Center on Religion & the Professions

Improving religious literacy among professionals.

Romance languages

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About the discipline

Those with an understanding of Romance languages and the current social, business, political and economic climates of nations influenced by these languages are at an advantage when engaging in business or other professions in these regions.

Romance languages are descended from Latin, with more than 600 million native speakers worldwide, mainly in the Americas, Europe, and Africa, as well as in smaller regions scattered through the world. Knowledge of the practices, customs, languages and “intangibles” in areas where French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish are spoken is important in gaining an accurate interpretation of events in business, education and media.

The regions where these languages developed are influenced by a long history of religious events, from wars between Catholics and Protestants throughout Europe, the expulsion of Jews from France during World War II and Spain during the Spanish Inquisition, Muslim rule of Spain for several centuries, and the rise of Roman Catholicism that would eventually be based at the Vatican in Italy. Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, spread with Christianity throughout Europe, penetrating new lands and evolving into Romance languages we know today.

Language and religion: Fluency in Romance languages means being able to read influential works in their original texts, which can lead to a deeper understanding of philosophical and religious ideas. Examples include: Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy,” which was written in his native Italian. The account of the inferno, purgatory and paradise, based on a vision he claimed to have had in 1300, describes his travels through hell, purgatory and heaven. Dante’s vivid descriptions of the descent into hell and ascension to heaven have influenced religious thought and artistic interpretations for centuries.

French philosophers Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Michel Foucault offered more modern critiques of the search for truth and meaning, from existentialist or post-modernist views. In 1948, the Roman Catholic Church placed Sartre’s complete works on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (List of Prohibited Books). Their philosophies explored the search for a meaning of life, and – though they came to different conclusions – their questions are ones religions attempt to address as well.

Translations and influences: During the Protestant Reformation and with the rise of the printing press, the Bible was translated into vernacular languages so that regular people – not only priests or Church leadership – could read the texts. The first complete translation from the originals into Spanish was published in 1569; French in 1530; Italian in 1471; and Portuguese, beginning in 1644 and completed some 60 years later. These translations occurred during times of prosperity and colonization for these nations, which spread Christianity and its texts to the Americas, Africa and Asia. The influence of this colonization and Christian faith is evident today as both Christianity and Spanish are long established in Latin American countries. Mexico, for example, has the largest population of Spanish speakers in the world and is home to some 75 million Catholics.

In addition to Latin, the Spanish language was influenced by Arabic during the time of the Moors, who were Muslim and ruled Spain and much of the Iberian Peninsula, beginning in the year 711. Many places on the peninsula have names derived from Arabic, most commonly on the Eastern Coast and region of Andalusia in Spain and southern Portugal. Over the centuries, Spanish borrowed many words from Arabic, including: alcoba (alcove, room), alfombra (carpet), guitarra (guitar); alcazar (fortress), alcalde (mayor); asesino (assassin), tarifa (tariff, fee); arroz (rice), espinaca (spinach), naranja (orange), café (coffee); alcohol (alcohol), alkali (alkali), adobe (adobe), laca (lacquer); cero (zero), cifra (cipher, figure), álgebra (algebra), cénit (zenith); and expressions such as ojalá (“may it be that…”, originally “May Allah want…”). An estimated 5,000 words in Spanish are of Arabic origin. Many of these words, especially in the scientific field, were passed on to other languages, including English, which received most of them by way of French.

Issues today: Languages change and adapt to reflect the population and times in which they develop. They reflect their origin, as well as the blending of cultures that occurs when they move to new regions, such as French in the Caribbean, Spanish in much of Latin America and the Philippines, and Portuguese in Brazil. Understanding the history and foundation of Romance languages and how they developed leads to insight into cultures that is useful in today’s globally diverse socio-political, religious and business environment.

Articles

Books

  • Language, culture, and society: key topics in linguistic anthropology. Christine Jourdan and Kevin Tuite. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  • Converting Words: Maya in the Age of the Cross. William F. Hanks. University of California Press, 2010.
  • On the Latin Language. Marcus Terentius Varro (translated by R.G. Kent). Wm Heinemann Ltd., Harvard Univ. Press.
  • The Latin Language and Christianity. Paul Berry. Edwin Mellen Press, 2004.
  • Pray It in Latin, Louis Pizzuti. Lulu.com, 2006.
  • Reading French: A Guide for Students of Religion and Theology. K. Janet Ritch. Clements Publishing, 2006.
  • The politics of language: conflict, identity and cultural pluralism in comparative perspective. Carol L. Schmid. Oxford University Press US, 2001.
  • Remains of Arabic in the Spanish and Portugese Languages. Stephen Weston. Nabu Press, 2011.
  • Language, religion and national identity in Europe and the Middle East: a historical study. John Myhill. Jon Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006.
  • Monolingualism and bilingualism: lessons from Canada and Spain. Sue Wright. Multilingual Matters, 1996.
  • Local religion in colonial Mexico. Martin Austin Nesvig. UNM Press, 2006.
  • Rereading the Renaissance: Petrarch, Augustine and the Language of Humanism.Carol Everhart Quillen. University of Michigan Press, 1997.

Case studies

  • “Tradition and change in language and discourse: three case studies.” Southwest Journal of Linguistics, June 6, 2001.
  • “Global Knowledge-based Policy in Fragmented Societies: the case of curriculum reform in French-speaking Belgium” by Eric Mangez. European Journal of Education. Vol. 45, No. 1 (March 2010): 60-73.

Codes of ethics

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Syllabi

Religion

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About the discipline

Religion has shaped much in the way of world history on every continent, from the beginning of recorded time. It impacts the public and private lives of people around the world every day. The Center on Religion & the Professions focuses on improving religious literacy among professionals to help them serve an increasingly diverse public.

Religion has broad impacts on fields as diverse as agriculture, architecture, engineering, biology, business, media, community building, technology, economics, education, health, law, social work and public policy, as well as many academic disciplines.

Cultural impact: Religion is no longer the study of theology, but rather much larger in scope. This is not a new idea, because those interested in religion are responsible for many of the scientific advances in fields such as astronomy, philosophy, literature and other fields. On the other hand, mass media and academia are beginning to understand the notion that religion is not a stand-alone topic. Research in partnership with the Center can further that discussion, giving mass media and academic professionals access to original work that shows the role religion has played and continues to play in everyday life and global affairs.

Religion in the professions: There is growing demand for religious literacy among many professions. Understanding of historical and current religious beliefs and trends makes people from many walks of life better able to serve their clients, care for their patients or support their communities. There are growing opportunities in the fields of religion journalism and religion studies as more people seek greater depth of understanding of past and current issues.

There are also opportunities, both in religious and secular fields, for those who study religion or plan on going into a religious field. Their knowledge and experience will inform them as well as others in many avenues of personal and professional life.

Interdisciplinary work: The Center offers chances to link religious inquiry with those in other departments. Religion research can be combined with other disciplines to produce innovative research into how religion interacts with public life.

