SOC 169 – Sociology of Religion
Dr. Margaret Gonsoulin
Office Hours: MWF 12:15-1:30 & M 5:15-6pm
Office Location: SS 226
Office Telephone: 278-7731
Email: mgonsoulin@csufresno.edu
Location and Times: MWF 11-11:50 in SS210
Course Description: The sociology of religion explores the social aspects of religious
institutions, groups, behaviors and traditions. The field focuses exclusively on the social aspects
of religions; sociology is not concerned with the truth or falsity of religious claims or beliefs. As
we progress through various world religions from scattered time periods, we will focus on how
religion intersects with gender, class, family, fundamentalisms and social theory. At the end of
the semester, we will explore the various ways that these topics intersect by sampling from the
vast and varied sociological studies done in this sub-field of sociology.
Books:
 Monahan, Mirola & Emerson (2001) Sociology of Religion: A Reader. Prentice Hall
Publishing. (It is referred to as “text” below)
 A Custom Publishing from Pearson titled “Inequalities” – It is small with a black binding
and it will have my name and the name of this class printed on the front cover of the
booklet. (It is referred to as “reader” below)
Grade Calculations:
 Attendance (10%)
 Three exams during the semester. Exams are multiple-choice and short answer:
 Exam 1 (12.5%)
 Exam 2 (12.5%)
 A comprehensive final exam (15%)
 Three written assignments are required (described in detail below). You will need an
electronic as well as a paper copy; instructions are below in the syllabus.
 Notes on readings and group projects (10%)
 Paper & Presentation on Small Group Religions (15%)
 Paper on Religious Observations (15%)
Week 1 –
M – 8/28 Introduction / Brainstorm definition of religion
W – 8/30 Definition of Religion (Text: Chang, 5-9)
F – 9/1 Psychology of Religion (Text: MacDonald, 55-57 & James, 61-65)
Week 2
M – 9/4 No Class for Labor Day!
W – 9/6 Anthropology of Religion (Handout – pick society for paper/report)
F – 9/8 Durkheim (Text: Durkheim, 9-15)
*****Monday September 11th is the last day to drop.
Week 3
M – 9/11 Marx (Text: Marx, 15-16)
W – 9/13 Weber (lecture only)
F – 9/15 Geertz (Text: Geertz, 16-23)
Paper/Presentations on “Religion in Small Groups” Due Next Week!
Week 4
M – 9/18 Presentations/Papers Group I
W – 9/20 Presentations/Papers Group II
F – 9/22 Presentations/Papers Group III
Week 5
M – 9/25 Ancient religion/ Inanna (Handout – Myth of Inanna)
W – 9/27 Ancient religion/ Lilith
F – 9/29 Review for Exam 1
Week 6
M – 10/1 Exam 1
W – 10/4 Berger “Sacred Canopy”(Text: Berger, 23-29)
F – 10/6 Group Exercise 1: plausibility, legitimation & crisis of meaning in your country
Week 7
M – 10/9 Secularization Debate (Text: Berger, 201-204 & Finke, 213-224)
W – 10/11 Group Exercise 2: Is your country secular or religious?
F – 10/13 India’s Religions (Reader: Rambachen)
Week 8
M – 10/16 India’s Religions II
W – 10/18 India’s Religions III
F – 10/19 Group Exercise 3: Religious diversity and history in your country
Week 9
M – 10/23 Islam (Reader: Sawy)
W – 10/25 Islam II
F – 10/27 Group Exercise 4: Your country’s view of Islam
Week 10
M – 10/30 Film “Three Worlds of Bali”
W – 11/1 Group Exercise 5: How does Bali, Islam, India… compare?
F – 11/3 Fundamentalisms in general (Reader: Coreno)
Week 11
M – 11/6 Christian Fundamentalism (Text: Wald, 351-360)
W – 11/8 Extra Time/Review for exam 2
F – 11/9 Exam 2
Week 12
M – 11/13 Film “Onward Christian Solidiers”
W – 11/15 Group Exercise 6: What effect does fundamentalism have in your life?
F – 11/17 Alternative Religions General (Text: Rosin, 263-266)
Paper “Observations of Other Religious Group” Due Monday 11/20
Week 13
M – 11/20 Scientology (Text: Bednarowski, 290-297)
W – 11/22 Thanksgiving No Class!
F – 11/24 Thanksgiving No Class!
Extra Points Due Monday 11/27 – no exceptions!
Week 14
M – 11/27 Film “History of Cults”
W – 11/22 Extra Time/Catch-up
F – 11/24 Group Exercise 7: Your experience/perception with/of alternative religions.
