Course Description
This course introduces students to the main philosophical ideas involved in major world religions. Some of the following topics will be considered: what religion is, the problem of evil, the nature of mysticism, various concepts of God, types of considerations for accepting spiritual reality, the relation between reason and faith, comparison of eastern and western approaches to religious existence, and an examination of sociological and psychological accounts of religious belief. Students will be encouraged to develop their own philosophical assessment of the issues covered.
Course Content
At least three of A, B, C, D or E
- What is Religion? (e.g., Aquinas, Augustine, Robinson, Bultman, Bonhoeffer, Freud, Marx, Durkheim, Dewey, Laing).
- Thinking About God
- The Idea of God (e.g., Pascal, Kierkegaard, Tillich, Russell, Wieman, Aquinas, Boethius, Anselm, Robinson)
- The Meaningfulness of Religious Language (e.g., Ayer, Berlin, Flew, Alston, Aquinas, Davies)
- The different conceptions of God (e.g., Atman, Bhraman, and Ultimate Reality).
- Considerations For The Existence of God – At Least Two In Depth.
- Ontological Argument, (e.g. Anselm, Gaunilo, Alston, Broad, Descartes, Kant, Schaffer, Malcolm, Hartshorne)
- Cosmological Argument, (e.g., Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Tennant)
- Teleological Argument, (e.g., Hume, Mill, Broad, Smart, Tennant, James)
- Problem of Evil, (e.g., Leibniz, Hume, Plantinga, Moore, Tennant)
- Religious and Mystical Experience, (e.g., Eckhart, Stace, H. Smith, James, Broad, Russell, Castenada, Scholem, Sri, Krisna Prem, Martin, Otto, Hick).
- Spirituality
- What are the Modern Spiritual Crises? (e.g., Heschel, Doestoyevski, Bierman, Tawney, Maslow, Cox)
- What is the Current Spiritual Revolution? (e.g., J. Needleman, A. Graham, B. Griffths, R. Woods, A.C.R. Skyner).
- One or More of the Following:
- Miracles and the Modern Worldview (e.g., Bultman, Hume, Holland, Broad, Swinburne)
- Life After Death (e.g., Plato, Quinton, Geach, Penelhum, Hume, Kant, Mctaggart, Price, Russell, Broad, Stevenson, Maritain, S.W. Sellars, Ducasse, Flew)
- Predestination, Divine Foreknowledge, and Human Freedom (e.g., Locke, Aristotle, Edwards, Boethius, Pike, Flew)
- Faith, Religion and Knowledge (e.g., Aquinas, Locke, James, Clifford, Nakhnikian, L.A. Reid, Kierkegaard, Tillich)
- Eastern Approaches to God and Religious Experience, Alternatives to Theism (e.g., Suzuki, Watts, Wieman, Sri Krisna Prem, Santayana)
- The Meaning of Life (e.g., Tillich, Taylor, Britton, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Comte).
Learning Activities
The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following: there will be a combination of lecture and discussion. Guest speakers may be invited. Students may be asked to present seminar reports. Discussion of the issues will be encouraged throughout the course.
Means of Assessment
Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.
An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:
| Tests, Quizzes and Short Assignments |
20% - 50% |
| Written Class Presentations, Essays, Essay Exams |
20% - 60% |
Instructor’s General Evaluation
(e.g., participation, attendance, homework,
improvement, extra credit, group work) |
0% - 20% |
Any combination of the following which equals 100%
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Identify and explain principal philosophical questions concerning religion.
- Demonstrate an acquaintance with the range of answers which have been provided for these questions.
- Compare and connect traditional and contemporary thinking on two or three of these questions.
- Apply fundamental techniques of logical analysis and construction to these questions.
Textbook Materials
Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples are:
- Kessler, G. Philosophy of Religion: Towards a Global Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1999.
- Peterson, M.; Hasker, W.; Reichenbach, B.; Basinger, D. Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
- Stairs, Allen; Bernard, Christopher. A Thinker’s Guide to the Philosophy of Religion. Pearson, 2007.