The Center’s affiliation with the School of Journalism gives researchers unique opportunities for study. Much of the work being done in journalism research utilizes MU’s PRIME lab to conduct research into how people cognitively and emotionally process media. The Center can help partner researchers to do unique studies to answer religious studies questions.

The Center’s partnership with the School of Journalism can also help link researchers to ways in which journalists can be better trained in religion, better perform their jobs, and increase public understanding of complex issues. The Center on Religion & the Professions is working on projects to improve the religious literacy of reporters by strengthening journalistic coverage of religion in the United States, as well as planning significant research about how the public views religion news coverage.

Religious Literacy: The Center believes that as America grows more religiously diverse, professionals need to better understand the religious traditions and beliefs of the public they serve.

To that end, the Center helps improve religious literacy of professionals by supporting groundbreaking research on how religion affects people and encouraging its use by the appropriate professionals. It provides resources and training programs to improve religious literacy, as well as the development and testing of curriculum to help achieve these aims. The Center presents public forums and discussions to improve professionals’ and the public’s understanding of religion.

The goal is to help educate people in workplaces and other public places of interaction to help them begin to understand better the people with whom they interact on a daily basis. Understanding the faiths that motivate and affect people is necessary for all citizens in a democracy that prizes its freedom of religion.

Professionals generally serve the public, require specialized knowledge and training, have ethical codes and often require some type of licensing. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, engineers, teachers, journalists, psychologists, clergy, social workers, veterinarians and other professionals share most of these qualities. But the Center defines professionals broadly and aims to teach about a variety of religions and traditions.

Current issues: Much of what occurs in the world today needs religious and historical background for better understanding. Conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of the world are based on factors that often have religious ties. Researchers can study the impact of religious knowledge on people’s perceptions of current events, or more deeply research past events to provide broader insight in the present day.

Researchers could track the influence of religion on historical development over time and map an arc for present religious influence on the future. They may study whether and to what degree religious beliefs impact choice of career or how that career is practiced; or the impact religious knowledge has on workplace satisfaction, communication and prosperity. They may be interested in interdisciplinary study in specific fields that are informed by religion.

Articles

  • “Ascetic Theology Before Asceticism? Jewish Narratives and the Decentering of the Self.” by R.A. Orsi. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol 74, No. 4 (2006): 902-25.
  • “Conversion Out of Islam: A Study of Conversion Narratives of Former Muslims.” M.H. Khalil and M. Bilici. Muslim World. Vol. 97, No. 1 (2007): 111-24.
  • “Culture: What Does One Do With It Now?” Catherine Bell. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. Vol. 18, No. 4 (2006):315-24.
  • “On Religious Ritual as Deference and Communicative Excess.” Stephan Feuchtwang. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. Vol. 13, No. 1 (2007): 57-72.
  • “Rage against the Divine.” David Lloyd. South Atlantic Quarterly. Vol. 106, No. 2 (2007): 345-72.
  • “Sociological Explorations: What is Religious Agency?” L.M. Lemin. Sociological Quarterly. Vol. 48, No. 1 (2007): 73-92.
  • “To Perform, or Not to Perform? A Theory of Ritual Performance Versus Cognitive Theories of Religious Transmission.” by R.A. Yelle. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. Vol. 18, No. 4 (2006): 372-91.
  • “When 2 + 2 = 5.” R.A. Orsi. American Scholar. Vol. 76, No. 2 (2007): 34-43.

Books

  • Boundaries: A Casebook in Environmental Ethics (Second Edition). Christine E. Gudorf and James E. Huchingson. Georgetown University Press, 2010.
  • Catholic Moral Theology in the United States: A History. Charles E. Curran. Georgetown University Press, 2008.
  • Common Ground: Islam, Christianity, and Religious Pluralism. Paul L. Heck. Georgetown University Press, 2009.
  • Ethics in Light of Childhood. John Wall. Georgetown University Press, 2010.
  • Faith and Force: A Christian Debate about War. David L. Clough and Brian Stinter. Georgetown University Press, 2007.
  • Family Ethics: Practices for Christians. Julie Hanlon Rubio. Georgetown University Press, 2010.
  • Theological Foundations for Environmental Ethics: Reconstructing Patristic and Medieval Concepts. Jame Schaefer. Georgetown University Press, 2009.

Codes of ethics

Journals

More links

Professional associations and faith groups

Recent research

  • Healey, Kevin. “The spirit of networks: new media and the changing role of religion in American public life.” Doctoral Dissertation, University of Illinois. 2011.
  • Moran, Gabriel. “Religious Education in United States’ States Schools.”International Handbook of Inter-Religous Education. Vol. 4, No. 1 (2010): 141-53.
  • Roux, Cornelia. “Religious and Human Rights Literacy as Prerequisite for Inter-religious Education.” International Handbook of Inter-Religious Education. Vol. 4, No. 4 (2010): 991-1015.
  • Skirbekk, Vegard; Eric Kaufmann and Anne Goujon. “Secularism, Fundamentalism, or Catholicism? The Religious Composition of the United States to 2043.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Vol. 49, No. 2 (June 2010): 239-310.
  • Volpi, Frederic. “Framing Civility in the Middle East: alternative perspectives on the state and civil society.” Third World Quarterly. Vol. 32, No. 5 (2011): 827-43.
  • Watson, Jacqueline. “Dialogue and conflict on religion: studies of classroom interaction in European countries.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality. Vol. 16, No. 1 (Apr. 2011): 59-60.

Syllabi

Psychology and psychiatry

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About the discipline

Psychiatry, psychology and religion all draw on long-held traditions of human thought and practice. Scientists, philosophers and theologians have sought for centuries to understand the ways in which humans attempt to comprehend and interact with their world and to give meaning to their lives.

Mental health and religion: Before psychology rose as a field of study, religious inquiry into thought and behavior tended to center on action and nature. Beliefs centered on people’s choice to be good or evil, that the Devil guided them toward bad behavior, or that God made them a particular way. Some felt, based on religious beliefs, that those who now might be diagnosed as mentally ill acted out because of demonic possession.

In the beginning of psychiatry, practitioners often dismissed the relation of religion. Sigmund Freud believed that faith itself is an irrational and illusory act, and that its practice becomes a compulsion neurosis. Still, he and others, such as William James, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Erich Fromm, were interested in the psychology of religion, the psychological study of religious experiences, beliefs and activities.

Research has shown that those who practice faith tend to report higher levels of happiness than those who don’t. This offers a large frontier for researchers to examine why and how this impacts people’s lives. With the established link between physical health and psychological well-being, the role religion plays in the latter might help demonstrate how religion can affect peoples’ physical health in positive ways. Researchers might also be able to discover the origins of religious delusions in patients with psychotic or manic episodes, whether this is linked to religious experience and how it has impacted religious narratives and beliefs.

Some research indicates that people experience faith in different ways, with different levels of religious fervor and patterns of religious practice, possibly with a biological basis. Understanding better what attracts certain people to religion, and what attracts them to certain types of religious experience, can be helpful in understanding the human mind.

