Lecturer: Dr. Stephen Palmquist
"'God' is a primordial experience... And again and again it happens that one
confuses God with one's own ideas and regards them as sacred. This is
superstition and an idolatry every bit as bad as the...delusion that God can
be educated out of existence." --Carl G. Jung
Objectives
What is religion? This question, and many of the other questions
which arise out of this question, can be answered in two ways. One way is
to inquire into the meaning of religion, into the question of whether or not it
is true, and into its value for human life. This way of examining religion is
often referred to generally as the "philosophical" approach to religion. This
approach will not be included in the main "approaches" studied in the
present class, because the religious studies majors at HKBC will take a
"Philosophy of Religion" class in their third year, which should sufficiently
cover the philosophical approach to religion.
The second way of answering the question of the nature of religion
is to inquire about the facts associated with religious beliefs and actions.
This alternative concentrates on examining what religious people actually
believe or do; it focuses more on what can be observed to take place than on
the reality behind that observation. So this way of examining religion is
often referred to generally as the "scientific" approach to religion.
This description, however, immediately gives rise to a basic
paradox: this is a class in the science of religion, and yet religion itself is a
subjective experience of such profound depth that it cannot be studied as a
science. Any attempt to grasp religion scientifically is bound to fail, because
science grasps after objective knowledge, whereas religion is rooted in
subjective experience. As a result, what we will end up studying is not so
much religion itself, as the effect religion has on the cultural, psychological,
and social phenomena of human life.
The result of this paradox is often disastrous for scholars. For
example, when people who are naturally religious pursue a scientific study
of religion, they usually do so with the best intentions. And yet, if they
believe they are actually studying religion, and not just the outer shell of a
fundamentally hidden experience, then they are often disillusioned as they
see the "religion" they believe they are studying evaporate before their eyes.
We can avoid such a fate only by keeping in mind that (to paraphrase the
famous saying of Lao Tze) "The Way that can be studied is not the eternal
Way."
Requirements and Grade Assessment
Attend lectures, participate in the class discussions, and do the
readings! Required readings are listed on a separate handout. They will be
placed on one day reserve in the library.
Presentation (20%): Both tutorial groups will be divided into eleven
pairs of students. Every Wednesday, starting on 2 March, the two pairs of
students assigned for that week will give short presentations on a subject
related to the lecture given the previous week. Each presentation should last
15-20 minutes, so the written version should be about 4-7 pages long (not
including diagrams, footnotes, appendixes, etc.), depending on how much
you "ad lib". The other students will then be given a chance to ask
questions, so each presentation should lead naturally into a class discussion
(about 10-15 minutes long). The four students involved in giving
presentations on the same day should consult each other to make sure the
presentations are different from each other (and from the lecture on the
preceding Wednesday). Do not copy other people's ideas!
A copy of the presentation paper must be handed in by 9am on the
day of the presentation, or marks will be deducted. (Be sure to keep a copy
for yourself to read in class!) The topic must be related in some way to the
work of the scholar discussed in the previous lecture. (On the first
Wednesday of the semester, or at the latest by 5pm on Tuesday, 22
February, hand in a paper giving your name and the name of your
presentation partner, and stating your first three choices (do this by listing
the names of the scholars you would most like to write
about, and a proposed topic for each). Take the names from sections II-IV
of the lecture schedule below. The lecturer will then prepare a schedule and
hand it out in class on the second Wednesday.) The grade for the
presentation will be given at the end of the semester, and will be determined
by the following four criteria (5 points each): (1) how clearly you present
the material; (2) how well you answer questions about the subject; (3) how
much interest the paper arouses during the class discussion; and (4) how
much you participate in class discussions on days when you are not giving a
presentation.
Research paper (40%): After you read your presentation paper to the
class, the lecturer will return it with some suggestions for improvement.
The research paper should be based in some way on this presentation paper,
taking into account the lecturer's comments. You and your partner must find
different ways of expanding, changing, and improving the presentation
paper, so it would be helpful to plan ahead. More information on the
relationship between the presentation paper and the research paper is given
in a separate handout ("Guide for Reading and Research"). The length of
the research paper should be between 1500 and 2500 words and between 5
and 10 pages. (This means some of the material given in the presentation
will have to be omitted, in order to make room for the additional research
you will do in preparing this final version.) You should hand it in by 5pm
on 18 May, along with the copy of your presentation paper that contains the
lecturer's comments. There will be a strict penalty for late papers. No
papers will be accepted after 5pm on Monday, 23 May. Your grade for the
written paper will be based entirely on the second version, and will be
judged according to three criteria: (1) clarity, (2) completeness, and (3)
creativity.
Examination (40%): The final exam will probably consist of two
essay questions, though there might also be a "short answer" section based
on the lectures and readings.
Tentative Lecture Schedule
I. Religion as a way of thinking (Introduction)
1. The philosophical approach: definition and meaning of religion (16
February)
2. The scientific approach: anthropology, psychology and sociology (16
February)
II. Religion as a cultural phenomenon (Anthropology)
1. Frazer and Tylor. The historical approach: magic and animism (23
February)
2. Levi-Strauss. The structuralist approach: the logic of myth (2 March)
3. Van der Leeuw. The phenomenological approach: power and love (9
March)
4. Eliade. The integrative approach: symbols of sacred space (16 March)
III. Religion as a projection of the unconscious (Psychology)
1. Freud. The reductionist approach: illusion and taboo (23 March)
2. Jung. The symbolic approach: archetype and individuation (30 March)
3. James. The pragmatic approach: nature of religious experience (13
April)
IV. Religion as a socially constructed reality (Sociology)
1. Marx. The materialist approach: the socio-economic drug (20 April)
2. Weber. The Verstehen-causal approach: protestants & capitalism (27
April)
3. Durkheim. The functionalist approach: totemism and society (4 May)
4. Berger. A quasi-theological approach: religion and alienation (11 May)
(18 May - no class; research papers due by 5pm.)
V. Religion as a way of being (Conclusion)
1. Eliade again. Modern myths and the roots of anxiety (25 May)
2. Tillich. The existential approach: courage and faith (25 May)
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This page was last updated on 30 September 1995
StevePq@hkbu.edu.hk