Week 15
M – 12/4 Intersections with race (Text: Roof & Manning, 89-95)
W – 12/6 Intersections with gender (Reader: Beaman)
F – 12/8 Intersections with sexual orientation (Reader: Deacon & Text: Thumma)
Week 16
M – 12/11 Extra Time/Catch-up
W – 12/13 Review (questions will be answered)
Final Exam will be held on Monday December 18th from 11-1pm
____________________________________________________________________________
Course Policies and Procedures
Course Goals and Student Learning Outcomes:
At the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
 Understand how religion is a social institution
 Understand more about how people organize their social life around their religious beliefs
 Understand a bit more about currently unfamiliar religions of the world
 Understand what sociological theory says about the role of religion in the world
 Understand more about how religion affects politics, gender, class, family etc.

Be able to approach diverse religious groups with a new level of respect and understanding
Attendance
Regular attendance and participation are expected of all students. It accounts for 10% of your grade in this
class.
Make-up exams or late papers: Make-up exams will be permitted only if an acceptable reason is
presented before the exam; this must be something along the lines of a doctor’s note with specific dates or
a note from the athletic/academic department explaining that you were out of town on the day of the
exam. All make up exams are given during the study days at the end of the semester. There are no
exceptions to this policy. The make-up exam is Friday, December 15th at 1:00pm. Late papers will be
accepted for two weeks and marked down ten percentage points for each day late (including weekends
and days where class is not held). At the end of two weeks, late papers automatically become an “F”
(except in extraordinary situations).
Turning in Papers: You must turn in papers BOTH electronically and a hard copy in person. To turn in
your papers electronically, log into blackboard and click on “course materials.” In side this window, you
should find the title of the paper assignment as a “turn it in” link. Click here and enter your name and
paper title and attach your file. If you do not do both, you will get a zero on that paper. Warning! You
only have a 4 number of days to turn it in electronically.
If you have a problem: If you send an important email and do not receive a response within twelve hours;
you should assume that there is some kind of problem with the email. In this case, it is your
responsibility to contact me to by phone and keep trying via email. Also, I will take no responsibility if
you contact me too late for me to assist you with your problem. For important issues, be sure to seek
assistance at least three days before you actually need some kind of resolution to your problem.
Exams: Everyone will be required to sign a “sign-up” sheet before taking each exam given in this class.
Final Exams (special case): examinations or final class meetings are required of all courses and shall be
held at the time and place identified in the Schedule of Courses. No final examinations may be scheduled
prior to the time specified in the Schedule of Courses. Any exceptions must receive written approval of
the department chair and dean; it is your responsibility to seek such approvals with a minimum of three
weeks before the exam date.
Grading Policy and Procedures
Exams and papers are assigned points, and final letter grades are based on the following scale:
90-100% = A., 80-89% =B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, below 60%=F.
Extra Points: Your only chance for extra points in this class will be to do one or two (no more than two)
extra summaries/outlines of readings. These two extra summaries/outlines may be of any reading
assigned in class that are not specifically assigned to you, or you may choose to summarize/outline any of
the other readings in either your textbook or reader. No other material will be accepted. Use the same
guidelines that are listed for your assigned summary/outlines. If you choose the two shortest readings or
do a minimum of work in any way, you will not receive maximum points. You may receive up to 1.5
total percentage points for these two outlines; my decision is final and not up for discussion (this is a take
it or leave it situation if you turn in this extra point assignment!)
Email Policy: Information related to this class will be sent out via email; students are required to check
their email on a regular basis. This is especially important before assignments are due and exam dates.
University Policies including Cheating and Plagiarism
University policies including those regarding classroom conduct, cheating and plagiarism will be
followed. Students are responsible for understanding these polices. Refer to the General Catalog or the
Schedule of Courses for details.
 Cheating involves ”fraudulent and deceptive acts for the purpose of improving a grade or obtaining
course credit.” Although this usually occurs in relation to examinations, it is not limited to exams but
includes any action intended to gain an unearned academic advantage by fraudulent or deceptive
means. Students should not turn in the same project (or parts of the same project) for two different
classes without specific permission from both instructors. Students may not use the same writing in
more than one general-education course with a mandated writing requirement because the intent of
the GE requirement is to require students to do more writing.
 Plagiarism is a specific form of cheating related to the misuse of published and/or unpublished works
of another person by representing that material as ones own work. Penalties for cheating and
plagiarism depend on the seriousness of the situation. Students may be given an F grade for the
assignment or an F grade in the course with a “Cheating/Plagiarism Report” filed in the student’s
permanent academic record. Please read the excellent discussion of plagiarism by Earl Babbie on the
web at http://www.csub.edu/ssric-trd/howto/plagiarism.htm.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Upon identifying themselves to the instructor and the university, students with disabilities will receive
reasonable accommodation for learning and evaluation. For more information, contact Services to
Students with Disabilities in Madden Library 1049 (278-2811).
Changes to Syllabus
This syllabus and schedule are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. If you are
absent from class, it is your responsibility to check on announcements made while you were absent. All
changes to the syllabus including all changes in exams or assignments must be confirmed by the
instructor in person (and/or on BlackBoard or by email).
Late Assignments
For each day that an assignment is late, a ten percent (10%) penalty shall be deducted from the total
points of the assignment. No late assignments will be accepted after two week past the original due date
for that assignment.
Films
The films shown in this class will alternate. They may include: The Three Worlds of Bali (about the
religion of Bali Indonesia); Ways of the Ancestors (about Celebes in Indonesia), Between Two Worlds
(about Hmong Shaman), A Question of Balance (about Taiwan) or Onward Christian Soldiers (about
Christian Fundamentalism). If the one currently on this syllabus is unavailable at the time shown, it will
be replaced by another listed here.
Information on Papers:
1. Your notes from readings, films and group exercises - comments will include the
following materials:
a. A two paragraph written report for each assigned reading (you should have a total
of six). There must be an outline of the material read, and then there must be a
paragraph should record your thoughts on this topic.
b. A two paragraph written personal reaction to each group exercise (You should
have a total of 7). The first paragraph should be your personal reaction before
meeting with your group and the second paragraph should record your thoughts
after talking with your group.
c. A two paragraph reaction to each of the three films that we watch in class (you
should have a total of three writings here. The first paragraph should summarize
the content of the film and the second paragraph should include your reaction to
the film.
d. *****Optional***** You have the option of doing two extra point writings on
unassigned readings from either of your text books here. See the instructions
above in the course policies section of this syllabus.
e. These writings will be collected occasionally throughout the semester. You must
keep up with your writings on a weekly and daily basis. The grade will come
from whether or not all of the writings are present rather than from the content or
accuracy of what you have written. It will be graded for the material that should
be in the notebook at the time of collection. No excuses will be accepted.
f. You must have a small single subject notebook devoted solely to these writings
that you bring with you to every class period. You must not have any other
information in this notebook because you will have to turn it in on occasion.
2. Presentation on small society and their religion(s), culture and social life should
include the following materials:
a. You must use at least one academic peer-reviewed reference from the sociological
or anthropological or archeological database
b. You may also use materials from the internet as long as you list them as
references and put quotes around any material that you use word for word, but be
sure that this information is reputable (look to see who designed the page,
university pages and on-line encyclopedias are usually good).
c. Some societies will be more well-studied than others, so just do the best that you
can. Remember to keep an open mind and judge as little as possible.
d. Your presentation must be in MS Powerpoint. You must include at least three
photos (can be of anything related to the people, the culture or their land) and a
map of the place where your society comes from.
e. Try to find information on at least three of the following areas of your assigned
society: religion*, rituals performed*, culture, colonial impact, language,
environment they live in & how it shapes their social life, houses they build, their
division of labor, kinds of work that they do, their culture, music, food or the like,
relations between the sexes or ages, who has high status and why or how they
bury their dead. You may also present interesting findings that are not listed
above as long as they are social in some way.
3. Your paper on observations of a religion different than your own.
a. Observations - You must attend at least one sermon, teaching, ritual or meeting
at a church, temple, synagogue, mosque or meeting place for a religion, faith, or
faith-based program which is very different from your own faith or the faith that
you were raised in. It would be most advantageous to speak with the religious
leader or a religious member if you have the opportunity. Ask them questions
about their religion.
b. Turn in Notes - While you are in attendance, carefully observe and take down
notes. You may also tape record if allowed. Either way, you must have at least
one single spaced type written page of observations (12 point font, 1 inch
margins) to turn in with your final paper. These notes do not count as pages of
your paper; they should be seen as material to draw on for writing your paper.
c. 4 page paper – This paper should be about 4 double spaced typewritten pages
long (12 point font, 1 inch margins). You must address the following issues:
i. Give a general description of the religion
ii. Give a general description of the place/people/event you observed
iii. What did you learn from your observations
iv. Did your observations fit the “official” stance of this institution (in other
words, did it fit the general description you gave above?)
v. Did anything surprise, shock or impress you about this religion or these
people?
vi. Discuss the way that this religion is the same/different than yours
vii. Do you think that you are able to be objective toward other religions?
viii. Include two academic peer-reviewed references on this religion (e.g., holy
texts, textbooks and book reviews do not count here!)
ix. Make sure to edit your paper for grammar and flow!!