Current research: Scientists have studied the brains of nuns, monks and others and noted that their brains are active in certain areas during intense religious experiences. Other studies have noted activity in particular brain areas while subjects are engaged in the spiritual practice of speaking in tongues. Though some religious scholars argue that such experiments merely record emotions and don’t fully understand religious experience, researchers say they could raise profound questions about the nature of God and the human soul.

Geneticist Dean H. Hamer claims in his book, “The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into our Genes” (2004) that he identified a set of genes that indicate higher “self-transcendence” ratings in people who have them, prompting him to argue that there is a biological basis – and genetic predisposition – for spiritual experience.

Biologist Richard Dawkins argues in his “The Selfish Gene” (30th-anniversary edition, 2006), that altruistic behaviors by humans (often tied in society to religious association and sense of community) are more related to genes that seek to help related organisms reproduce to replicate copies of themselves than true altruism. This theory goes on to surmise that genetically speaking, people develop community not out of a sense of connection with others or a supreme being, but to survive and pass on their genes.

The Center’s work: MU’s Center on Religion & the Professions is conducting cutting-edge work in the area of spirituality, mental health and neuropsychology. Dr. Brick Johnstone, chair of the MU Department of Health Psychology, leads a diverse team of professionals and faculty with expertise in religious studies, cultural anthropology, social work, medical sociology, neuropsychology, health psychology, rehabilitation medicine and oncology. The pilot project investigates relationships among spirituality, religion, mental health and physical health in individuals with various medical conditions, chronic illnesses and disabilities.

The Center is also studying relationships among spirituality/religion and mental health outcomes among all populations and spirituality/religion differences between cognitively impaired and cognitively intact individuals, as well as the neuropsychology of spiritual experience. Other Center studies look at the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction on persons with chronic disabilities; transcendence and right hemisphere functioning; and spirituality as a personality construct. The Center is applying for grants to study the relationship between neuroscience and religion and to fund additional projects on the neuropsychology of spiritual experience.

Religion and recovery: For a long time, the role of religious leader and counselor was the same. People took for granted that they would seek support or advice of a clergy person, as well as spiritual leadership. Taken to a higher degree, in the Old Testament prophecy, the messiah (understood as Jesus Christ to Christians) is described in Isaiah 9:6 as “Wonderful Counselor” (man of insight and wisdom). The advent of psychological science gave people the opportunity to seek counsel from a non-religious perspective, which continues to be controversial among some religious groups.

Today we see a blend of the traditions in church-based counseling services as part of regular ministry offerings. Some counselors work out of religious institutions or receive referrals from them. Not all counselors are licensed by state boards; instead religious organizations and denominations have the power to grant counseling certification for church counseling settings. This raises issues of training and quality of care for some, but it also offers the researcher a chance to examine how the counseling is done differently in these settings.

Counselors of faith working within religious or secular settings may face the professional challenge of when it is appropriate to insert personal faith into the counseling setting, such as quoting a biblical passage, praying with a patient, prescribing prayer or urging a patient to seek salvation as a therapeutic technique. Practitioners can be aware of the diversity of religious belief and perspective in those who come for psychiatric care and discern whether a religious approach is appropriate. Patients also have the opportunity to seek counseling in a religious or non-religious setting, based on their preference.

Some practitioners may explain the value of psychological science to patients accustomed to tackling psychological issues from a purely spiritual perspective. Some argue for the appropriateness of combining psychological and spiritual elements in recovery. Religion has played a large role in the addiction and recovery movement, from the “higher power” referred to in the popular 12 Steps programs, to religiously based recovery programs such as Celebrate Recovery and Reformers Unanimous, which are specifically Christian-based. The Unity School of Christianity, a New Thought church, incorporates some aspects of psychology in its emphasis on positive thinking.

Issues today: Researchers can examine how types of people experience different levels of religious fervor and patterns of religious practice in order to help understand what attracts certain people to religion, and what attracts them to certain types of religious experience. Researchers and others could pursue whether research into spiritual experience destroys the notion of the soul, or whether there is one core religious experience or many ways of being religious.

Studies could examine where biology and psychology begin and end, and how each impacts or is impacted by religious experience. What are the key areas of disagreement between scientists and theologians? Can a biological basis for the experience of God be equated with God? What theological questions need to be addressed in this area? What impact does practicing religion, or how it is practiced, have on mental health? Research is being done that attempts to combine the two disciplines, in publications such as the Journal of Theology and Psychology, and through inter-disciplinary work done by the Center.

Articles

Books

  • Mind, Brain and the Elusive Soul. Mark Graves. Ashgate, 2008.
  • Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion: Illusions, Delusions, and Realities about Human Nature (Templeton Science and Religion Series). Malcolm Jeeves, Warren S. Brown. Templeton Press, 2009.
  • Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality. Raymond F. Paloutzian and Crystal L. Park. Guilford Press, 2005.
  • The Psychology of Religion. Bernard Spilka, Ralph W. Hood, Jr., Bruce Hunsberger and Richard Gorsuch. Guilford Press, 2003.
  • Psychology and Religion: An Introduction. Michael Argyle. Routledge, 2000.
  • Religion and Psychology. Diane Elizabeth Jonte-Pace and William Barclay Parsons. Routledge, 2001.
  • Handbook of Religion and Mental Health. Harold Koenig (ed.). Academic Press, 1998.
  • Spirituality and Mental Health Care: Rediscovering a “Forgotten” Dimension. John Swinton. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2001.
  • Spirituality And Mental Health: Clinical Applications. Gary W Hartz and Harold G Koenig. Routledge, 2005.
  • Psychology and Religion. Carl Gustav Jung. Yale University Press, 1960.
  • The Psychologies in Religion: Working with the Religious Client. E. Thomas Dowd and Stevan Nielson (eds.). Springer Publishing Company, 2006.
  • Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion: Principles, Approaches, Applications. Jacob A. Belzen. Springer, 2010.
  • Saints and Madmen: Psychiatry Opens Its Doors to Religion. Russell Shorto. Henry Holt and Co., 1999.
  • Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies. Dinesh K.L Bhugra (ed.) Routledge, 1996.
  • Psychiatry and religion: the convergence of mind and spirit. James K. Boehnlein (ed.). American Psychiatric Pub, 2000.
  • Handbook of spirituality and worldview in clinical practice. Allan M. Josephson and John R. Peteet (eds.). American Psychiatric Pub, 2004.

Case studies

  • Lawsuit filed against Eastern Michigan University for dismissing a school counseling student for refusing to affirm homosexual relationships due to religious beliefs: Dismissal letter(.pdf) | Transcript of hearing(.pdf)
  • “Culturally competent counseling for religious and spiritual African American adolescents” by Cheryl Moore-Thomas and Norma L. Day-Vines. Professional School Counseling. February 2008.
  • “Exploring the role of religion and spirituality in the development of purpose: case studies of purposeful youth” by Kirsi Tirri and Brandy Quinn. British Journal of Religious Education. Vol. 32, No. 3 (2010): 201-14.

