Walter Kaufmann on religion in general.

"For many people the religion in which they are raised is religion, and they take no deep interest in other religions. Even those to whom their religion means a great deal rarely know much about its history. They are too close to it to see it as a whole, in depth, in three dimensions .... And religious people used to take for granted that other religions were simply wrong.
[Later,] it became fashionable to suppose that all the great religions agree on essentials. This claim, like other dogmas was not examined closely in light of the facts. The usual approaches to religion are curiously blind. One refuses to see the major religions as alternatives that challenge us to make a choice."
Religions in Four Dimensions, p. 13.

"There is no subject more important than religion. It involves the most fateful questions, to which different religions give different answers. The way religion has usually been taught, from Sunday school to college, one might hardly notice that. As a result, many, if not most, people who have gone to universities know scarcely anything about religion. They may say that it is, of course, very important, but they obviously feel that it can be safely ignored. I feel that those who close their eyes to the great religions are thoughtless and, in effect, refuse to think about alternative answers to some of the most crucial questions."
Religions in Four Dimensions, p. 14-15.

Class #1, 8/25/09

**Introduction/Roster

**Course description and overview of topics

**Some introductory questions:

• What is a philosophy class?
• What is religion?
  
• Nature, scope and limitations of religion studies.
• Religions as a phenomenon--see Kaufmann quotes.

**Exercises:

• Stats and geography of the world's faiths.
• Religions bingo--time permitting.
  

**Conclusion: Complete Student Info Sheet

**For next class, 9/1:

1. If you get your text in time, read Chapter One, "Understanding the World's Religious Heritage." It's about general methodology and basic background for the study of religious traditions.

2. Complete the Chapter One Packet, found here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=df8n9qbt_280dpr6tkd4

Syllabus and Course Calendar, Fall 2009

Here is the Course Description/Syllabus:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=df8n9qbt_255cn79mrcq

And, the Assignment Calendar:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=df8n9qbt_256fpbssshr

Textbooks for Fall '09

Here they are:

Ellwood & McGraw
Many Peoples, Many Faiths
9th Edition; 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-601761-5
ISBN-10: 0-13-601761-4

Novak, Philip
The World's Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions
1996
ISBN-10: 0-7858-0718-7