Introduction to Religion
(REL 101)
Dr. Lucas Johnston
Office: 018A Winston Hall
Office hours: 12:00-1:00pm, or by appointment
Email: johnstlf@wfu.edu
Course Overview:
This course aims to provide students with the skills to be able to understand academic definitions
of religion and analyze public deployments of religious ideas or behaviors. In an introductory
religious studies course, students should be able to accurately describe and compare religious
cultural expressions without leaping to evaluation. The course pays special attention to the
political and social importance of religion. Although the course is not a traditional introduction to
global religions, the analytical tools developed can be applied to understand any manifestation of
religious cultural production.
Learning Outcomes:
It is my hope that by the end of the course students will:
1. Understand different approaches to defining and describing religion
2. Have a basic understanding of important figures in the historical study of religions, and of
key terms employed by such scholars
3. Learn to appreciate cultural difference without leaping to evaluation
4. Understand some of the complex ways in which religious practice and belief can reinforce
or challenge existing socio-political circumstances
5. Be able to carefully scrutinize the contested ways in which religion is deployed in the public
sphere for political ends
Required Texts:
McCutcheon, Russell. 2007. Studying Religion (London: Equinox Press). (SR)
Office Hours and Student Communication:
I will be in my office every Monday and Wednesday from 12:00-1:00 pm. I strongly encourage you
to come to these office hours to discuss the material, or to go over any questions you may have. In
the event you cannot make it to my office hours, I would be glad to make an appointment with you
at a different time provided I have at least twenty-four hours notice. I much prefer in-person
meetings to email. I am glad to answer minor clarifications through email, but I generally will not
respond to emails regarding late or missing assignments, or absences.
Assignments and Grading:
Participation in Discussion Group (15%): Each week students will be required to raise questions
and/or respond to those raised by other classmates through the Blackboard Discussion
Groups. All posts must be well-composed and illustrate the student’s engagement with the
course material. Your posts for each week should total approximately one page worth of
reflection/questions.
Leading Discussion Group (10%): Each student will partner with one or two other students to
lead the Blackboard Discussion Group. These Discussion Leaders will be responsible for
posting the first set of questions for the rest of the class, and should facilitate and guide
discussion to ensure that important topics are covered. Questions should be posted by
Wednesday at midnight to give the other students time to respond.
Tests (2) (45%): TEST 1 (March 3, 20%); TEST 2 (April 28, 25%)
Participation (10%): Class attendance and participation is expected from all students. All
students are allowed two unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence beyond this will
result in a three point reduction in class participation grade. Students missing five or more
classes will fail the course, or will be asked to withdraw. Absences may be excused if
written requests are submitted in advance or if written explanations are submitted with
valid documentation. The instructor will generally not respond to emails explaining
Final Case Study Project (20%): In groups of three to five (maximum), students will provide a
description and analysis of a contemporary issue in which religion plays a key role.
Students are responsible for turning in a common paper derived from the case study, as
well as a supplementary individual paper. Each student will be graded by their teammates,
and these grades will be averaged together to comprise a portion of the final project grade.
NOTE: Students are encouraged to use alternative media for their project, including the
Internet, film, performance, etc. In such cases, the alternative media will count for the group
portion of the grade, and each individual should submit the short supplementary paper.
Please see Appendix A for topic ideas.
Expectations:
1) Handing in Assignments: Emailed assignments will not be accepted without explicit prior
approval from the professor.
2) Late or Make-Up Assignments: Late assignments will be deducted a half a letter grade
each day they are late. Extensions may be granted in extraordinary circumstances with the
approval of the professor.
3) Completion of All Assignments: Students must complete all written and oral assignments
and fulfill the requirements for class participation in order to pass the class. Students
missing assignments will fail or be granted an incomplete (in special cases).
4) Attendance and Participation: Class participation is counted as a significant portion of the
final grade (10%). Please see discussion above for more details (under “Assignments and
Grading”).