Codes of ethics

Journals

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Professional associations and faith groups

Recent research

  • Abu-Raiya, Hisham and Kenneth I. Pargament. “Empirically based psychology of Islam: summary and critique of the literature.” Mental Health, Religion & Culture. Vol. 14, No. 2 (2011): 93-115.
  • Coyle, Adrian. “Counseling Psychology Contributions to Religion and Spirituality.”Therapy and Beyond: Counseling Psychology Contributions to Therapeutic and Social Issues. Martin Milton (ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 2010.
  • Lovejoy, Merilee Brooke. “Examining the influence of prayer counseling on client levels of depression, anxiety, spiritual well-being, and surrender to God.” Dissertation, Seattle Pacific University. 2010.
  • Schwartz, Gary E. “William James and the Search for Scientific Evidence of Life After Death.” Journal of Consciousness Studies. Vol. 17, No. 11-12 (2010): 121-52.
  • Richards, Graham. “Psychology and Non-Christian Religions.” Psychology, Religion, and the Nature of the Soul. Vol. 0 (2011): 117-21.
  • Stansbury, Kim L.; Blake Beecher and Mary Ann Clute. “African American Clergy’s Perceptions of Mental Health and Pastoral Care to Elder Congregants.” Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought. Vol. 30, No. 1 (2011): 34-47.

Syllabi

Political science and public policy

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About the discipline

Social capital research shows a strong connection between voting and participation in civic events such as religious activity. Research through the Center could examine such connections as well as how religion plays a role in shaping public opinion in the political sphere.

Topics such as abortion and stem cell research are well known, but religious believers also often have strong opinions on topics such as the minimum wage, immigration, welfare reform, the death penalty and social justice issues such as poverty. The media have been accused of classifying religious voters as left- or right-wing, but often those within the same faith fall on different sides of the spectrum depending on the issue. Also interesting for study is the use of the church platform as a means of fund-raising and campaigning.

Politicians and religion: The visibility of politicians’ religion has become part of the process of elections. How a presidential candidate answers the question of religion, for example, can influence how a voter thinks about that candidate, as well as his or her platform. In 2004 the talk was about how Republicans owned the issues of religion and values, but many so-called “values voters” voted Democratic in 2006, leading to questions about how much religious affiliation wins certain voters, and when policy, platforms and records begin to trump those affiliations. Some would argue that politicians are too entrenched in religion to serve their constituencies well, though other questions have also been raised, such as the connection between a politician’s religious values and actual policy. Religious conservatives have been accused of having too much connection between those two, whereas others have been decried for their hypocrisy in terms of corruption.

The U.S. is also seeing more religious diversity among politicians. Much has changed since 1960, when President John F. Kennedy faced concern during his campaign over whether he could be Catholic and the President. In 2006, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison was elected the first Muslim in the U.S. Congress. Massachusetts governor and Mormon Mitt Romney launched primary campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination in both 2008 and ahead of the 2012 election (though he would not be the first Mormon to run for president – Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made an unsuccessful bid in 1844). Politicians’ religious affiliations may at times be controversial, but Americans have long favored presidents with a religious persuasion. A recent Newsweek poll found that only 37 percent of Americans said they’d be willing to vote for an atheist for president – down from 49 percent in a 1999 Gallup poll.

Government policy: One of the critical questions in First Amendment law is how much influence the Founding Fathers intended religion to have in public policy. The historical religious background of the Founders is also one that has been intensely studied and debated. These issues are at the core of many debates in this country, such as whether the government ought to allow – or enforce – prayer in public schools. Other issues involve prayer at public meetings or recent court orders to remove the Ten Commandments from courtrooms. In 2000 there was much debate over government funding of faith-based initiatives. The latest debate is whether the government should fund stem-cell research, which comes with an array of ethical issues for many religious believers and others. Research with the Center could look at such issues, helping to understand the religious influences of public policy. In addition, the Center’s position in the School of Journalism could look at coverage of those debates and ethical issues in terms of influence.

International issues: Public opinion concerning conflicts in the Middle East and Africa have religious contexts to them, both for those suffering in those conflicts and also the way in which those here in the United States think about those conflicts. Understanding the patterns of thinking that cause conflict is useful for those interested in political science. Researchers could also look at faith and how it interacts with public policy because of news media coverage. Religion also has influence in other arenas, including the support Israel has from many American evangelicals and how this could be a possible cause for escalation in the war on terror.

Public life: The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have given researchers more areas to examine in light of the religious context behind those events. Attitudes toward Muslims in America are worthy of study in light of the news context in which those events occurred. Examining issues involving hate crimes, civil liberties, religious profiling and national security policy are worthwhile in today’s political climate. In addition, examining the role religion has played in helping Americans cope with the attacks is vital and useful in understanding the organizing role religion plays in U.S. society.

Articles

Books

  • Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate. Terry Eagleton. Yale University Press, 2010.
  • Religion and Politics in the International System Today. Eric O. Hanson. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  • Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment. Phil Zuckerman. New York University Press, 2008.
  • Religion in American Politics: A Short History. Frank Lambert. Princeton University Press, 2008.
  • God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get it. Jim Wallis. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.
  • From civil to political religion: the intersection of culture, religion and politics. Marcela Cristi. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 2001.
  • Religion and politics in America: faith, culture, and strategic choices. Robert Booth Fowler, Allen D. Hertzke and Laura R. Olson. Westview Press, 4th ed., 2010.
  • Sacred and secular: religion and politics worldwide. Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  • Thumpin’ It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today’s Presidential Politics. Jacques Berlinerblau. Westminster John Knox Press, 2007.
  • The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America. David Domke and Kevin Coe. Oxford University Press, USA, 2007.
  • Religion and politics: a reference handbook. John Woodrow Storey and Glenn H. Utter. ABC-CLIO, 2002.
  • The Constitution of Religious Freedom: God, Politics, and the First Amendment. Dennis J. Goldford. Baylor University Press, 2012.
  • Hizbu’llah: Politics and Religion. Amal Saad-Ghorayeb. Pluto Press, 2002.
  • Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy. Joseph Kosek. Columbia University Press, 2011.
  • A Judeo-Islamic Nation: The Evolution of America’s Political Theology. Thomas Mates. Mill City Press, 2011.
  • Islam and Liberal Citizenship: The Search for an Overlapping Consensus. Andrew F. March. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Case studies

  • “Religion, Politics, and Paris Hilton: Case Study” by Michael Rogers. Library Journal, v130 n12 p48, Jul 2005.
  • The religious factor: a sociological study of religion’s impact on politics, economics, and family life. G.E. Lenski. Doubleday, 1061.
  • “Politics and Religion in Modern Shia Islam Towards a Radicalism of Synthesis? Case study: Ali Shariati and the Iranian revolutionary theology” by D. Stoica, D. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the MPSA Annual National Conference, Palmer House Hotel, Hilton, Chicago, IL, April 3, 2008.
  • “Religion and Politics in Singapore-Matters of Identity and National Security? A case study of the Muslim minority in a secular state” by Kerstin Steiner. Osaka University Law Review. No. 58 (2011): 107-34.
  • Spirited Politics: Religion and Public Life in Contemporary Southeast Asia. Andrew C. Wilford and Kenneth M. George (eds.). Ithaca, New York: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 2005.

Codes of ethics

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Professional associations and faith groups

Syllabi

Philosophy

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About the discipline

Philosophy and religion have a long history of inspiring, influencing and challenging each other. In the process, they have impacted how humans view their roles, drives and ideals in the world in which we live.

Classical philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle influenced early Christian thinkers. Early philosophers and religious thinkers both competed with and borrowed from each other to further explain and understand their beliefs. Early Christians intertwined their beliefs with classical learning, science and philosophy, including ideas such as Plato and Plotinus’ notions that God could be found through contemplation of beauty, or Gregory’s doctrine that God is incorporeal, a doctrine from Platonic philosophy. Gregory’s account of the Trinity revolves around Aristotle’s idea that things could be divided into categories and qualities.

Middle Eastern Christians translated the works of Plato, Aristotle and others into Middle Eastern languages such as Syriac and Arabic, preserving their ideas and influencing later Muslim philosophers. More modern philosophers have also tackled the role of faith in human experience and societies; some supporting belief in a divine creator and others dismissing it. Both philosophers and religious thinkers continue to influence humans’ views of our place in the world, our current religious struggles, world geography and beliefs about what it means to be human and what constitutes a virtuous life.

A few major philosophers who have developed thoughts about religion include:

Socrates – Socrates (469-399 B.C.) was the first philosopher to focus on the problems of “God, the Good and the Beautiful.” He examined issues such as piety, morals, ethics and religious practice. Socrates believed in the existence of gods vastly superior to ourselves in wisdom and power. However, he was also a critic and reformer of the religious tradition of his time and new practices he encountered. Some experts argue that Socrates saw religious commitments as integral to his philosophical mission of moral examination, and that this reformed how religion was practiced in his time. Socrates’ contributions to the “rational reformation” of Greek religion informed the theology of his pupil, Plato.

Plato: A founding father of Western philosophy, Athenian philosopher Plato (427-347 B.C.) had a major impact on religious and philosophical thought. Plato felt gods should only be represented as pious and good because goodness was the nature of divinity. In “Philebus,” he meditated on pleasure and the good life, concluding that something’s goodness lay in the unity of beauty, symmetry and truth. In “Phaedo,” he argued for the immortality of the soul. Plato expressed how he believed the universe was created – in the creator’s likeness, out of pre-existing chaos (contrasting with the later Christian account that God created the universe out of a void) – but also warned that, being mortals, it was something none of us could ever understand.

Artistotle – Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was not particularly religious himself, but called theology “the most divine knowledge.” A student of Plato’s academy, Aristotle created the study of formal logic and influenced the course of Western intellectual history. He conceived of a God operating outside of the world, putting creation in motion and causing all motion in nature. He did not attribute mercy, love, sympathy or similar qualities to God. But he believed that God was drawing all things toward himself – that it was the instinctive desire of all things to be drawn to God in action, purpose and self-worth, and especially to the divine design God holds for their lives. He believed this God or Supreme Form was uncreated, eternal and unchangeable, and existed as “pure intellect” and “fully realized potential.” He also believed that the human intellect is connected with the divine intellect, which gives humans their powers of inspiration, insight and imagination.

Aquinas: Influenced by Aristotle, philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), has had a huge influence on Christian theology, especially of the Roman Catholic Church. Aquinas believed “that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs Divine help that the intellect may be moved by God to its act.” Aquinas defined the four (natural) cardinal virtues as prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude. His three (supernatural) theological virtues were faith, hope and charity. Aquinas viewed theology, or the sacred doctrine, as a science whose data consists of written scripture and church tradition. He felt existence of God is neither self-evident nor beyond proof, and described God as simple, perfect, infinite, immutable, and one. Aquinas’ works influenced the literary practice of modernist writer James Joyce.

Immanuel Kant: German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) asserted that reason and philosophy are “in reality directed to those three problems only (God, Soul, Freedom),” meaning that no one can really know if there is a God and an afterlife. But no one can really know that there is not a God and an afterlife either. Kant believed that for the sake of society and morality, people can be justified in believing in them, even though they can never know for sure whether they are real. He believed that happiness is tied to morality, and for this reason, people should choose to believe in God, because the idea of God can’t be separated from happiness-morality as the “ideal of the supreme good.” Kant’s efforts to root religion in morality had a significant impact on Protestant theology in Europe, especially what is called “liberal theology,” which stressed the moral content of Christianity, particularly for social reform.

Søren Kierkegaard: Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is sometimes characterized as a Christian existentialist. Popular ideas included his “leap of faith,” of how an individual could transcend rationality in favor of something more uncanny such as faith. He also surmised that to have faith means also to have doubt, and that a faith without doubting God’s existence or goodness is not much of a faith. Later in life, he attacked Christianity and its allegiance with the state, believing that state-church union perverted the true meaning of Christianity. He believed that in such conditions, congregations are meaningless, Christianity becomes secularized and political and the faith becomes empty.

Karl Marx: German social philosopher Karl Marx (1818-83) wrote, with Friedrich Engels, “The Communist Manifesto” (1848), which appealed to science and reason as the basis for reform, rather than the rights of man. His “Das Kapital” offered a critical analysis of capitalism. Marx’s ideas had a major influence on workers’ movements and Marxian ideas have impacted many parts of the world. Marx famously wrote in 1843: “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

Friedrich Nietzsche: German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) produced critiques of religion, morality, philosophy and contemporary society. His “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” (1883 – 1885), a philosophical work of fiction, imitated the style of the New Testament and the Platonic dialogues. Nietzsche offered interpretation of Western literary and philosophical traditions through the character of Zarathustra (a reference to the historic figure behind Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion born in what is now Iran). His “The Antichrist, Curse on Christianity” (1888), attacked the morals of Christianity. Though he gave some respect to Jesus and some Christian elements, Nietzsche proposed an “Anti-Christian” morality that included reframing the perspective of all values. In “The Gay Science,” he ranked one’s life as the sole consideration when evaluating how one should act. The book is best known for Nietzsche’s statement: “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”

Issues today: The pursuit of philosophy can bring greater depth to discussion and understanding of current issues such as end-of-life debates, the death penalty, legal concepts, and the role of democracy and religion in society. Both philosophical and religious ideas are used to define human values and ethics – from the environment to poverty – and how we define our responsibilities in the world, human motivation and the human will. Those interested in philosophy can examine the beliefs, ideas, values, rituals and traditions that have shaped various cultures. They may also want to study the role of philosophy today, on an individual and global scale – what needs it fills, how one defines “philosopher” in the day of blogging and pundits, and how it can reflect the new technologies and ethical issues of the modern age.

Articles

Books

  • Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing?. Bede Rundle. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006
  • Philosophers and God: At the Frontiers of Faith and Reason. John Cornwell, Michael McGhee. Continuum 1 edition, 2009.
  • The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time. Judith Shulevitz. Random House, 2010.
  • Ten Essential Texts in the Philosophy of Religion: Classics and Contemporary Issues. Oxford University Press, USA, 2004.
  • Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction. William L. Rowe. Wadsworth Publishing, 2006.
  • Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach and David Basinger. Oxford University Press, USA, 2008.
  • The Case for Religion. Keith Ward. Oneworld Publications, 2007.
  • The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion. William Wainwright (ed.) Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach and David Basinger (eds.). Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.
  • Philosophy of religion: an historical introduction. Linda Trinkaus ZagzebskiPublisher. Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.
  • Philosophy of religion: the big questions. Eleonore Stump and Michael J. Murray (eds.). Wiley-Blackwell, 1999.
  • Arabic Thought and its Place in History. De Lacy O’Leary. CreateSpace, 2011.
  • Desperately Wicked: Philosophy, Christianity and the Human Heart. Patrick Downey. IVP Academic, 2009.
  • Nietzsche & Zen (Studies in Comparative Philosophy and Religion). Andre van der Braak. Lexington Books, 2011.
  • Philosophy of Religion: Toward a Global Perspective. Gary E. Kessler. Wadsworth Publishing, 1998.
  • Ethics in Light of Childhood. John Wall. Georgetown University Press, 2010.

Case studies

  • Craft, Christy M. and Alyssa N. Bryant. “Faith Development Within Religion and Philosophy Courses at a College of the Lutheran Church.” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. Vol. 48, No. 2 (2011): 195-212.
  • “Problem of Evil in Muslim Philosophy: A Case Study of Iqbal.” M. Maroof Shah. Indian Publishers Distributors, 2007.

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Recent research

  • Brown, Alison. “Philosophy and Religion in Machiavelli.” The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli. John M. Najemy (ed.). Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  • Jiang, Shanhe; Eric G. Lambert; Jin Wang; Toyoji Saito and Rebecca Pilot. “Death penalty views in China, Japan and the U.S.: An empirical comparison.” Journal of Criminal Justice. Vol. 38, No. 5 (Oct. 2010): 862-9.
  • Murphy, Nancey. “Cosmopolis: How Astronomy Affects Philosophies of Human Nature and Religion.” Analecta Husserliana. Vol. 107, No. 3 (2011): 175-85.
  • Nakagawa, Yoshiharu. “Oriental Philosophy and Interreligious Education: Inspired by Toshihiko Izutsu’s Reconstruction of ‘Oriental Philosophy.’” International Handbook of Inter-Religious Education. Vol. 4, No. 2 (2010): 325-39.
  • Strong, Carson. “Why Public Policy on Embryo Research Should Not Be Based on Religion.” The American Journal of Bioethics. Vol. 11, No. 3 (2011): 33-5.

Syllabi

Natural resources

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About the discipline

Many religious traditions speak of sensing the presence of the divine in nature. Even some who don’t affiliate with an organized religion consider the great outdoors to be their private worship space.

Nature and religion: People’s beliefs about nature, and the relationship between people and nature, often have religious overtones. Naturalist and conservationist John Muir grew up in a strict Calvinist home but later found holiness in nature, saying at one point that he wanted to “devote the rest of my life to the study of the inventions of God.” Botanist George Washington Carver said that, “Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.”

Religious beliefs: Many faiths teach respect for the creatures that share Earth with humans. A long debate in Christianity has been over interpretation of Genesis 1:28, in which God blessed the man and woman he created (Adam and Eve) and told them: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Scholars and believers have tried to discern whether “dominion” means using animals for humans’ purposes, or that humans bear responsibility for a benevolent stewardship of the natural world. As awareness of environmental issues has increased, the stewardship perspective has grown popular.

The most famous Christian saint associated with nature is St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced wealth to live a life of poverty amid the natural world. He praised the earth, sun, plants and animals and was known for preaching to birds and picking worms off the road and carrying them to safety. Founder of the Franciscan Order, St. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment.

In Islam, a saying of Muhammad, the faith’s founder, tells of the prophet being asked whether those who are kind to animals are rewarded. Muhammad reportedly answered: “There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.” If they must kill an animal, Muslims are commanded to do so in a manner that causes the least amount of fright and suffering.

Neo-paganism, a growing faith movement in the United States that includes Wicca and some Shamanistic faiths, is characterized by an Earth-based orientation. Neo-pagan rituals and practices often take place outdoors, close to the nature they hold sacred. Holidays often revolve around the changing seasons.

Animistic religions often believe that there is a spirit in every tree, mountain or spring, and all have to be respected.

Global warming: Evangelical Christians made news in 2006 by expressing concern about climate change. The Evangelical Climate Initiative – including mega-church pastors, Christian college presidents and other leaders – issued a manifesto called “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action.” Liberal and moderate faith groups have long embraced environmental concerns, but many conservative Christians considered the scientific evidence inconclusive and environmental concerns unrelated to religious obligation.

The high-profile campaign revealed disagreement among evangelicals. Some support “creation care,” a term for environmental awareness and action. They see saving the earth as a pro-life issue because it affects the well-being and, potentially, survival of future generations. Opponents believe God ordered humans to dominate all living things, or that global warming is part of the prophesied End Times.

According to a 2006 survey, three-quarters of evangelicals – a powerful social and political group – favor actions such as slowing climate change or preventing development of wild areas. A quarter are strong supporters of environmental action, and more than half found support for environmentalism in their Christian beliefs. Two-thirds believe climate change is happening and 70 percent see it as a significant danger. More than 60 percent support taking steps to stop it, and half favor doing so even if the cost is high.

Issues today: The environmental movement is drawing an increasing number of religious people from a variety of faith traditions, which suggests that care of the Earth could unite people across religious divides. Some religious believers are interested in climate change for its effect on social justice issues as well. For example, if warming of the environment contributes to more severe hurricane seasons, people may protest for religious reasons because damage from hurricanes often disproportionately affects the poor.

Researchers can study people’s ideas about the origin of nature, such as whether it is wrought by the hand of God, or an independent, naturally occurring phenomenon. Some people consider nature to be a holy miracle. Wildlife is seen as a sanctuary and a sacred space, whose contents and creatures are also sacred creations. Others use religion as a way to define humans’ role in respect to nature. Study of the natural world has led to both theories of divine origin and scientific invention, including the theory of evolution. The natural world has long held a spiritual pull on people as well, with spiritual meaning, purification and discernment applied to retreats into the wilderness for faiths including Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism.

Those working in conservation can work with religious groups to accomplish aims. They may not always come from the same perspective, but they may share the same goals. Conservationists can use the resources of religious organizations to share information about environmental issues (already seen with documentaries such as Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” being shown at churches around the country). Religious groups can inform environmentalists and others about why the natural world is important to them. This many even impact how natural wonders are marketed to tourists and nature lovers from around the world. Researchers can study and develop ways people of faith and environmentalists, scientists, conservationists and naturalists can work together.

