Understanding and Engaging Religious Diversity

Course Description and Goals:

Through reading, discussions, multi-media presentations, and site-visits, students will be guided toward gaining (or improving) an understanding of America’s current religious landscape, a conceptual grounding in the beliefs and practices of a number of America’s religions, some awareness of the internal diversity of these religions, and strategies for engaging this diversity—including an opportunity to clarify and articulate one’s own theological/philosophical position on the fact of religious manyness. Enrollees in this course will automatically become participants in Hartford Seminary’s annual Religious Diversity Leadership Workshop; lunch- and dinnertimes are part of its collaborative methodology. Students will also explore a variety of forms and methods of leadership in religiously plural contexts. During the seminar week, students will be guided in a personal assessment of their current understanding of America’s religious diversity, and (in conversation with the instructor) will develop a plan for self-guided field work after the conclusion of the workshop.

Assessment:

Grades will be based on:

Class presentations/participation in class discussion (20%)

Short reflection papers (5 – 10 pages each) (20%)

a. Learnings from Trouble in Troy, A New Religious America and Belonging, in light of seminar experiences

b. Personal theology/philosophy of religious manyness (Berthrong may be helpful here)

            Book review of one item on the recommended reading list (5 – 10 pages) (10%)

Completion of and report on self-guided field work (50%)

All assignments should be submitted by 20 July 2012.

Required Reading:

**Trouble in Troy case study – available from Professor Mosher; to be read before Tuesday, June 5^th.

Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a “Christian Country” Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation. HarperCollins 2001.

Mosher, Lucinda. Faith in the Neighborhood: Belonging. Seabury 2005.

Berthrong, John H. Chapter Three of The Divine Deli: Religious Identity in the North American Cultural Mosaic. Orbis 1999.

Recommended Reading:

Anderson, Robert G. and Mary A. Fukuyama. Ministry in the Spiritual and Cultural Diversity of Healthcare: Increasing the Competency of Chaplains. Haworth Pastoral Press, 2004.

Bender, Courtney and Pamela E. Klassen, eds. After Pluralism: Reimagining Religious Engagement. Columbia University Press, 2010.

Bridgers, Lynn. Contemporary Varieties of Religious Experience. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005.

Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions, sixth edition. Prentice-Hall, 2005. [Required for students with no prior World Religions coursework.]

Graves, Joel Curtis. Leadership Paradigms in Chaplaincy. dissertation.com, 2007.

Grefe, Dagmar, Encounters for Change: Interreligious Cooperation in the Care of Individuals and Communities. Wipf & Stock, 2011.      

Matlins, Stuart M. and Arthur J. Magida, eds. How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook, 5th edition. SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2010.

Mays, Rebecca Kratz, ed. Interfaith Dialogue at the Grass Roots. Ecumenical Press, 2008.

McCarthy, Kate. Interfaith Encounters in America. Rutgers University Press, 2007.

Mosher, Lucinda. Faith in the Neighborhood: Praying: Rituals of Faith. Seabury, 2006.

Steinkerchner, Scott. Beyond Agreement: Interreligious Dialogue amid Persistent Differences. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010.

Wuthnow, Robert. America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity. Princeton University Press, 2005, 2007.

Tentative Schedule (the content may shift; the daily beginning and ending times will hold):

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday