Religions of the world

1.
Select two case studies.
2.
Begin your response with a title that lists
the Case Study and the page number on which it is found, e.g., Case Study
3B, p. 84 (use template at the end of this document)
3.
Respond to each question for the case study
and be sure to number your responses appropriately and accordingly.
4.
The total word count for all
questions for each case study should be a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 600.
5.
Repeat for the second case study.

Part I Assessment

· You
will notice that some of the Case Study questions are reflections, some of them
are analysis, some are asking you to make an argument, and others are a
combination thereof or something entirely different. In all cases, for anything
higher than a B, you will have to engage the theories, methods, ideas,
and content from the chapter in question and/or from other chapters that we
covered in this class. This will require you to use terms from the book
(which we discussed in classes) and cite from the book (see below).
· Your
responses, therefore, need to be informed responses that demonstrate proficiency
and intelligence in the material we covered in the class. They can be your
opinion—but they must be grounded in the material from the class/chapter! Therefore,
they are a critically informed opinion.
· This
will be assessed in two ways: (1) by your use of terms and concepts
from Understanding Religion and this class in general in your responses;
(2) by citing, with quotation marks and followed by parentheses
indicating the page number, from Understanding Religion at least two
times total for all the questions in each case study (not for each
question!—this means that some questions may have no citations). You need to
cite twice per case study for anything higher than a B.

Part II: General Questions on Understanding Religion, by Paul
Hedges, and in-class discussion/lectures

Part II Questions

Respond to one of the following questions.

1.
In Understanding Religion and in class
lectures/discussions, the “World Religions Paradigm” (WRP) was heavily
critiqued. What is the WRP in relation to the (older) study of religion (of the
past), why and how is it critiqued in the (newer) study of religion (today),
and what are at least two theories, methods, and/or approaches to the study of
religion today that challenges the WRP and how?

2.
How is scholarship on religion never
absolutely and completely unbiased, neutral, and objective? What are some methods, theories, and approaches
to the study of religion that recognize bias, seek reflexivity in coming to
self-awareness about one’s own biases, and strive to turn attention away from
elite religion and toward embodied experiences (“on the ground”, as it were)?
Finally, what is the role scholarship on religion might have in terms of social
justice (justice in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, etc.) and activism?

3.
Explain the concepts of epistemicide, the
subaltern, and the colonial wound/difference in the context of the study of
religion. How do these theories and concepts help us come to a better
understanding of religious and cultural traditions in local and global
societies?

4.
How do the theories and methods we learned
from lived religion, historical methodologies and “the invention of tradition,”
and power and social constructionism suggest that religion is far more complex
than how elite traditions and those in power (and dominant discourses) have
represented them? Why are these theories and methods necessary for studying and
understanding religiously diverse societies? How might these critical
approaches be liberating for religious insiders who want to reform their
tradition to make it more liberating, just, and equitable?

Respond to one of the following questions.

5.
In what ways might the conceptions of the
secular, secularism, and secularization, along with the co-creation of the
secular and the religious, produce the modern concept of “religious violence”?
How is the category “religious violence” helpful or unhelpful in understanding
conflict in the world? Some argue that the category implies that secular
violence (say, State-sanctioned military violence) is permissible while
religious violence is always radical, terrorism, and thus impermissible. How do
you agree or disagree? If we keep the category as useful, how should it be
used?

6.
Comparative religion is laden (loaded,
burdened, fraught) with issues of power and representation of the other: Whose
categories do we use in comparison? Who decides what is compared? Who does the
comparison? Who benefits from the comparison? Who might be harmed? Do you think
that comparative religion is too imbricated with (enveloped in, overlapping
with) these issues to ever be a viable (useful, meaningful) discipline
(explain)? If one chooses to compare in religion, what are some strategies for
“good” or responsible comparison rather than “bad” or irresponsible comparison?

Part II Directions

1.
Select one question from each set.
2.
Begin your response with “Part II,
Question #” as a title.
3.
Respond to the question in at least 250
words and no more than 500 words.
4.
Repeat for second question.

