THEO 397 Outline

THE KING'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

COURSE NUMBER:

THEO 397

COURSE TITLE:

Engaging Difference: World Religions

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Michael Kok

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3 (hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Through studies of the histories, sacred texts and practices of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, native Canadian and tribal religions, students will gain some understanding of the variety and complexity of living religious traditions in the modern world. Attention will be paid to the current debate on religious pluralism and Christian claims about the person and work of Jesus Christ in this context.

This course does not fulfill theology foundations requirements.

Prerequisites: THEO 250

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Thomas A. Robinson and Hillary P. Rodriguez, World Religions: A Guide to the Essentials (Second Edition; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014).

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Attendance and Participation	10%
Online reading quizzes	20%
Reflection paper	20%
Midterm Exam	25%
Final Exam	25%

	100%

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

To critically survey the main beliefs and practices represented in different Western and Eastern religious traditions (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto).
To introduce students to the methods and theories utilized in the academic study of religion.
To equip students to bring their Christian worldview into dialogue with other religious worldviews.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, Sept. 6: Introduction to the Course
Tuesday, Sept. 13: Introduction to Academic Religious Studies: Theories and Methods
Tuesday, Sept. 20: Introduction to Hinduism
Tuesday, Sept. 27: Introduction to Buddhism
Tuesday, Oct. 4: Introduction to Jainism; Review for the Midterm Exam
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Midterm Exam
Tuesday, Oct. 18: Christian engagement with Eastern Religious Traditions
Tuesday, Oct. 25: Introduction to Judaism with an excursus on Zoroastrianism
Tuesday, Nov. 1: Introduction to Islam
Tuesday, Nov 8: Introduction to Sikhism
Tuesday, Nov. 15: Introduction to Daoism and Confucianism
Tuesday, Nov. 22: Class cancelled as I am attending the Society of Biblical Literature
Tuesday, Nov. 29: Introduction to Shinto
Tuesday, Dec. 6: Christian Engagement with Western Religious Traditions and Final Exam Review

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.