Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
HUMID010.
Course Title (CB02)
Global Religious Perspectives: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This is a historically grounded and contemporary focused examination of the religious elements and experiences essential to the formation of the western worldview. Ancient and current perspectives from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle-East, and Oceania will be important, while Judaism, Christianity, and Islam will be the central focus.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is transferable to CSU and UC, meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSU GE, and IGETC, and is an option for students working towards the Humanities Certificate of Achievement. This course provides students with an opportunity to examine the three Abrahamic traditions over time and across geography.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC2°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC2CSU GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3BIGETC Area 3B - HumanitiesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class essays

In-class exploration of Internet sites

In-class analysis of readings, videos, or presentations

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Homework and extended projects

Field trips

Guest speakers

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Collaborative projects

Assignments

  1. Reading assignments, such as the following
    1. Research of primary sources
    2. Critical reading of required texts and other secondary sources
    3. Current newspaper, magazine, and internet articles
  2. Writing assignments, such as the following:
    1. Written summaries of class readings or journal assignments
    2. A research or term paper, using Internet and other sources
    3. Argument papers dealing with current and controversial issues
    4. Reflective or reaction papers
  3. Creative productions, such as:
    1. Producing a video, CD, or DVD on a given project
    2. Creating art, music, dance, ritual, masks, totems, myths, or symbols
  4. Oral assignments, such as:
    1. In-class speech or oral presentation.
    2. Small group research and presentation.
    3. Classroom debate or discussion.
  5. Collaborative assignments, such as the following:
    1. Group presentations.
    2. Group research assignments.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Short quizzes, mid-term exams, participation in study groups, and a final exam that evaluates the students' mastery of course objectives, including: analysis of the complexities within each tradition and the historical evolution of each tradition; the accurate organization of terminology; critique of the specific social-historical context that led to the distinct major branches within each tradition; evaluation of major events and key figures; comparison and contrast of the nature of long-term and recent conflicts between and among the different religions; and critical examination of comparisons between and among the different traditions,etc.
  2. Essays and research will be evaluated on a demonstration of critical thinking abilities to identify, explain, analyze, interpret, compare and contrast the concepts, processes, and interrelationships of the course objectives.
  3. Coherence (linked sentences and paragraphs) and accuracy (responses exactly on the question or issue) will be used to evaluate writing in relation to demonstrated mastery of the course objectives.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Armstrong, Karen. "A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam", New York: Ballantine Books, 1994.
Carmody, D.L. and Brink, T.L. "Ways to the Center: An Introduction to World Religions", 7th edition. Belmont, CA., Wadsworth, 2013.
*Molloy, Michael. "Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change", 8th edition. Boston, Mass., McGraw Hill, 2020.
Smith, Huston. "The World's Religions", New York, NY, HarperOne, 2009.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Ahmed, L., "Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots to a Modern Debate". New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
Al-Rasheed, Madawi and Marat Shtein, "Dying for Faith: Religiously Motivated Violence". New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. LTD., 2009.
Buehrens, John A. and Rebecca Ann Parker, "A House for Hope: The Promise of Progressive Religion for the Twenty-First Century". Boston: Beacon Press, 2010.
Campbell, J., "The Hero With a Thousand Faces". New York: Bollinger, 1949.
Awad, Najib George, "Orthodoxy in Arabic Terms: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--Tensions, Transmission, Transformation". Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015.
Castelli, Elizabeth A. and Rosamond C. Rodman, editors. "Women, Gender, Religion: A Reader". New York: Palgrave, 2001.
Brague, Remi and Lydia G. Cochrane, "The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam". Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Erlewine, Robert, "Monotheism and Tolerance: Recovering a Religion of Reason". Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010.
Chilton, Bruce D., Alan J. Avery-Peck, Seymour Feldman, "Religious Foundations of Western Civilization: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam". Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006.
Dirks, Jerald, "The Abrahamic Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Similarities and Contrasts". Beltsville: Amana Publications, 2005.
Firestone, Reuven, "Who Are the Real Chosen People: The Meaning of Chosenness in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam". Woodstock: SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2008.
Eifring, Halvor, "Meditation in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Cultural Histories". London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.
Hopkins, Dwight N., "Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion". Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005.
Jenkins, John Philip, "Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 years". New York: Harper Collins, 2010.
Lewis, Bernard and Buntzie Ellis Churchill, "Islam: The Religion and the People". Upper Saddle River: Wharton School Publishing, 2009.
Spencer, Robert, "Not Peace But a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam". San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2013.
Fine, Jonathan, "Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: From Holy War to Modern Terror". Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015.
Kilpatrick, William, "Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for The Soul of the West". San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012.
Kimball, Charles, "When Religion Becomes Lethal: The Explosive Mix of Politics and Religion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam". San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011.
Levenson, Jon D., "Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam". Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.
Lovat, Terry and Robert Crotty, "Reconciling Islam, Christianity, and Judaism: Islam's Special Role in Restoring Convivencia". New York: Springer, 2015.
Nirenberg, David, "Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Middle Ages and Today". Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Onfray, Michel, "Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam". New York: Arcade Publishing, 2011.
White, L. Michael, "Scripting Jesus: The Gospels in Rewrite". New York: Harper One, 2010.
Wright, Robert, "The Evolution of God". New York: Hachette Book Group, 2009.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Categorize and evaluate the key terms and perspectives in Religious Studies such as the following:
  • Analyze and examine the religious elements found in human life and in the major sources that have aided with the formation of the Western worldview. For example:
  • Compare and contrast the religious traditions on the subjects of experience, myth, symbol, ritual, doctrine, ethics, history, created world, and authority by focusing on issues such as the following:
  • Compare and contrast the diversity and denominations within each religious tradition such as the following:
  • Analyze, evaluate, and compare how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have influenced and been influenced by gender, class race, ethnicity, sexuality and cultural diversity. For example:
  • Analyze, evaluate, and compare how historical forces continue to inform contemporary Jewish, Christian, and Islamic social and political issues and conflicts

