World Religions (NAIITS)

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Identify the essential elements of the world’s major religions and articulate an understanding of the development of them with reference to at least one;
2. Demonstrate basic skills in comparative religious analysis and apply key concepts to their own experiences;
3. Identify and demonstrate understanding of the differences and similarities between classical formulations of religions and contemporary practices (how and why religious worlds are constructed);
4. Demonstrate awareness of the complexity of religious thought and expression;
5. Describe and demonstrate an Indigenous perspective towards practitioners of other faiths;
6. Identify and juxtapose the central teachings of Christianity with those of other religions with a view to a better understanding the uniqueness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Personal & Professional Evaluation (1,000 words) (10%)
•  Personal Reflection (2,500 words) (40%)
•  Report (4,000 words) (50%)

Set texts recommended for purchase are highlighted in blue

• Johnson, Greg, and Siv Ellen Kraft, eds. Handbook of indigenous religion (s). Brill, 2017.
• Partridge, Christopher. Ed.  Introduction to World Religions. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013. [Note: 2013 edition required, or the Kindle edition, 2014].
• Peace, Jennifer Howe, et al. Eds. My Neighbor’s Faith: Stories of Interreligious Encounter, Growth, and Transformation. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2012.
• Aslan, Reza. No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. New York, NY: Random House, 2005.
• Bowker, John. The Message and the Book: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press; Grove Atlantic Ltd., 2012
• Brodd, Jeffrey. World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery. Winona, MN: St. Mary’s Press, 2009.
• Coogan, Michael D. Ed. World Religions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Herrick, James A. The Making of the New Spirituality: the Eclipse of the Western Tradition. Downers Grove: IVP, 2003.
• Hexham, Irving and Stephen Rost, John W. Morehead II.  Eds.  Encountering New Religious Movements. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.
• Muck, Terry C. and Frances Adeney.  Christianity Encountering World Religions: The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-First Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.
• Noss, David S. A History of the World’s Religions. Twelfth ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc., 2008.
• O’Murchu, Diarmuid. In the Beginning was the Spirit: Science, Religion, and Indigenous Spirituality. Orbis Books, 2012.
• Smart, Ninian and Hecht, Richard D. Eds. Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal Anthology. New York, Crossroad Books, 2004.