Frame • Response (YES): • “Disaggregating” religion: religion as a “term of art.” • Religion will mean something different in different contexts. Academic disciplines will use this term differently… and that is okay!

  5. 3 Questions About Studying Religion • What? • What is religion? • What is Christianity? (Early Christianity?) • How? • How do we study Christianity? • Why? • Why should we study religion? • Why should we study early Christianity?

  6. What is religion? (How many times are you going to ask me that?) Ninian Smart (6 May 1927 – 9 January 2001) • Secular Religious Studies • Seven Dimensions of Religion • Practical/ Ritual • Experiential/Emotional • Story/Mythological • Doctrinal/Philosophical • Ethical/Legal • Social/Institutional • Material • Something classified as “religion” may have manifestations of one or more of these dimensions in varying combinations.

  7. Practical/Ritual (Seven Dimensions of Religion) • Physical- use of the body • Worship, prayer, gatherings, rites of passage, celebrations, singing, dancing, meditation

  8. Experiential/Emotional (Seven Dimensions of Religion) • Feelings • Individual, even if part of group activity • Affirmation of faith • Conversion, trance, “slain in the spirit”

  9. Story/Mythological (Seven Dimensions of Religion) • Stories of a religion: creation, parables • Foundation for teachings, beliefs, rituals • Religious texts • Fluid relationships

  10. Doctrinal/Philosophical +Ethical/Legal(Seven Dimensions of Religion) Doctrinal/Philosophical • Official teachings • Debates Ethical/ Legal • Laws that come from story and doctrine • Manu, Shari’a, Ten Commandments

  11. Social/Institutional (Seven Dimensions of Religion) • Followers • Community • Leaders • Governing bodies

  12. Material (Seven Dimensions of Religion) • Created physical expressions of faith • Art, architecture, media- digital, broadcast, print

  13. What is Christianity? Early Christianity? • Christianity: “The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.” (Thanks, Google.) • Jesus: teachings, others’ depictions • Early Christianity: First three hundred years. • Jewish and Roman context • Alternative Jesus movements • Beginnings of Orthodoxy

  14. How do we study Christianity? • Dimensions of focus: • Story • Doctrinal • Social • Material • Source material • History books (secondary, compiled, abridged) • Alternative history (secondary: biography, critical literature) • Canonical texts (primary: The Bible) • Non-canonical texts (primary: Gnostic Gospels) • Analysis/Commentary • Responses • Class discussion • Critical thinking

  15. Why do we study religion? Christianity? • “The Top Five Reasons to Study Religion” Gary Laderman • Christianity- Some Basic Facts • Christianity (in some form) has been around for approximately 2000 years. • There are approximately 2.1 BILLION Christians in the world. • There are thousands of denominations of Christianity.

  16. Looking Forward: • Monday, January 16th - MLK Jr. Day, NO CLASS • Wednesday, January 18th- Ancient Israelite Religion • E-Reserves: Friedman

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