RS 130 – C551
INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE RELIGION
Southeast Community College
Middlesboro Campus  --  Fall 2006
Monday 6:00 to 8:30 PM

Instructor Information:

	Instructor:	Dr. Roy E. Lucas, Jr. 
	Office Phone:	606-337-1340 (Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville)
	Church Office Phone: 606-573-2710 (First Baptist Church – Loyall, Kentucky)
	Email:		rlucas@ccbbc.edu (Clear Creek
	Webpage:	http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/drlucas/
Hours:	by arrangement (ask, if you need to visit with me. I will be here15 minutes early and remain at least 15 minutes after class if needed.)

Course Description:

This course introduces the comparative study of major world and selected regional religions with emphasis on analysis of belief, ritual, artistic expression, and social organization.  Eastern and Western religions are considered (from KCTCS Catalog).

Course Objectives:

	By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

1. identify the eight basic worldviews in relation to the major religions of the world.
2. highlight the historical outline of the development of the major religions.
3. outline the basic rituals and belief systems of each major religion.
4. identify the major sacred texts of each major religion
5. evaluate each major religion in light of its basic worldview foundations.
7. produce one research project on one minor religion to be presented to the class.

Course Texts:

Thomas A. Robinson & Hillary Rodrigues, eds. World Religions: A Guide to the Essentials, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2006.

Recommended Text:
Smart, Ninian and Richard D. Hecht. eds. Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal Anthology. New York: Crossroad Pub., 1982.

Course Requirements:

1. EXAMINATIONS

Two Exams will be given: a Midterm and a Final. The student’s mastery of the text materials and lecture materials will be examined. 

Multiple Choice, fill in the blank, matching, short answer and essay may be used within each examination.

2. RESEARCH PROJECT ON A MINOR RELIGION

In order to broaden our exposure to religions, we will do a series of minor religion reports in class. The agenda is as follows:

A. Each student team will write a research paper that is to be typed and presented to the professor using acceptable research formats.  Be sure to follow all the guidelines in this syllabus and the grading rubric included below.
B. Each student team will present one oral report to the class on one of the following contemporary religions. Be sure to consult the grading rubric below.   
C. Thus, the student will receive two grades for this project: 
one grade for the typed research paper and a second grade for the oral report. 

The student will select one of the following religions for this report. Be sure to notice the due dates and report dates.  These will be presented in class according to the schedule which matches the entire course schedule attached to this syllabus. To be included in this paper are the following:

1. the Team’s name, date due, date turned in, professor’s name, course number, and title are to be on a cover sheet. No blank paper is needed between the cover page and the beginning of the paper.
2. a ten-to-thirteen page typed paper (double spaced, size 12  – New Times Roman font) with proper bibliographical documentation. At least 2 citations should be from the Internet. At least 2 other citations should be from periodicals. A minimum of 7 different documents must be used. 
3. 5 suggested questions from the presentation that the professor could use on the final examination and to be shared by the team to the entire class at the end of the presentation. Be sure to include the preferred answer(s).
4. the student team should follow the grading rubric for the presentation as well as the grading rubric for the research paper. Both of these are included in this syllabus.

There will be adequate classroom time given for the research to be well on its way before time for the presentations. Don’t waste the time provided by the professor.

Religion	Students (Team)	Report Date	
1. Christian Science			
2. Native American Religions			
3. Jehovah Witnesses			
4. Church of Latter Day Saints			
5. Unification Church (The Moonies)			
6. Seventh Day Adventists			
7. Armstrongism & World Wide Church of God			
8. Wicca			

Course Attendance:

It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to be here for class.  Excessive absences will be reflected in the final course grade.  Be here. Be on time. Stay until the class is dismissed. Should you have circumstances that are unusual, explain it in writing and give it to me. “To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. And to be late is unacceptable.”  There can be 25 points deducted from the student’s final accumulated points for each absence over 3 unless the professor has been given a doctor’s notice or there is a valid reason for the absence given in advance and in writing. The subject of this course demands students be participants as much as possible. So the student’s grade could be adversely affected for a lack of participation. 

Grades A through F
Grade A – represents exceptionally high achievement. It is valued at four grade points for each credit hour.      	A = 95-10	A-  = 90-94

Grade B – represents high achievement. It is valued at three grade points for each credit hour.
		 B+ = 85-89	B = 80-84	B- = 78-79

Grade C – represents satisfactory achievement. It is valued at two grade points for each credit hour.		C+ = 70-74	C = 65-69	C- = 60-64

Grade D – represents the minimum achievement for credit.  It is valued at one grade point for credit hour. The grade of D will not normally transfer to another institution. A student may, however, repeat a course in which he/she receives the grade of D. If the course is repeated and a higher grade is received the higher grade will transfer.  D+ = 55-59    D = 50-54   F = below 50

Grade E – represents unsatisfactory achievement and indicates failure in the course. It is valued at zero credit hours and zero grade points. A student receiving this grade can obtain credit in the course only by repeating the entire work of the course.

An “I” Grade – means that part of the work of the course remains undone. It shall be given only when there is a reasonable possibility that a passing grade will result from completion of the work. The instructor shall not given an “I” when the reason for incompleteness is unsatisfactory to the instructor.  See your catalogue for more information on this grade.

DROPPING THE COURSE
If you decide you need to drop this course for any reason, please notify me and you must notify the registrar’s office.  To merely stop attending will not withdraw you from this course. You will end up with an “F” for a grade if you don’t drop it according to proper procedure. 

Late Work:

I reserve the right to refuse any scheduled class work after it is two weeks late.  You have a syllabus and know when the items are due.  Have them prepared and ready to submit when they are due.  

Grading Percentages/Points
Assignment	Points Possible	
Mid-Term	100	
Final	100	
Research Report	100	
Class Presentation	100	
Attendance/Participation	Up to -25	
Total	400	

Website Information
http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/drlucas/

You will want to become familiar with my website.  I have included partial notes on this page for this class. You will go to this web page, click on the SECC Comparative Religions Page, and then click onto the proper lecture number or topic.  I will be using power point presentations throughout most of these lectures and you will find these notes will assist you in note taking.  If you don’t have access to the internet, find a classmate who does and have them get an extra copy for you.  These accelerate the rate of note taking and the speed at which I can present the materials to you.  It is a time saver for both of us and will allow us to do more in the class time than otherwise.

Library Databases for Research
Logging On:
Contact your local Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College Library for the passwords to their Web Page  http://www.secc.kctcs.edu/library/

Rel 130: Comparative Religions -- Course Calendar
Fall 200t
Date	Special Activity	topic	Topic	text
readings	
		6: 00 – 7:30	7:40 – 8:30	Text	
8/14		Greetings
Course Syllabus
	What makes a “religion” a religion?	
	
8/21		Lec 1: Intro to World Views &
Lec 2: 7 World Views	Lec 3: Theism
Lec 4:  Atheism	Introduction
p. 1-17
	
8/28	No Class	Work on Class Projects in the Library			
9/4	No Class	Labor Day Holiday		
	
9/11		Lec 5:Pantheism
Lec 6: Panentheism	Team Report Research	Chapter 2
p. 19-39	
9/18		Lec 7: Deism
Lec 8: Finite Godism	Team Report Research	 	
9/25	Take Home Mid – Term Handed Out	Lec 9 Polytheism
Lect 10 People and Their Religion	Team Report Research		
10/2	Take Home Mid term Due Back	Judaism I	Judaism II	
43-78	
10/9		Christianity I	Christianity II	79-113	
10/16		Islam 	Christian Science	115-148	
10/23		Hinduism	Native American	151-183	
10/30		Buddhism	Jehovah Witness	185-215	
11/6		Jainism	Church of Latter Day Saints	216-231	
11/13		Sikhism	Unification Church	233-251	
11/20		Chinese Religions	Seventh Day Adventists	253-277	
11/27		Japanese Religions	Armstrongism/
World Wide Church of God 	278-304	
12/4		Other Religions	Wicca	305-309	
12/4 	Final Exam	Final Exam	Graded In Class		

Southeast Community College

A Paper on

“War Viewed 
from 
5 Major World Religions”

Submitted in partial completion
for the course
Rel 130: Comparative Religions
Fall 2003
for 
Dr. Roy Lucas

submitted by
Dr. Roy Lucas

War As Viewed by 5 Major World Religions

War is a controversial issue. Some critics of war oppose it 

because of the killing and maiming of humanity.  Others stand 

against it because of religious values. Some try to appear oblivious 

to war.  Many feel it is a God-given right to go to war. Others think 

God would oppose it.  The question for us is”How do the major 

religions in the world understand war and what is its purpose 

according to those religions?”

Hinduism and War
Hinduism is rather ambivalent when it comes to the subject of war.  The Aryan culture in which it arose was dominated by conflict.  The Rig Veda shares that one of the four major castes was the Kshatriya or warrior caste.  As the religion progressed the idea of war went unchallenged for the most part.  It seemed the dharma (duty) of the warrior was to fight.  It was not until the warrior Arjuna questioned whether he was to go to war in which some of his kinsmen would end up dead, that the issue was even entertained.  The answer, found in the Bhagavad-Gita was given by his charioteer, Krishna (God in human form) that wars are an inevitable reality. 

Lucas 2
But Hinduism assumed a non-violent and non-injury attitude over the years that led it to a pacifist streak in India. It was this non-injury idea, called ahimsa, that allowed Mahatma Gandhi to use non-violent resistance rather than armed rule to defeat the British in India.  Unfortunately, not even Gandhi could stop the violence 
between the Muslims and the Hindus.  Today, India has become a nuclear power and flexed its military muscles against its Muslim neighbor, Pakistan. It seems inevitable that violence must be seen between the Muslim and the Hindu as well as the Sikh’s and Hindu’s. In spite of what seems inevitable, many Hindu’s are committed to Gandhi’s strategy of non-violence. 
Gandhi said, 
     My uniform experience has convinced me that there is no other 
    God than Truth. And if every page of these chapters does not
    proclaim to the reader that the only means for the realization of
    Truth is non-violence, I shall deem all my labor to have been in
    vain…To see that universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face
    to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as
    oneself.

Buddhism and War
	Theravada Buddhist texts often indicate that violence sometimes occurs from unjust social events, they do not allow the 
Lucas 3
violence to be readdressed by violence.  Premasiri says, “Instead, {Theravada Buddhism} calls for a sound causal analysis of situations and circumstances in which violence and social conflicts arise and 
attempts to enlighten men on ways to prevent violence from ever taking place.”
	Linda Edwards in A Brief Guide to Beliefs writes that guidelines for Buddhist moral action come in the form of the Five Precepts, which all committed Buddhists undertake to follow. These include:
	1. Not to destroy a life (no human killing, no negative attitude to life). 2. Not taking what is not given (avoiding dishonesty).  3. No indulging in harmful sexual activity. 4. Not saying what is not true. 5. Not taking things that cloud the mind (alcohol, drugs, etc.).  
Webpages for
World Views: Theism and Ateism:
http://www.mckenziestudycenter.org/philosophy/articles/wrldview.html
http://www.cresourcei.org/worldview.html
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/views1.html
http://www.probe.org/docs/w-views.html
http://www.xenos.org/classes/papers/5wldview.htm
http://www.ovrlnd.com/Apologetics/WorldViews.html
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ATHEISM.html

Pantheism/Panentheism

http://home.utm.net/pan/whatis.html
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/PANTHEISM.html
http://members.aol.com/pantheism0/hegel.htm
http://home.wxs.nl/~faase009/GEwv_pe.html
http://www.shakinandshinin.org/Worldviews.html	
Deism/Finite Godism

http://www.deism.com/
http://www.religioustolerance.org/deism.htm
http://home.wxs.nl/~faase009/GEwv_d.html
http://www.scaevola.com/deism/
http://www.dtl.org/apologetics/misc/five.htm
http://www.ibainfo.org/tt/finite.html	
Polytheism & People and Their Religion

http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
http://davidwiley.com/religion.html
http://www.zondervan.com/desk/newslink.asp
http://www.pluralism.org/resources/links/index.php
	
Judaism 

http://jewish-studies.virtualave.net/
http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00lf0
http://www.chabad.org/
http://www.convert.org/
http://jeru.huji.ac.il/jerusalem.html
http://www.jewfaq.org/
http://shamash.org/trb/judaism.html
http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/	
	
Islam

http://www.noi.org/
http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/islam.htm
	
Zorastrianism

http://www.avesta.org/avesta.html
http://www.avesta.org/zfaq.html
http://tenets.zoroastrianism.com/
http://matrimonial.zoroastrianism.com/
	
Hinduism

http://www.hindunet.org/
http://www.dvaita.net/
http://www.dvaita.org/index.shtml
http://www.hindu.dk/english/default.htm
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/
	
Buddhism

http://www.buddhanet.net/
http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Buddhism.html
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index.html
http://www.saigon.com/~anson/
http://www.edepot.com/buddha.html
http://www.pitaka.ch/intro.htm
http://www.acay.com.au/~silkroad/buddha/
http://www.olsommer.com/tsoh/textonly/buddha-t.html	
Jainism

http://www.ibiblio.org/jainism/
http://www.jainreligion.com/
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/mahavira.html
http://www.jainworld.com/	
Sikhism

http://www.sikh-history.com/
http://www.srigurugranthsahib.org/
http://www.sikhs.org/
http://www.sikhnet.com/
http://www-mtl.look.ca/~dchahal/	
Bahai

http://www.bahai.org/section5.html
http://www.bahai.org/article-1-6-5-2.html

	

Research Paper Grading Rubric

Name: ___________________________________________

	Content		
All Information is factually correct
10           	Most information is factually correct
9        8      7      	Many factual errors/inconsistencies
6     5    4     3     2    1	
Excellent background, context, and idea development
10           	Adequate background, context, and idea development
9        8       7 	Poor background, context, and idea development
6     5     4     3     2    1	
Thesis is clear
10           	Thesis is adequate
 9        8       7 	Thesis is poor
6      5     4     3     2    1	
Excellent Variety of sources
10            	Adequate variety of sources
9         8       7 	Inadequate variety of sources
6     5     4     3     2    1	
Impressive depth of analysis
10            	Adequate depth of insight/analysis
9          8       7 	Vague discussion of detail
6     5     4     3     2    1	
Effective Conclusion/integration
10             	Adequate conclusion/integration
9          8       7	Weak conclusion/analysis
6     5    4     3     2    1	
	Format and Style		
Excellent Style
10              	Adequate Style
9           8      7	Poor Style
6     5    4     3     2    1	
Clear Organization
10              	Adequate Organization
9           8      7 	Confusing Organization
6      5     4     3     2    1	
Smooth Transitions
10              	Adequate Transitions
9           8      7 	Awkward Transitions
6      5     4     3     2    1	
Correct Grammar
No Spelling Errors
5                 	Few grammar errors/
Few spelling errors
4         3 	Incorrect Grammar
Many Spelling Errors
2     1	
Clean/legible manuscript
5                	Adequate manuscript
4         3	Sloppy manuscript
 2     1	
Total Points:	Sum points to get total		

 Oral Report Presentation Rubric
	Exceptional (40 - 36 pts)	Admirable
(35-31 pts)	Acceptable
(30-26pts)	Amateur
(25-15 pts)	
Content	1. An abundance of material clearly related to the thesis and topic
2. Points are clearly made and all evidence supports thesis
3. Varied use of materials	1. Sufficient information relates to the thesis.

2. Many good points made, but uneven in balance.
3. Little variations	Great deal of information, but not clearly related to the thesis.	Thesis is not clear.
Information included that does not support thesis in any way.	
	10 points	9 – 8 points	7-4 points	3-1 point(s)	
Coherence and Organization	Thesis is clearly stated and developed.
Specific examples are appropriate and clearly develop thesis; conclusion is clear; shows control; flows well together; good transitions; succinct but not choppy; well organized.	Most information presented in logical sequence; 
Generally very well organized but better transitions from idea to idea and medium to medium needed.	Concept and ideas are loosely connected;
Lacks clear transitions; 
Flow and organization are choppy.	Presentation is choppy and disjointed; 
Does not flow
Development of thesis is vague.
No apparent logical order or presentation	
Creativity	Very original presentation of material;
Uses the unexpected to full advantage;
Captures the audience’s attention	Some originality apparent;
Good variety and blending of materials/media	Little or no variation’
Material presented with little originality or interpretation	Repetitive with little or no variety;
Insufficient use of multimedia	
Material	Balanced use of multimedia materials; 
Properly used to develop thesis;
Use of media is varied and appropriate	Use of multimedia not as varied and not as well as connected to thesis	Choppy use of multimedia materials;
Lacks smooth transition from one medium to another;
Multimedia not clearly connected to thesis	Little or no multimedia used or ineffective use of multimedia; 
Imbalance in use of materials – too much use of one, not enough of another.	
Speaking Skills	Poised, clear articulation; 
proper volume;
steady rate;
good posture and eye contact;
enthusiasm and confidence	Clear articulation,
But not polished	Some mumbling;
Little eye contact’
Uneven rate;
Little or no expression	Inaudible or too loud;
No eye contact;
Rate too  slow/fast;
Speaker seemed uninterested and used monotone.	
Audience Response	Involved the audience in the presentation; Points made in creative way. Held the audience’s attention throughout.	Presented facts with some interesting “twists” Held the audience’s attention most of the time.	Some related facts but went off topic and lost the audience;
Mostly presented facts with little or no imagination.	Incoherent; 
Audience lost interest and could not determine the point of the presentation.	
Length of presentation	Within two minutes of allotted time +/-	Within four minutes of allotted time +/-	Within six minutes of allotted time +/-	Too long or too short; ten or more either direction.