THST 680 Comparative Theology

 

Location: Marywood Retreat Center
Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:00 pm

Professor:

Amir Hussain
Office: University Hall, Room 3724
Phone: (310) 338-5987 (or Department of Theological Studies at 338-7670)
Fax: (310) 338-1947
Email: amir.hussain@lmu.edu
Web Page: http://myweb.lmu.edu/ahussain/
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 3:00 to 4:15 pm in the Marywood Library and by appointment

Course Description:

The realities of religious diversity cannot be ignored. Increasingly, people live, work, and pray alongside persons of many faith traditions. It is therefore essential to learn how to negotiate this reality: theologically, ethically, and spiritually. This course will introduce graduate students to the study of comparative theology. The first part of the course will be an introduction to Asian American theology. Only after we look within the Christian tradition will we then move to the study of comparative theology. Given the nature of this course for the Diocese of Orange, we will focus on Buddhism and Islam. This will involve some primary work on world religions, as well as work in comparative theology. The final part of the course will involve students in the course directing the discussion to issues that are important to them in the integration seminar.

Student Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course students will: 1) demonstrate knowledge of the principles and practice of comparative theology; 2) demonstrate that they have the ability to interpret texts and other cultural phenomena (such as rituals, myths, architecture) that have religious presuppositions or implications; 3) demonstrate that they will think both empathetically and critically about conflicting religious claims; and 4) through class participation and written assignments have improved their verbal and written skills.

“Rather, his example —what he lived, taught, recommended, and inspired— was to stay firmly grounded in one’s own tradition (not dogmatically, but honestly, openly), and, from there, to reach across to those in other traditions —to speak to them, to love them, to celebrate life’s personal plurality. To be bettered, not lessened, by differences”.
—Brian Cantwell Smith on his father, 2000

Required Texts:

Peter C. Phan, Christianity with an Asian Face: Asian American Theology in the Making. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003.

James L. Fredericks, Faith Among Faiths: Christian Theology and Non-Christian Religions. New York: Paulist Press, 1999.

Amir Hussain, Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God. Kelowna: Copper House, 2006.

Additional Readings Supplied by the Professor.

Evaluation:

It is important for each student to know at the outset that this course requires daily reading, two book reviews, a research project and seminar participation and presentation. Moreover, regular class attendance and participation are required. Clear, grammatically correct composition and standard spelling are expected on all written assignments. Written assignments should be proofread and edited before being submitted for grading.

Information on the book reviews and the research project (which will be either a research paper or a constructive project on a topic of the student’s choice, in consultation with the professor) is given below. Regular attendance and timely handing-in of the written assignments are mandatory. The dates for handing-in each assignment are given below. Active class participation will positively affect the student’s final grade. More than one unexcused absence during the semester will negatively affect the student’s grade. The University’s grading policy, including the plus/minus system, will be used. The University’s policy on Academic Dishonesty will be followed in this course.

Grades will be determined as follows:

15% A review of not more than 5 pages on the Phan book.
15% A review of not more than 5 pages on the Fredericks book.
40% A research paper or constructive project of not more than 20 pages.
30% Seminar participation and presentation.

“Normally persons talk about other people’s religions as they are, and about their own as it ought to be”.
—Wilfred Cantwell Smith, 1962

Schedule of Classes:

Aug. 26: “Too much heaven on their minds”. Introductions. What are we doing in this course and why? Methodological issues in this course. READING: Photocopied handouts: “An Accidental Theologian” by Amir Hussain; “The Comparative Study of Religion” by Wilfred Cantwell Smith.

Sept. 2: Other voices, other rooms or “In my Father’s house are many mansions”. Introducing Asian American theology. Information on seminar projects. Migration and Liberation Theologies. READING: Christianity With an Asian Face, Chapters 1 to 3.

Sept. 9: Inculturation and Asian American theology. READING: Christianity With an Asian Face, Chapters 4 to 7.

Sept. 16: Ecclesia in Asia. READING: Christianity With an Asian Face, Chapters 8 to 11. Presentation by Fr. Thomas Michel, SJ. Fr. Michel, an American Jesuit of the Indonesian province, is a Woodstock International Fellow at Georgetown University. He received his PhD in Islamic thought from the University of Chicago in 1978. Since 1994, he has served as Executive Secretary of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. From 1996-2008, he was Director of the Jesuit Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue in Rome, Italy.

Sept. 23: Presentation (at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church) by Fr. Peter Phan. Fr. Phan is the Ignacio Ellacuria Professor of Catholic Social Thought in the Theology Department of Georgetown University. The first non-Anglo to be elected as President of the Catholic Theological Society of America, he is the world’s pre-eminent Vietnamese American theologian.

Sept. 30: Book Review Due on Christianity with an Asian Face. Comparative theology. Asian religions. READING: Faith Among Faiths, Introduction, Chapters 1 to 3.

Oct. 7: Asian religions continued. Pluralism and interfaith dialogue. READING: Faith Among Faiths, Chapters 4 to 6.