5) Common Courtesy: Cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices must be turned off
before class. Students who receive or send phone calls or text messages during class will be
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asked to leave. The professor reserves the right to ask any student engaging in disruptive
behavior (e.g. talking, reading newspaper, etc.) to leave the class. It is always important to
treat every person and opinion with respect. In addition, it is essential that you present
yourself and your opinions to your peers and instructors with respect and sensitivity.
Academic Honesty: Plagiarizing is completely unacceptable under any circumstances.
Please read and be familiar with the university’s definition of and policy regarding
plagiarism as described in the Code of Student Conduct as described in the Student
Handbook (see http://www.wfu.edu/studentlife/judicial/pdf/handbook.pdf, especially the
definition on pp. 75-76). Also, please explore this website for more information:
http://www.plagiarism.org/. Any student caught cheating, plagiarizing, or otherwise
violating the honor code in any assignment will fail the course.
Liberal Arts Education: Read and familiarize yourself with the guiding principles and
values that form the basis of Wake Forest’s educational philosophy here:
http://newstudents.wfu.edu/section.php?s=general&p=guiding_principles.
Disabilities and Special Arrangements: If you have a disability that requires special
arrangements (e.g. note- and/or test-taking), please contact the Learning Assistance Center
in Reynolda 117 (758-5929), and/or see this webpage for more information:
http://newstudents.wfu.edu/section.php?s=general&p=disability_services. In addition,
please contact me within the first two weeks of class to ensure that we make appropriate
arrangements for facilitating your educational experience. Every effort will be made to
accommodate those with registered disabilities.
Counseling Center: Sometimes college life is hard! If you need support with personal
mental and emotional health, please see the Counseling Center’s website:
http://www.wfu.edu/ucc/ .
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Jan 13, Wednesday
Introduction to the course and explanation of expectations
Jan 18, Monday, MLK Holiday
No class.
Jan 20, Wednesday
Introduction to the Study of Religion
1. Prothero, Stephen. “Introduction,” from Religious Literacy.
2. Miner, Horace. “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”
Jan 25, Monday
Meet with group to brainstorm possible projects—list of possible topics to be turned in to
Blackboard by each group by midnight (only one submission per group necessary).
Jan 27, Wednesday,
What Do You Mean By Religion?
1. McCutcheon, SR, “Introduction: What is the Study of Religion?”
2. McCutcheon, SR, Ch. 1, “What’s in a Name”
3. McCutcheon SR, Ch. 2, “The History of ‘Religion”
Feb 1, Monday,
Religion as a Political Category
1. McCutcheon, Russell. 2005. “Swapping Spit Around the Campfire,” from Religion and the
Domestication of Dissent. London: Equinox, pp. 16-32.
Feb 3, Wednesday,
Religions of Fear
1. Chidester, David. 1991. “Saving the Children By Killing Them: Redemptive Sacrifice
in the Ideologies of Jim Jones and Ronald Reagan.” Religion and American Culture,
Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 177-201.
Film: Jesus Camp
Feb 8, Monday,
1. Bivens, Jason. “Chick Tracts.” Religion of Fear: The Politics of Horror in Conservative
Evangelicalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Feb 10, Wednesday,
Mandatory: Attend Jason Bivens’s talk, 3 pm, location TBA
Feb 15, Monday,
Essentialist Explanations of Religion
1. McCutcheon, SR, “The Essentials of Religion”
2. Muller, Max. “The Science of Religion: Lecture One,” pp. 109-121
Feb 17, Wednesday
Essentialist Explanations of Religion (continued)
1. Mircea Eliade. 1959. “Sacred Space and Making the World Sacred,” from The Sacred
and the Profane, pp. 20-42; 50-58; 62-65
Feb 22, Monday,
Functionalist Explanations of Religion
1. McCutcheon, SR, “The Functions of Religion”
2. Durkheim, Emile. 1915 (1965). “Conclusion,” from The Elementary Forms of
Religious Life 462-474;
3. Freud, Sigmund. 1918. “Taboo and the Ambivalence of Emotion,” from Totem and
Taboo, pp. 16-30
Feb 24, Wednesday
Functionalist Explanations of Religion (continued)
1. Wilson, David Sloan. “The Secular Utility of Religion: Historical Examples,” from
Darwin’s Cathedral.
