Syllabus for Course 401 Interreligious Dialogue (.5 Credits)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this course is to help the students
understand the manner in which the Catholic Church relates to non-Catholic Christians as
well as to other religions of the world. Building on the foundational truth that Jesus
Christ established the Catholic Church and entrusted to her the fullness of God’s
Revelation, the course is intended to help students recognize the ways in which important
spiritual truths can be found in non-Christian religions. It is also intended to help them
recognize the ways in which other systems of belief and practice differ from the Catholic
faith.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How should a faithful, practicing Catholic Christian relate
to people of other religious traditions, both Christian and non-Christian, in the 21st
Century?
TEXTBOOK: Exploring The Religions of Our World by Nancy Clemmons, SNJM. Ave
Maria Press
UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION (2.5 Weeks)
CONTENT
A)Course Outline/Syllabus/Course Goals
B) What is Religion and why does it matter?
C) Two Models for Understanding similarities/differences in religions
D) Catholicism in dialogue with other Religions
E) Religious Fundamentalism
SKILLS: At the end of this unit, the student should be able to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Define religion and describe its’ purpose in human life
Be able to identify differing views(positive and negative) about the role
religion plays in modern life
Be able to explain two different models for understanding the similarities
and differences between the religions that will be studied in this course
Be able to articulate the uniqueness of Catholicism in comparison to both
Christian and non-Christian religions citing Nostra Aetate and Cardinal
George’s letter to Chicago parishes as reference points.
Be able to identify the origins of religious fundamentalism
UNIT ONE TERMS:At the end of this unit, a student should be familiar with the following
terms:
Nostra Aetate, Deicide, conditioned/unconditioned reality, myth, doctrine,
sect, cult, atheist, agnostic, syncretism, perennial philosophy, sin, grace,
fundamentalism, orthodoxy, orthopraxy, Axial Age, mythos, logos,
exclusivist, inclusivist, pluralist, secularism, sacrament, religion,
spirituality
RESOURCES:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
Excerpt from Stephen Prothero’s God is not One
Excerpt from Many Peoples, Many Faiths
“Will Catholics Be Lonely in Heaven?” (US Catholic Sept. 2001)
Nostra Aetate, (Documents of Vatican II-Paul VI)
“Who is the Church?” (letter issued by Cardinal George July 2007)
Excerpt from Karen Armstrong The Battle for God
UNIT 2: HINDUISM (2.5 Weeks)
CONTENT
A) Basic concepts in Hinduism
B) The individual in Hindu thought
C) Paths to Moksha
D) Hindu Scripture
E) Hindu gods
F) India(Hinduism) in the Modern World
G)Hinduism according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
SKILLS: At the end of this unit, the student should be able to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
G)
H)
Explain the difference between the Hindu notion of time and a Christian
one.
Identify the stages of life(ashramas) and an individual’s role(svadharma)
in society according to Hindu thought
Distinguish between three different types of yoga(margas).
Identify several of the most significant Hindu gods.
Be able to identify and describe some Sacred texts in Hinduism
Identify some other religions which originate in India and their founders
Be able to explain the origins of Hindu/Muslim tensions
Summarize Hinduism according to Prothero and Wach’s models
UNIT TWO TERMS:At the end of this unit, a student should be familiar with the
following terms:
:
samsara, karma, dharma, moksha, svadharma, rita, Laws of
Manu,Patanjai, Yoga Sutras, varnas, brahmins, kshatriyas, vaisyas,
shudras, harijans, jati, ashramas, sannyasin, asceticism, kama, artha, guru,
shruti, smirit, Sanskrit, mantra, murti, puja, maya, samskaras,
yoga(marga), karma yoga, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, Advaita Vedanta,
Shankara, Vedas, Rig Veda, soma, Brahman, Upanishads,
Atman,Mahabarata, Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna, Krishna, Ramayana,Lakshmi,
Ganesh,kalpa, lokas, avatar, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, OM, monism,
pantheism, panentheism, Gandhi, Ramakrishna, ahimsa, satyagraha,
Sikhism, Jainism, Guru Nanak, Mahavira, Ramakrishna
RESOURCES:
A)
B)
Video:Religions of the World-Hinduism
Excerpts from The Katha Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita
UNIT 3: BUDDHISM (2.5 WEEKS)
CONTENT
A) The Story of the Buddha
B) Similarities/differences between Hinduism and Buddhism
C) The Four Noble Truths/Basic Buddhist Concepts
D) Branches of Buddhism
E) Buddhism according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
SKILLS: At the end of this unit, the student should be able to
A) Give a brief summary of the life of Siddhartha Gautama and significant
figures/events/people from his life.
B)
Explain some of the similarities and differences between Buddhism and
Hinduism
C) Be able to identify and give a brief explanation of:
1) The Three Marks of Existence
2) The Three Jewels
3) The Four Sights
4) The Four Noble Truth
D) Explain some of the similarities/differences between Siddhartha and Jesus
Christ
E) Explain some of the differences about how the Buddhist Precepts differ from
the Decalogue
F) Explain some of the differences between the two main branches of Buddhism
G)Summarize Buddhism according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
UNIT 3 TERMS: At the end of this unit, the student should be familiar with the following
terms:
Buddhism, Maya, Sudhodhanna, Asita, Buddha,Maya, Yasodhara, Rahula, Mara, The
Four Sights, asceticism,The Middle Way, jatakas, Deer Park, Sarnath, The Three Jewels,
Five Ascetics, Shakyamuni, dharma, sangha,Cundra, nirvana,The Three Marks of
Existence, anicca, anatta, dukkha, skandhas, The Five Precepts, The Four Noble Truths,
tanha, nirodha, magga, arhat, bodhisattva, Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, mandalas,
mudras, mantras, Tripitaka
RESOURCES
A) Little Buddha (video)
UNIT 4:JUDAISM (2.5 WEEKS)
CONTENT
A)Review Biblical History of the Jewish People
B)Brief History of Jewish people from destruction of Second Temple
C) Hebrew Scripture/Sacred Stories
D) Jewish Holy Days
E) Jewish practices
F) Judaism according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
SKILLS
A) Identify some of the major events and significant figures in Jewish history
from Biblical times until the present.
B) Identify the concept of Torah in its’ narrow and broad sense and have a basic
grasp of how the Hebrew Scripture came to be according to the historical-critical
method of scholarship
C) Be able to identify some basic Jewish beliefs and practices
D) Be able to identify significant Jewish Holy Days
E) Summarize Judaism according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
UNIT 4 TERMS: At the end of this unit, the student should be familiar with the following
terms/figures/dates:
Creation, Patriarchs, Covenant, Shema, Promised Land, Dead Sea Scrolls, Chosen
People, idolatry, Temple, Ark, Holy of Holies, Exodus, Exile, Hellenization, Diaspora,
Tanak, Torah, Zohar, mysticism, neviim, ketuvim, Documentary Hypothesis, Messiah,
Mishna, Talmud, Midrash, rabbi, synagogue, mitzvot, halakah, aggadah, tikkun olam,
tishuvah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Tabernacles, Passover, Pentecost, Hanukkah,
menorah, Purim, Sabbath, circumcision, bar/bat mitzvah, huppah, kosher, mezuzah,
Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Zionism, Hasidism, Kabbalah, Holocaust, Nostra
Aetate, shofar
Prominent Figures in Jewish History:
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Ishmael, Hagar, Rebekah, Jacob(Israel), Rachel, Leah, Joseph,
Moses, Joshua, Saul Samuel, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Hillel,
Johannon ben Zakkai, Simon bar Kochba, Moses de Leon, Moses Maimonides, Ba’al
Shem Tov
Be able to give an approximate timeline of the following events:
Abraham’s call, Exodus, Monarchy, kingdom split, Assyrian conquest, Babylonian Exile
and its’ end, Alexander’s conquest, Maccabean revolt, destruction of 2nd Temple, bar
Kochba revolt, modern State of Israel established
RESOURCES:
A)
Kingdom of David(video-parts 3/4)
UNIT 5:CHRISTIANITY (2.5 WEEKS)
CONTENT
A) The Life and Times of Jesus
B) The Christian Scriptures-its’ divisions and origins
C) The Four Gospels
D) Early Christian History
E) Branches of Christianity
F) The Role of the Saints in Christian History
G) Christianity according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
SKILLS
A) Identify some basic demographic information about Christianity in the world
and especially Catholicism
B) Have a basic understanding of the life and times of Jesus and the competing
religious groups of his day within Judaism.