Articles

Books

  • Religion and Ecology in the Public Sphere. Celia Deane-Drummond. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2011.
  • Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials. Judith V. Royster. Carolina Academic Press, 2007.
  • The Oxford handbook of religion and ecology. Roger S. Gottlieb. Oxford University Press US, 2006.
  • Of the Land and the Spirit: The Essential Lord Northbourne on Ecology and Religion. Lord Northbourne World Wisdom, edition 2008.
  • This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment. Roger Gottlieb. Routledge, 2003.
  • Worldviews, Religion, and the Environment: A Global Anthology. Richard C. Foltz. Wadsworth Publishing, 2002.
  • Ecology and the Environment: Perspectives from the Humanities. Donald K. Swearer (editor). Center for the Study of World Religions, 2009.
  • Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia. David Gosling. Taylor & Francis, 2002.
  • Inherited Lands: The Changing Grounds of Religion and Ecology. Whitney A. Bauman, Richard R. Bohannon and Kevin J. O’Brien (eds.). Pickwick Publications, 2011.

Case studies

  • “The Contribution of Ecotourism to the Conservation of Natural Sacred Sites: A Case Study from Coastal Kenya” by Celia Nyamweru and Elias Kimaru. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 3: 327-350, 2008.
  • “Introduction: African Sacred Ecologies” by Celia Nyamweru and Michael Sheridan. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 3: 285-291, 2008.
  • “Taboo and Political Authority in Conservation Policy: A Case Study of the Licuati Forest in Maputaland, Mozambique” by Samira A. Izidine, Stefan J. Siebert, Abraham E. van Wyk and Alphaeus M. Zobolo. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 3: 373-390, 2008.
  • “Consequences of wooded shrine rituals on vegetation conservation in West Africa: a case study from the Bwaba cultural area” by Anne Fournier. Biodiversity and Conservation. Vol. 20, No. 9 (Aug. 2011): 1895-1910.
  • “The Role of Culture on Integrated Water Resource Management in the Lake Nalubale (Victoria) Basin in Uganda” by Patricia Kabatabazi (.pdf)
  • Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials. Judith V. Royster. Carolina Academic Press, 2007.

Codes of ethics

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Syllabi

Music

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About the discipline

Our increasingly diverse and global society means exposure to a variety of musical traditions, which can be a gateway to learning more about other cultures. Study of music and religion can help us better understand our traditions and those of others. It can also explore the impact of religious traditions on development of music, as well as music as a force in impacting perspectives about religion.

Religion and music: Religion has a long-held role in the history of music.  Many major musical works have been composed for religious occasions or with religious themes. Music is often used to convey the glory of God. It is part of many types of religious celebrations and observances, and music and songs are used to pass on religious stories, teaching and values.

At the same time, music of all sorts – from classical to contemporary pop – can be used to explore feelings about religion. Musicians may intend to pose questions or provoke thought about religious beliefs and practices through music. This may incite more conservative believers of religious traditions to protest, particularly when religious values are challenged or confronted in an unorthodox way. Religion continues to impact the music industry in many ways.

Music and morals: Music is often judged by religious standards. As such, it can both define and defy status quo beliefs of its time.

Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is known for his hundreds of compositions, many of them deeply religious in origin. A devout Lutheran, Bach felt compelled to express reverence and celebration of God’s glory in his works – influencing the beliefs and styles of many later composers and musicians.

By contrast, some notes in music have been considered evil by religious standards. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church banned a musical interval of the augmented fourth spanning three tones, called a tritone, considering it the “Devil’s Chord” or “Devil’s Interval.” Experts say before it was outlawed, the dissonant tritone was used to portray the devil or evil. But the ban impacted both secular and religious music of the time. By the Romantic era, composers stopped avoiding the tritone, which appeared in music from then to the modern day, including classical, blues, jazz, musical theater and rock.

“Blue notes,” a slight drop of pitch on the third, fifth or seventh tone of the scale, common in blues and jazz music, were also considered by some to be “devil’s notes.” The term “devil music” has been applied to music ranging from 1950s rock ‘n’ roll to contemporary heavy metal.

Music as a cultural force continues to be debated in recent decades. In the political arena, it has been argued that music that promotes “bad” values should be censored or banned. Some in the religious community continue to believe that particular beats and rhythms are inherently evil, and some believe evil and sin can be avoided by conscious avoidance of particular music. These issues are important for the artist/musician because they deal with freedom of expression, a key tenet in artistic exploration, and because social and political climates historically have impacted how musicians operate.

Religion and notation: Music notation as we know it in Western traditions is descended from Medieval Christian Gregorian chant, or plainsong, an early form of liturgical music. Greeks and Romans had named notes after letters, but as liturgical chants became more complex, church musicians invented symbols – or neumes – to indicate changes in pitch and duration within each syllable. A long horizontal line to indicate fixed pitch was introduced by the 10th century, followed by a four-line staff in the 13th century and fifth line in the 16th century, making what we recognize as the musical stave. The bass clef, flat, natural and sharp symbols we use today derive from Gregorian notation.

This notation allowed for more complex compositions and introduction of polyphonic hymns, as well as a system of recording parts for instrumentation. These innovations led to major developments in religious and secular vocal and instrumental music. According to some reports, the naming of “do re me fa so la ti do” notes also came from an eighth-century Latin hymn to John the Baptist, in which the sounds were named for the first syllables of each of the song’s lines.

Other Western musical notation forms related to religious practice include that used by Shakers, a Protestant religious denomination that believed in the importance of recording spiritual revelations in the form of musical inspiration. They used alphabet letters and notation of rhythmic values similar to ancient Greek notation. Also of note is the “shape-note” system popular in the American south, which uses various-shaped notes to show the position notes on a scale. Found in church hymnals, sheet music and song books, shape notes are also often used in Amish and Mennonite traditions.

Music and philosophy: Music has the capacity to reflect society and to influence society. Its development is often related to similar movements in literature, art, philosophy and religion. Examples include the Classical and Romantic movements of music and corresponding themes of religious thought.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart typified the Classical movement (roughly 1750-1820), with his invention of the sonata form. Classical music was defined by order, balance and elegance, also reflected in philosophical and religious ideals of the time. It corresponded with the Age of Enlightenment, a period based on belief in rationality and order. Deism – the belief that religious beliefs should be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, rather than divine revelation – was popular, as was the idea of God as the master mathematician.

The Romantic period of music (roughly 1820-1901), gave up symmetry and reason in favor of release of emotion and individualization of expression. It relied on virtuosic performances and personal interpretation without orderly themes and variations. The time period corresponded to the Second Great Awakening in the United States, an evangelical Christian period defined by revivalism. The movement focused a message of salvation on the individual rather than the congregation, emphasizing personal experiences of conversion that were animating and emotionally jarring. Leading evangelist Charles Finney – known for throwing his whole body into eloquent and hypnotic preaching – urged people away from scriptural structure to personal revelation.

Religion and music today: Religions continue to use music to foster values taught in religious communities, both to minister to believers and to share values and beliefs with the larger world. A recent development is the popularity of music that combines contemporary secular formats with messages that make it acceptable to those within religious communities. Christian rock and pop music, for example, attempts to imitate popular forms while focusing on lyrics that reflect shared Christian values. A booming industry, Christian music has also produced “crossover” artists popular in the secular genre, which has both been seen as “selling out” faith and sharing a message of faith with others.

Today’s music blends sounds and traditions from many cultures representing many religious beliefs. Examples range from samples of traditional Arabic and Asian music spliced into American pop songs; to Muslim hip-hop group Native Deen, whose music calls to remembrance of Allah; and Hasidic Jewish rap/reggae performer Matisyahu, who sings about Jewish prophecy, the Torah and devotion to God.

Current issues: Researchers interested in music history could partner with the Center on Religion & the Professions to explore what music trends in past and current times explain about the status of societies. Researchers can work with the Center to help create tools and curriculum that improve religious literacy among musicians as well as musical literacy among the religious.

Work could also focus on debates over whether certain words or expressions ought to be censored in popular forms of music, a debate which likely will be ongoing and influential in today’s culture. Researchers could look at whether today’s religious music is viewed as “serious” artistic endeavor, and whether there are quality educational programs available for those wanting to go into industries that focus on religious music.

Researchers may also be interested in exploring music’s ability to aurally communicate spiritual experience.

Articles

Books

  • All in Sync: How Music and Art are Revitalizing American Religion. Robert Wuthnow. University of California Press, 2003.
  • Rave culture and religion. Graham St. John. Routledge, 2004.
  • The music and dance of the world’s religions: a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of materials in the English language. Ezra Gardner Rust. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996.
  • Memory, Music, and Religion: Morocco’s Mystical Chanters. Earle H. Waugh University of South Carolina Press, 2005.
  • Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions. Guy L. Beck and Wilfrid Laurier. University Press, 2006.
  • Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context, and Meaning. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.
  • Sacred Sound: Music in Religious Thought and Practice. Joyce L. Irwin. American Academy of Religion Book, 1984.
  • Enchanting Powers: Music in the Worlds Religions. Lawrence E. Sullivan. Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions, 1997.
  • The Contemporary Christian Music Debate: Worldly Compromise or Agent of Renewal? Steve Miller. BookSurge Publishing, 2007.
  • Singing And Making Music: Issues in Church Music Today. Paul S. Jones. P & R Publishing, 2006.
  • The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel, an Authoritative Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music for Worship. Andrew Wilson-Dickson. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2003.
  • No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelism. David W. Stowe. University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
  • The Music Libel against the Jews. Ruth HaCohen. Yale University Press, 2011.
  • Religion and Popular Music in Europe: New Expressions of Sacred and Secular Identity. Thomas Bossius, Andreas Häger and Keith Kahn-Harris (eds.). I.B. Tauris, 2011.

Case studies

  • Matsunobu, Koji. “Spirituality as a universal experience of music: A case study of North Americans’ approaches to Japanese music.” Journal of Research in Music. (August 2011).
  • “Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music, and Public Culture” by Stephen A. Marini. Public Expressions of Religion in America. University of Illinois, 2003.

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Recent research

  • Capwell, Charles. “From ‘Dust’ to Platinum: Global Currents through the Malay World of Musical Islam.” Divine Inspirations: Music and Islam in Indonesia. David Harnish, Anne Rasmussen (eds.). Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Hoffman, Adria R. “Rethinking Religion in Music Education.” Music Educators Journal. Vol. 97, No. 4 (June 2011): 55-9.
  • Schofield, Katherine Butler. “Reviving the Golden Age Again: ‘Classicization,’ Hindustani Music, and the Mughals.” Ethnomusicology. Vol. 54, No. 3 (Fall 2010): 484-517.

Syllabi

Military and public safety

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About the discipline

The study of military campaigns throughout history often can be linked to factors involving religion. Some conflicts are directly related to religious belief; other conflicts are influenced by religion in how alliances are made and countries are mobilized for periods of war over the notion of belief. Many conflicts have roots in religious and cultural disagreement, sometimes going back centuries.

In today’s society, the war on terror has been compared to a war against Muslim extremist philosophies. It is almost impossible to understand the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the events of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when religion is removed from the conversation. Understanding the nature of conflict from a religious perspective gives vital help in both defense and working to avoid violent conflict by anticipating areas of conflict before they occur.

Strategic communication: The U.S. and its war on terrorism have been portrayed by some as a war on Muslims by a Christian nation. In some cases the U.S. military has been successful in changing minds on that theme, but the belief persists in other parts of the world. The Center’s unique position within the School of Journalism can link those interested in military research with those in the field of strategic communication in an effort to study ways in which the military can change its message or frame it into one that has a broad effectiveness. In particular, conflict theory might be useful because it has been studied as a public relations tool for helping organizations get their message out more effectively and navigate the pitfalls that come with an uneven public response to their message.

Military life: Current events have focused on the religious practice of military officers while in uniform. Others have examined how a soldier can practice a faith in a time of war and what they can do when they are facing direct orders that violate their own religious beliefs. For some there might not be much conflict between military and religious practice, but it is useful to attempt to identify and understand those instances when a military member might field conflict between those two worlds. Work done through the Center on Religion & the Professions in ethics and religion might foster research that examines how a person could attempt to solve these issues, and ways in which the military can help anticipate those conflicts more readily and deal with them effectively.

Workplace diversity: As the military becomes more diverse in terms of gender, ethnic and religious makeup, these issues will come to the forefront more often than they have in the past. The Center focuses on workplace diversity in terms of religious practice, attempting to help workers understand how to work through differences in the workplace that are affected by religion, even if on the surface the issue does not appear to be a religious one. It also could help in terms of teaching about religious tolerance, whether that could come in terms of harassment of those who practice other religions within the military; those one encounters while serving in another country; serving as or working with chaplains from a different faith tradition; or the fact that some in the military might choose a non-Christian or non-religious symbol on items such as headstones in national cemeteries.

Articles

Books

  • Religion and the American Civil War. Randall M. Miller, Harry S. Stout and Charles Reagan Wilson (eds.). Oxford University Press US, 1998.
  • Bridge or barrier religion, violence, and visions for peace. Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Busuttil. BRILL, 2005.
  • The Oxford Companion to American Military History, section “Religion in the Military” by John Whiteclay Chambers II. Oxford University Press. 2000.
  • Rights vs. public safety after 9/11: America in the age of terrorism. Amitai Etzioni and Jason H. Marsh (eds.). Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.
  • Sword or the Scroll?: Dilemmas of Religion and Military Service in Israel. Stuart A. Cohen. Routledge, 1997.
  • Militia Christi: The Christian Religion & the Military in the First Three Centuries. Adolf Von Harnack Polebridge, Pr Westar Inst, 1981.
  • Mughal Empire in India: Their Political, Legal, Social, Cultural, Religions and Military Systems. H.S. Bhatia Deep & Deep Publications, 2001.
  • