REL. 359: Issues in Christianity Today: Religious Pluralism
Aim of the Course
The fact of religious pluralism is a problem for Christian theology. Traditionally, Christianity has understood itself as the one, true religion, as the only religion through which human beings can be "saved." Nevertheless, after two thousand years of continuous and intensive missionary efforts, the other religions of the world have stubbornly refused to go away, and the adherents of those religions have, for the most part, been content to decline the urgent appeals of Christian missionaries to convert. The question therefore arises: How do we make "Christian theological sense" of the ongoing existence of a multiplicity of religions? The aim of the course is to delve deeply into this question.
Our approach will be primarily theological (as opposed to a religious studies approach); in other words, we will not be concerned so much with describing and cataloguing religious pluralism, but rather with understanding and accounting for religious pluralism, from the standpoint of Christian faith.
Class Meeting Times
Class meetings will be held on Monday through Friday, from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M.
Course Requirements
1. Class Participation (25% of final grade). Regular attendance at class meetings and regular participation in class discussions are expected. Additionally, each student will make one oral presentation. More than one absence from class will progressively lower this portion of your grade.
2. Midterm Exam (25%), which will take place on the second Tuesday of the term. The format of the exam is short essay.
3. Two 5-7 Page Essays (25% each), due on the third and fourth Wednesdays of the term. Late essays will not be accepted without prior consent of the professor.
Required Texts
1. F. Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers.
2. R. Plantinga, ed. Christianity and Plurality: Classic and Contemporary
Readings.
3. R. Panikkar, The Intrareligious Dialogue, rev. ed.
Academic Honesty
Consult the COMPASS for the College's policy on cheating and plagiarism. More will be said about plagiarism when your essay assignments are distributed.
Students with Special Needs
Cornell College is committed to providing equal educational opportunities to all students. If you have a documented learning disability and will need any accommodation in this course, you must request the accommodation(s) from the instructor no later than the third day of the term. Additional information about the policies and procedures for accommodation of learning disabilities is available at http://cornellcollege.edu/academic_affairs/disabilities/.
Course Calendar
Note: The reading assignments listed in this course calendar are to be completed PRIOR to that day's meeting of the class.
WEEK 1
Monday: Getting oriented
Tuesday: Herbert of Cherbury, G. E. Lessing, Friedrich Schleiermacher
(begun)
(a) Plantinga, Christianity and Plurality, chaps. 10, 11, and pp. 188-89.
(b) Schleiermacher, On Religion, First Speech.
Wednesday: Schleiermacher, Second Speech.
Thursday: Schleiermacher, Fifth Speech.
Friday: Schleiermacher (concluded), Ernst Troeltsch
Plantinga, chaps. 12 (pp. 194-97, 199-200, 206-08) and 13.
WEEK 2
Monday: Karl Barth
Plantinga, chap. 14.
Tuesday: MIDTERM EXAM, 1:00 P.M.
Wednesday: Hendrik Kraemer
Plantinga, chap. 15.
Thursday: Joachim Wach, Paul Tillich
Plantinga, chaps. 16 and 17.
Friday: Karl Rahner, Vatican II, John Paul II
Plantinga, chaps. 18 and 23 (also recommended: chap. 19).
WEEK 3
Monday: Wilfred Cantwell Smith, John Hick (begun)
Plantinga, chaps 20 and 21 (to p. 334).
Tuesday: John Hick (concluded), Lesslie Newbigen
Plantinga, chaps. 21 (p. 335 to the end) and 22.
Wednesday: ESSAY DUE AT 1:00 P.M.
In-class viewing of the film, Women Serving Religion (Cole 125).
Thursday: Raimon Panikkar, The Intrareligious Dialogue, Preface-chap. 2.
Friday: Panikkar, chaps. 3-6.
WEEK 4
Monday: Panikkar, chaps. 7-10.
Tuesday: No class--work on final essay.
Wednesday: FINAL ESSAY DUE BY 1:00 P.M.
A List of Reference Resources Available in the Library
World Religions (Ref 200 B679wo)
Encyclopedia of Religion, 16 vols. (Ref 200.3 En19)
Harper Collins Dictionary of Religion (Ref 200.3 H234)
A New Dictionary of Religions (Ref 200.3 N42)
Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion, 2 vols. (Ref 200.82 En19)
Encyclopedia of Theology (Ref 203 En19)
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Ref 203 Ox2)
Sacramentum Mundi, 6 vols. (Ref 203 Sa1)
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 12 vols. (Ref
203 Sch1)
Encyclopedia of Unbelief (Ref 210.321 En 19)
New Dictionary of Theology (Ref 230.03 N42)
Dictionary of Christian Theology (Ref 230.03 R393d)
Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology (Ref 230.03 W528)
Dictionary of Feminist Theologies (Ref 230.082 D561)
Dictionary of Non-Christian Religions (Ref 290.3 P248d)
Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions (Ref 291 Ab58)
Dictionary of Comparative Religion (Ref 291 D561)
Facts on File Dictionary of Religions (Ref 291 F119)