Religion Week 1

Week 1

Discussion:

Submita Discussion post of 250 words, summarizing the course text’s definition for the term religious marketplace and then provide your own definition of religion based on what you have read with regard to the major resemblances between religions. In addition, compare aspects of your own experience with religion against the definition you provided. Finally, evaluate whether your society includes elements of the religious marketplace. Include at least one specific example that exemplifies whether or not your society functions as a religious marketplace.

Support the information you present in your Discussion post by making at least 2 references, in proper APA format, to your course readings.

Assignment: Reflection: Religious Conviction in Action

In our modern, digital world, the way we understand and talk about religious issues has changed. Though religion is still defined by belief systems and social expectations, the way these beliefs should play in life looks different today than it did in decades past. Communication between individuals from vastly different cultures now happens instantaneously. We can share ideas related to science, politics, and religion with an immediacy that can present interesting challenges to our individual worldview.

For this week’s Reflection, watch the three TED Talks from prominent figures (located in this week’s Resources). Each video presents a specific religious topic in a way that reflects contemporary considerations.

Submit a 1-page Reflection paper in which you identify the main religious idea from one of the videos and then discuss how that idea is shaped by a consideration that is not religious. As you write, consider the following:

·         In what way does the globalization of communication affect the way we understand religion as a culture?

·         How do the ideas in each of the videos relate to your own religious identity?

·         How have actions and/or events in your own life challenged “traditional” ways of thinking about religion?

Learning Resources

Be sure that you do the following as early in the first week as possible:

• Read the Course Introduction.
• Read and print out the Syllabus.
• Save and print the Final Project, Discussion, and Reflection Rubrics in the Course Information area.
• If any of your texts are missing, incorrect, or damaged, please contact MBS Direct Customer Service by calling toll free 1-800-325-3252, or sending an e-mail to .

Required Readings

Kurtz, L. R. (2016). Gods in the global village: The world’s religions in sociological perspective (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Chapter 1, “Religious Life in the Global Village”

o    “Tools of the Trade” (pp. 9–23)

o    “Major Themes in the Sociology of Religion” (pp. 42–44)

• Chapter 2, “A Sociological Tour: Turning East”

o    “Types of Religious Traditions” (pp. 46–53)

Document: Course Project Overview and Guidelines (PDF)

Required Media

Christian Universities Online. (2015). Top 10 TED Talks on religion. Retrieved from http://www.christianuniversitiesonline.org/top-10-ted-talks-on-religion/

• From this website, review A Life of Purpose (2006) by Rick Warren. Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 21 minutes.
• From this website, review Let’s Teach Religion—All Religion—in Schools (2006) by Dan Dennett. Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 25 minutes.
• From this website, review Science Can Answer Moral Questions (2010) by Sam Harris. Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 23 minutes.