CSLOs

  • Students synthesize their critical thinking, imaginative, cooperative, and empathetic abilities as whole persons in order to contextualize knowledge, interpret and communicate meaning, and cultivate their capacity for personal, as well as social change.

  • Students will facilitate understanding between persons of various religious traditions.

  • Students will critique the complexities within each religious tradition in order to engage others in meaningful dialogue regarding values and controversies.

Outline

  1. Categorize and evaluate the key terms and perspectives in Religious Studies such as the following:
    1. The difference between studying a Religion and Religious practice
    2. Religious Studies as a Humanity
    3. The multidisciplinary character of Religious Studies (History, Archeology, Art, Architecture, Anthropology, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Theology)
    4. Dimensions of Religious Studies (pluralistic, structured empathy, multicultural, multiracial and ethnic, comparative, analytic, interpretive)
    5. Meaning and truth of myth, art, symbol, ritual, mystery, music, magic, and sacred, as terms applied in Religious Studies
  2. Analyze and examine the religious elements found in human life and in the major sources that have aided with the formation of the Western worldview. For example:
    1. Early tribal religious traditions in Asia, Europe, Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, and Africa and their role in understanding the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
    2. Ideas of the sacred/profane, birth/rebirth, gods/goddesses, cosmos/history, rituals/myths, prophets/prophetesses, sacred time and space, polytheism/monotheism
    3. Syncretism in Religious Studies and its role in understanding the comparative relationships between tribal religions and Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
  3. Compare and contrast the religious traditions on the subjects of experience, myth, symbol, ritual, doctrine, ethics, history, created world, and authority by focusing on issues such as the following:
    1. Similarities and differences among the religious traditions: nature/cosmic, historical/moral, sacramental/metaphysical, aesthetic/liturgical, mystical/poetic
    2. Monotheism in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    3. History and myth in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    4. Major religious figures in Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    5. Ritual and worship in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    6. Explanations of religious experience in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    7. Doctrinal issues in Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    8. The meaning of the created world in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    9. The role and locus of authority/power in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    10. Religious ethics in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    11. Intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality in Tribal, Ancient, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
  4. Compare and contrast the diversity and denominations within each religious tradition such as the following:
    1. Judaism: history (biblical period: Patriarchs, Moses, Canaan, Kingdoms, Prophets, Exiles, Return, Diaspora), Rabbinic tradition, post-holocaust period
    2. Jewish denominations: Conservative, Hasidism, Humanistic, Orthodox, Reconstructed, Reform, Secular
    3. Christianity: history (New Testament period, Apostolic age), Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, post-reformation
    4. Christian denominations: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglo-Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, etc
    5. Islam: history: Arabia before Muhammed, Early Islam, Ottoman Empire, modern and contemporary Islam
    6. Islamic denominations: Sunni, Shiite, Sufi
    7. Spirituality versus the specificity of any one Religious practice
  5. Analyze, evaluate, and compare how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have influenced and been influenced by gender, class race, ethnicity, sexuality and cultural diversity. For example:
    1. The perception, by many, that Judaism and Christianity (Judeo-Christian heritage) are the major contributors to the sources of classical Western culture - Islam is typically excluded, why?
    2. The significance of gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality and cultural diversity within the historical and contemporary Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions
    3. Dialogue of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with/about science, Eastern Religions and culture, modernity, freedom, economics, class, social justice, authority, religious pluralism, and feminist critiques
  6. Analyze, evaluate, and compare how historical forces continue to inform contemporary Jewish, Christian, and Islamic social and political issues and conflicts
    1. Social and political historical issues and conflicts that continue to locally and globally arise between and among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
    2. Economic, environmental, and geographical issues and conflicts that continue to locally and globally arise between and among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
    3. Examine the shared and distinct cultural heritages that inform both the local and global issues and conflicts that arise between and among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
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