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RELI 1001 (UGA)
Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (3 semester hours)
Web Course Format: ALISSA

This course can be taken
    -> as a web course
    -> as a print course

Lessons for this course can be submitted and/or be returned
    -> via U.S. mail
    -> via fax return from IDL

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Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and background religions, such as those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Requirements: Eight lessons and two examinations.

Instructor: David S. Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religion, The University of Georgia; or Sandy D. Martin, Ph.D., Professor of Religion, The University of Georgia.

Texts: Oxtoby, ed., World Religions: Western Traditions, Oxford University Press, 2002; Kessler, ed., Western Ways of Being Religious: An Anthology, Mayfield Publishing, 2000.



Introduction

Welcome to Religion 1001, a study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religion has been an integral part of human life, and these religious traditions have had an immeasurable impact, since all three have adherents all over the globe. Studying religion can be one of the most challenging and rewarding of all endeavors. The experience compels you to examine your own understanding of the nature of reality, and, when properly done, also forces you to seek to comprehend the concepts and beliefs of others that you do not share. In an ever-shrinking world linked by global communications and transnational commerce, the exploration of the religious views of others is a noble enterprise. Surely the capacity to tolerate differences of opinion and world-view is an essential component of a sound university education. We will examine Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in various ways. We will look at historical developments, important literature, and basic beliefs and practices. You will also learn how to compare and contrast these traditions as religious systems. It is important to point out from the outset that what we are embarking on is the academic study of religion. The full meaning of this will be explained in Lesson 1, but essentially we are looking to examine these religious traditions in a critical or analytical fashion, and not to judge them or attempt to determine whether one or another is superior. Our goal, in other words, is to gain an understanding of each religion, not to prescribe or condemn any of them.

Textbooks

There are two textbooks. The first is entitled World Religions: Western Traditions and is edited by Willard G. Oxtoby (of the University of Toronto). Be sure to obtain the second edition, which was published in 2002. The text has three authors: Alan E. Segal (of Barnard College and Columbia University), Mahmoud M. Ayoub (of Temple University), and Oxtoby himself. Segal writes about Judaism, Oxtoby about Christianity, and Ayoub about Islam. Thus, each of the three religions we will study is covered by an acknowledged expert on that religion. This is in many ways an advantage over a text by a single author.

The second text is Western Ways of Being Religious by Gary E. Kessler (of California State University, Bakersfield). This book, published in 2000, is a reader, supplying excerpts from various texts that pertain to the study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These excerpts include scriptural passages as well as other ancient, modern, and contemporary texts. Kessler does a good job of providing brief but informative essays that place these texts in historical and cultural context. His book is also commendable in that he has kept in mind the need for selections that touch on women, since women’s roles in the historically male-dominated Western religions have often been neglected. Both texts include individuals and groups of various ethnic and racial backgrounds, although some may feel that neither is as inclusive of matters relating to race, class, and gender as it might be. Another attractive element of the Kessler book is the information on Internet resources (see pp. 229–31). The UGA Department of Religion web site at http://www.uga.edu/religion/ contains additional useful information and a link to Dr. Alan Godlas’s excellent site on Islam, http://www.uga.edu/islam.

A good general resource for this course is the Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade. For those students with access to the University of Georgia main library, you can find this resource in the reference section. The call number is Main Ref BL31.E46 1986. Students who are not on the University of Georgia campus should still be able to locate this sixteen-volume encyclopedia, since it is a standard reference work.

Grading and Examinations

The average of your grades on the eight lessons will account for 40 percent of your course grade. The midterm and final examinations are each worth 30 percent. Each lesson is worth 25 points.

The examinations will be based on the key terms and concepts and the reading questions provided in each lesson, not the written assignment questions. Two types of objective questions appear on the examinations. The multiple-choice questions are drawn from both the key terms and concepts and the reading questions. The fill-in-the-blank questions are drawn entirely from the key terms and concepts. Half of the key terms and concepts in the lessons are marked with an asterisk. The fill-in-the-blank questions on the examinations will involve these terms only, although all the terms may be used in other exam questions. You would do well to make flash cards for all the key terms and concepts to carry around with you so that you can study them frequently and easily. Be especially attentive to learning how to spell the asterisked terms so that you can write them correctly in the fill-in-the-blank questions. To do so will indicate that you have active knowledge and not just passive recognition of answers.

The midterm examination covers the material in Lessons 1 through 4 and has 35 multiple-choice questions and 15 fill-in-the-blank questions. There is further information in the section entitled “About the Midterm Examination” following Lesson 4. The objective questions on the final examination cover the material in Lessons 5 through 8. There will be 30 multiple-choice questions and 10 fill-in-the-blank questions. In addition, there is a comprehensive essay that will ask you to explain, as well as to compare and contrast, a selected broad element of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Whereas the objective questions on the final will not test you on content from Lessons 1–4, please note that the essay question is likely to be cumulative. If you have studied the reading questions in the lessons thoroughly, you should have no trouble with the essay question. The essay question is discussed further in the section entitled “About the Final Examination,” following Lesson 8.

Please note that IDL policy requires that you pass the final in order to pass the course, regardless of grades earned on lessons. You are responsible for knowing and abiding by IDL policies and procedures. See your Student Handbook for detailed information.