RELS-327 (Rein, Religion and Violence)
RELS-327 (Rein, Religion and Violence)
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Week 2: Juergensmeyer, through chapter 6 (Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Islam, and Aum Shinrikyo)
Focus papers
Week 3: Juergensmeyer, entire (second part: interpretation and analysis)
Focus papers
Kate Blair presentation, Tues. 1/30
Katie Ringler presentation, Thurs. 2/1
Reading questions for the first Appleby assignment (chapter 1, through p. 56)
(Download and print this reading guide in MS Word format)
What does Appleby claim he plans to investigate in this book (see esp. p. 27)?
How does Appleby understand “the sacred”? Summarize his brief but important exploration of the topic. Why does he call it first “ambiguous and then “ambivalent” (see pp. 28-30)?
What is the “argument” contained within every religious tradition, according to Appleby? Does his reading ring true to you?
- What “trajectory” does he claim these traditions typically follow (p. 31)?
- What is his point in introducing the short vignettes about birth control (pp. 32f.)?
Summarize the problem that developed for the liberal South African churches under apartheid, and the solution that gradually evolved.
- When Catholic priest Buti Tlhagale argued that “a choice has to be made” between supporting oppressive violence and supporting the revolutionary violence directed against that oppression, do you think he was drawing on an idea similar to Juergensmeyer’s “cosmic war” (see p. 36)?
- “Christian leaders in South Africa thus confronted moral and pragmatic circumstances in their society that led them to endorse violence” (p. 40). Link this statement to Appleby’s overall thesis and agenda.
Throughout the reading for today, take special note of the role of concepts like “multiple interpretations,” “choice,” “contradictions,” “internal pluralism,” and other similar ideas. Why are these so important for Appleby?
What are the main points or milestones in the evolution of Roman Catholicism over the last two centuries as sketched in the book?
- Summarize the contribution of John Courtney Murray.
- What, according to Appleby, is the great significance of Vatican II?
How does Appleby connect the story of twentieth-century Catholicism with his views on “the sacred”?
Paraphrase, in a single sentence, his argument in this chapter.
Terms to look for and define:
Reading questions for second Appleby assignment, through p. 121 (end of chapter 3)
Questions for chapter 2
Questions for chapter 3
Download questions for both chapters as a Word document
Paper assignment: op-ed on Bush speech
Included below are the first paragraphs from each paper. To download the paper as a Word document, click "download original." To view the paper online and make comments, click "view original." If your web browser tells you a pop-up has been blocked, try disabling pop-up blocking.
Delivering a Message to the Audience
American Apples Fight Foreign Oranges (
one response
)
Op-Ed: The Quest for Spirituality in a World at War
Op-Ed: Bush's target of terrorist ideology misses the mark (
one response
)
Separating Government and Religious Terrorism: A Reflection on President Bush's Speech
Bushwhacked: The truth on terrorism (
one response
)
Morals of a Terrorist: Do We Really Understand?
Op-Ed:
Violence
vs.
Religious
Violence
Why Are We Afraid of Big Bad Islam? (Or Are They Afraid of Us?) (
two responses
)
What America Should Know About Religious Violence
Terrorists = Nazis? This Scholar Doesn’t Buy It (
one response
)
Op-Ed: “War on terror” must be fought ideologically (
four responses
)
"The President’s speech of 20 September 2001 was particularly clear with regard to the fact that the Muslim community is not the enemy of the United States of America...." (
no title
) (
one response
)
President Bush on Terrorism -- Is it what he Said or didn’t Say?
See all papers available for downloading
View the original assignment (
link is not working right now
)
Search for:
Interesting recent finds from around the web
Interesting links from around the web
Read the feed
All uploaded course documents
Uploaded files for the course
Read the feed
Emails to the class (last 7 days)
Read the feed
Week 2: Juergensmeyer, through chapter 6 (Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Islam, and Aum Shinrikyo)
Focus papers
Week 3: Juergensmeyer, entire (second part: interpretation and analysis)
Focus papers
Kate Blair presentation, Tues. 1/30
Katie Ringler presentation, Thurs. 2/1
Reading questions for the first Appleby assignment (chapter 1, through p. 56)
(Download and print this reading guide in MS Word format)
What does Appleby claim he plans to investigate in this book (see esp. p. 27)?
How does Appleby understand “the sacred”? Summarize his brief but important exploration of the topic. Why does he call it first “ambiguous and then “ambivalent” (see pp. 28-30)?
What is the “argument” contained within every religious tradition, according to Appleby? Does his reading ring true to you?
- What “trajectory” does he claim these traditions typically follow (p. 31)?
- What is his point in introducing the short vignettes about birth control (pp. 32f.)?
Summarize the problem that developed for the liberal South African churches under apartheid, and the solution that gradually evolved.
- When Catholic priest Buti Tlhagale argued that “a choice has to be made” between supporting oppressive violence and supporting the revolutionary violence directed against that oppression, do you think he was drawing on an idea similar to Juergensmeyer’s “cosmic war” (see p. 36)?
- “Christian leaders in South Africa thus confronted moral and pragmatic circumstances in their society that led them to endorse violence” (p. 40). Link this statement to Appleby’s overall thesis and agenda.
Throughout the reading for today, take special note of the role of concepts like “multiple interpretations,” “choice,” “contradictions,” “internal pluralism,” and other similar ideas. Why are these so important for Appleby?
What are the main points or milestones in the evolution of Roman Catholicism over the last two centuries as sketched in the book?
- Summarize the contribution of John Courtney Murray.
- What, according to Appleby, is the great significance of Vatican II?
How does Appleby connect the story of twentieth-century Catholicism with his views on “the sacred”?
Paraphrase, in a single sentence, his argument in this chapter.
Terms to look for and define:
Reading questions for second Appleby assignment, through p. 121 (end of chapter 3)
Questions for chapter 2
Questions for chapter 3
Download questions for both chapters as a Word document
Paper assignment: op-ed on Bush speech
Included below are the first paragraphs from each paper. To download the paper as a Word document, click "download original." To view the paper online and make comments, click "view original." If your web browser tells you a pop-up has been blocked, try disabling pop-up blocking.
Delivering a Message to the Audience
American Apples Fight Foreign Oranges (
one response
)
Op-Ed: The Quest for Spirituality in a World at War
Op-Ed: Bush's target of terrorist ideology misses the mark (
one response
)
Separating Government and Religious Terrorism: A Reflection on President Bush's Speech
Bushwhacked: The truth on terrorism (
one response
)
Morals of a Terrorist: Do We Really Understand?
Op-Ed:
Violence
vs.
Religious
Violence
Why Are We Afraid of Big Bad Islam? (Or Are They Afraid of Us?) (
two responses
)
What America Should Know About Religious Violence
Terrorists = Nazis? This Scholar Doesn’t Buy It (
one response
)
Op-Ed: “War on terror” must be fought ideologically (
four responses
)
"The President’s speech of 20 September 2001 was particularly clear with regard to the fact that the Muslim community is not the enemy of the United States of America...." (
no title
) (
one response
)
President Bush on Terrorism -- Is it what he Said or didn’t Say?
See all papers available for downloading
View the original assignment (
link is not working right now
)
nathan rein
Last Activity: 7/22/2008