Part II Assessment
· Your
responses need to be informed responses that demonstrate proficiency and
intelligence in the material we covered in the class. They are thus a
critically informed understanding grounded in the material from the class/readings.
· This
will be assessed in two ways: (1) by your use of terms and concepts
from Understanding Religion and from class lectures/discussions in
general in your responses; (2) by citing, with quotation marks
and followed by parentheses indicating the page number, from Understanding
Religion at least once for each question.
· You
need to employ terms/concepts and cite at least once per
question for anything higher than a B.

Part III: Religious Traditions

Part III Questions

Respond to one of the following questions.

1.
When approaching Native American traditions
in terms of religion, why and how must we understand the centrality of land, space,
and place and the connection between lands and bodies in their social,
political, cultural, and spiritual practices and ideas?

Respond to one of the following questions.

2.
In the Jewish traditions, what are the
covenants and why are they necessary for the prophets and prophetic discourse
to be successful or even make sense to the prophets’ audience?

3.
Who is Muhammad and what is the Qur’ān? What
are the various ways in which they provide ethical and spiritual guidance for
Muslims? Given the diversity of interpretations and approaches to understanding
Muhammad and the Qur’ān, how is it incorrect to say “Islam says…” or “According
to Islam…”?

Part III Directions

1.
Select one question from each set.
2.
Begin your response with “Part III,
Question #” as a title.
3.
Respond to the question in at least 250
words and no more than 500 words.
4.
Repeat for second question.

Part III Assessment
· Your
responses need to be informed responses that demonstrate proficiency and
intelligence in the material we covered in the class. They are thus a
critically informed understanding grounded in the material from the class/readings.
· This
will be assessed in two ways: (1) by your use of terms and concepts
from the readings and this class in general in your responses; (2) by citing,
with quotation marks and followed by parentheses indicating the
author, title, and page number, from any of the readings once for
each question.
· You
need to employ terms/concepts and cite at least once per
question for anything higher than a B.

Part IV: As We Have Always Done, by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Part IV Questions

Respond to two of the following questions.

1.
According to Betasamosake Simpson, Indigenous
bodies are political orders. How were indigenous bodies (practices) more of a
threat to Canadian settler colonialism than indigenous ideas and how did the
settler colonial State attempt to discipline certain behaviors out of and into
indigenous bodies?

Part IV Directions

1.
Select two questions.
2.
Begin your response with “Part IV,
Question #” as a title.
3.
Respond to the question in at least 200
words and no more than 500 words.
4.
Repeat for second question.

Part IV Assessment

· Your
responses need to be informed responses that demonstrate proficiency and
intelligence in the material we covered in the class. They are thus a
critically informed understanding grounded in the material from the
class/readings.
· This
will be assessed in two ways: (1) by your use of terms, concepts, and
ideas from As We Have Always Done in general in your responses;
(2) by citing, with quotation marks and followed by parentheses
indicating the page number from As We Have Always Done, once
for each question.
· You
need to employ terms/concepts/ideas and cite at least once per
question for anything higher than a B.

Part V: Reflection

Part V Question

1.
Reflect on at least one (but more is allowed)
theory, method, idea, concept, historical fact, theological position, religious
narrative, idea, practice, or belief, etc.—in other words, one or more
“thing(s)”—you have learned in this course and why and how it is important for
you and others to know, or how it transformed the way you think about religion,
a religiously diverse society, self, others, community, society, and/or
God/god/ultimate reality or purpose in life, justice, freedom, equity, and/or
diversity.

Part V Directions

1.
Respond to the above question. Label it “Part
V, Question #1”
2.
Respond to the question in at least 250
words and no more than 500 words.

Part V Assessment

· Let’s
be honest, this is a free 20/20 points if you just put in a little effort. The
only requirement is that you must engage one of the readings assigned in class
by citing something from it in your reflection as it relates to what you
are discussing—use parenthesis with author, title, and page
number. Responses that do not cite will get 17/20.

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