Oct. 14: Interfaith dialogue continued. READING: Faith Among Faiths, Chapters 7 and 8.

Oct. 21: Book Review Due on Faith Among Faiths. Field Trip to the Islamic Society of Orange County. Islam and Muslims. READING: Oil and Water, Chapters 1 to 5.

Oct. 28: No class meeting due to Bellarmine Forum. All students are invited to encourage and attend any events during the Forum.

Nov. 4: No class meeting due to Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion.

Nov. 11: Muslims and interfaith dialogue. READING: Oil and Water, Chapters 6 to 10.

Nov. 18: Research or Constructive Project Due. Seminar Presentations.

Nov. 25: Seminar Presentations.

Dec. 2: Integration Paper for THST 675 Due. Seminar Presentations.

Book Reviews

Maximum length: 1250 words (5 typed double-spaced pages)

Due Date:

Tuesday, Sept. 30, in class for Christianity with an Asian Face

Tuesday, Oct. 21, in class for Faith Among Faiths

The assignment is to read and critically review the first two books assigned for the course, Christianity with an Asian Face, and Faith Among Faiths. You are required to read and review both books in their entirety.

You should spend no more than the first two pages of your review summarizing the contents of the book. In this section, you could discuss what the authors talk about, and what they do not discuss. As an example, what elements in the book are treated with priority and privilege? What is required in this section is more than just a simple synopsis of the book. Instead, you should give an accurate and balanced description of the book’s relevant content.

The next section of the review should consist of your critical reflections on the book. What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses? Again, as an example, you might discuss the language that the authors use, and what this has to say about inclusivity, or their understanding of the role(s) of women, children and men. Remember that this review should be a contribution to scholarly discussion and, therefore, be free of purely personal polemic. In this section, you may also wish to examine the theoretical framework used by the respective authors, and how that framework leads to the work that they have written.

Finally, you should have a conclusion in which you discuss the impact of the book for comparative theology in particular and pastoral theology in general. This conclusion could take any number of directions. For example, you might wish to discuss what the authors presume about the nature and function of theology.

You may wish to consult this guide to critical reviews.

A percentage of the grade for the report will be based on style and presentation, taking into account such factors as language, usage, grammar, spelling, etc. Please consult the grading standards outline before you begin your report. Any paper that is plagiarised will, at minimum, receive a grade of zero.

Research or Constructive Project

Length: 15 to 20 typed double-spaced pages

Due: Tuesday, November 18, in class

The research project should be on a topic of your own choosing, that I have approved. It allows you to explore an area of interest in greater detail than is given in either the readings or the class. What follows are examples of suggested areas that you might work into a project. Once you have an area of interest, or a specific topic, speak to me about it, as I may be able to help with references.

Many of you will write a traditional research paper. Details of that are given below. However, you may wish to do a different project more directly relevant to your interests. So someone might want to do a series of lesson plans for a school, or develop a series of talks or workshops for parish ministry.

The project will be graded largely on its content, but 20% of the total grade will depend on the form. Please consult the grading standards outline before you begin your project. In evaluating the form of the traditional research paper, I will take into account such things as spelling, punctuation, grammar, word precision, style, and adequate referencing (notes and bibliography). In evaluating the content of the project, I will take into account such things as precision of topic, organization and clarity of presentation, extent and use of sources, depth and breadth of analysis, and accuracy of analysis. Your grade will not depend on whether or not I agree with your hypothesis, but on how well you argue and support your hypothesis.

Be aware that either option involves research, and so you will need to document the claims that you make. I am interested in your opinions, but you must support your opinions with references to the scholarly literature. You are welcome to use the Internet, but make sure to reference all sites (with the complete URL) that you use. Any project that is plagiarised will, at minimum, receive a grade of “F”.

You may wish to consult this web guide to writing papers in the study of religion.

Examples of Possible Areas:

  • Interfaith marriage
  • Ethnographic profiles of your parishioners and how this relates to comparative theology
  • Muslim-Christian or Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
  • Educating students of diverse religious backgrounds
  • Theories or models for comparative theology
  • Preaching the gospel in all the lands: Evangelization and comparative theology

THST 675: Pastoral Theology Integration Seminar

Integration Seminar Paper:

The goal of the pastoral theology integration seminar is that students are exposed to a new way of a) integrating the course material from the 3 unit course and b) “translating” or communicating it to the people they serve through either proposing or actually implementing some practice that will inform the people (through teaching, or ritual, etc.).

Students will be assigned a paper of up to five pages to propose a way to “use” the insights from the course, field trips, and the visiting experts’ material in their pastoral setting (parish, school, etc.) where they minister. This paper should include a) what students will do (i.e., a series in the parish, a day long retreat for the school faculty, a lecture series for the professional staff of the parish or hospital, a cyber-program like Blackboard) AND b) why they will do this in this way. It is hoped that the “integration” happens inside students with a view to eventually integrating the insights into their ministry. This seminar will be graded on a credit/no credit basis.