2. Ara Norenzayan and A. Shariff, “The Origin and Evolution of Religious Pro-Sociality,”
Science 3 October 2008: 58-62.
Mar 1, Monday
Test review
Mar 3, Wednesday
*TEST 1, Multiple Choice*
Mar 8, Monday SPRING BREAK
Mar 10, Wednesday SPRING BREAK
MIDTERM GRADES DUE MARCH 12
Mar 15, Monday
Etic and Emic Approaches to the Study of Religion
1. McCutcheon, SR, Ch. 6, “The Insider/Outsider Problem”
2. Orsi, Robert. “Everyday Miracles and the Study of Lived Religion,” from Lived Religion.
Mar 17, Wednesday
Religion-resembling Phenomena as an Everyday Aspect of Culture
McCutcheon, SR, “The Resemblance among Religions”
Mar 22, Monday
Religion, Power and Authenticity—Native Americans
1. Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (skim, understand
ruling)
2. Deloria, “The Aboriginal World and Christian History,” from God is Red, pp. 254-266
Mar 24, Wednesday
Religion, Power and Authenticity—Native Americans (continued)
1. Smith, Andy. “For All Those Who Were Indian in a Former Life,” pp. 1-3.
2. Lokensgard, Kenneth. “Indigenous Religionists in North America,” from Religions in
Focus, pp. 237-256.
Film: In the Light of Reverence
Mar 29, Monday
Religion, Power and Authenticity—Islam in/and the US
1. Malcolm X. 1964. “Black Muslims,” from Autobiography of Malcolm
X. New York: Ballantine.
2. Pohl, Florian. 2009. “Muslims,” from Religions in Focus, Graham Harvey (ed.), pp.
121-141
Mar 31, Wednesday
Religion, Power and Authenticity—Domestic Politics
1. Martin Luther King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” from Roger Gottlieb (ed.)
Liberating Faith. London: Rowman and Littlefield.
2. Kennedy, John F. “Inaugural Address,” available at
http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3365.
3. Bush, George W. “Address to the Nation,” September 20, 2001.
4. Obama, Barack. Speech Accepting Nobel Peace Prize.
April 5, Monday
Religion and Science: Evolution and Intelligent Design
1. Behe, Michael. 2005. “Evidence for Design at the Foundation of Life,” from Science and
Evidence for Design in the Universe.
2. Ayala, Francisco. “Introduction,” Darwin and Intelligent Design. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press.
April 7, Wednesday
Religion and Science: Evolution and Intelligent Design (continued)
1. Henderson, Bobby. “Open Letter to the Kansas School Board,” www.venganza.org
2. Dowd, Michael. The Great Story, “The Big Picture, parts 1 and 2,” available at
http://www.thegreatstory.com/Bigpicture1.html .
3. Dennett, Daniel “Show me the Science,” from New York Times.
Apr 12, Monday
Religious Environmentalism
1. Webb, Caroline. “The Mystique of the Earth: An Interview with Thomas Berry”
Caduceus, Vol. 59, pp. 1-7.
2. Bond, George. “Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement,” from Bron Taylor (ed.) The
Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature (London: Equinox), pp. 1482-1483.
3. Kraft, Kenneth. 2005. “Buddhism—Engaged,” from Bron Taylor (ed.) The
Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature (London: Equinox), pp. 239-241.
Apr 14, Wednesday
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS OF CASE STUDY PROJECTS
Apr 19, Monday
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS OF CASE STUDY PROJECTS
Apr 21, Wednesday
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS OF CASE STUDY PROJECTS
Apr 26, Monday
Test review
Apr 28, Wednesday
*TEST 2, Multiple Choice*