C) Be able to distinguish some basic differences in both the composition and
interpretation of Scripture from a Catholic Christian/non-Catholic Christian
perspective.
D)Have a basic understanding of some of the similarities/differences in the four
Gospels and some of the different types of Biblical criticism modern scholars
utilize
E) Explain basic differences between the branches of Christianity
F) Be able to place some key events in Christian history using the timeline below
G) Be able to identify some of the early martyrs and other significant figures from
the two videos on the Passion of the Saints.
H) Summarize Christianity according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
UNIT 5 TERMS: At the end of this unit, the student should be familiar with the following
terms/people/places:
Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots, doctrines, denominations, blasphemy, Apostles,
Gentile, council, Constantine, Edict of Milan, Council of Jerusalem, Counsel of Nicea,
Council of Trent, Luther, Henry VIII, John Calvin, Second Vatican Council, martyr,
kerygma, didache, pope, patriarchates, pope, Crusades, monk, transubstantiation,
apocalyptic, Magisterium, Tradition, canon, deuterocanonical, apocrypha, apologetics,
Creed, heresy, orthodoxy, Incarnation, Original Sin, concupiscence, Christ, Trinity, sin,
grace, salvation, resurrection, icon, Church Fathers, Gnosticism, Arianism, Great Schism,
Advent, Lent, Triduum, Sacraments, synoptic gospels, Septuagint, Orthodox, Protestant,
Catholic, Filioque
Be able to give an approximate timeline for the following events:
birth of Jesus, Council of Jerusalem, Paul’s letters written, Edict of Milan, Council of
Nicaea, Great Schism, Luther’s 95 Thesis, Henry VIII Act of Supremacy, Council of
Trent, Vatican II
Be able to identify the following saints/holy people/important figures in Christian history:
Paul, Stephen, Polycarp, Perpetua and Felicity, Sebastian, Nero, Maximilian Kolbe,
Thomas Beckett, Joan of Arc, Anthony of Egypt, Augustine, Simeon Stylites, Catherine
of Siena, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, St. John Brebeuf, Teresa of Avila, John of
the Cross
RESOURCES
A) The Passion of the Saints Parts I and II(Video The Learning Channel)
UNIT 6:ISLAM (2.5 WEEKS)
CONTENT
A) The Life and Times of Muhammed
B) The Qur’an
C) Basic Theological Concepts in Islam
D) The Five Pillars
E) Branches of Islam
F) Islam according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
SKILLS:
A) Be able to give some basic information about the demography of Islam in the 21st
century
B) Have a basic understanding of the life and times of Muhammed
C) Be able to explain a Muslim worldview as it relates to God, Creation, Human
Beings, and Final Judgment
D) Explain some of the similarities/differences between Muhammed and Jesus and
how they are viewed in their respective religions
E) Explain some of the similarities/differences between how Muslims view the
Qur’an and Catholics view the Bible
F) Explain some of the differences between the branches of Islam and their historical
origins.
G) Explain some of the origins of the resurgence in Islam over the past half century.
H) Summarize Islam according to Prothero’s and Wach’s models
UNIT 6 TERMS: At the end of this unit, the student should be familiar with the following
terms:
Islam, Muslim, Kab’ah, al-Lah, Quraysh, el-Amin, Abu Talib, Khadija, Waraqah, Ali,
Abu Bakr, Husayn, Saladin, Mecca, Muhammed, Ishmael, Medina, Jerusalem, Dome of
the Rock, Mt. Hira, Gabriel, ilm, Yathrib(Medina),Plain of Arafat, Hijra, ummah, jihad,
ghaflah, Qur’an, surah, People of the Book, Hadith, sunnah, Night Journey, The Five
Pillars, mosque, fatwah, shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm, Ramadan, hajj, Dhu-al –Hijah,
Sunni, Shia, caliph, Sufism,shaykh, imam, Imam, Wahhbism, shar’ia, jahiliyyah, Sayid
Qutb
RESOURCES
A)
B)
C)
Secrets of the Qur’an (History Channel)
The Hajj (Prentice Hall)
Excerpts from the Qur’an
ASSESSMENT: Will occur through reflective assignments and papers(both short and
long), quizzes, class discussions, tests, and a two part final exam. Students will also be
offered the opportunity to further explore topics introduced in class by attending lectures
at local colleges (Dominican University and Elmhurst College) and then writing brief
reflections on the lectures.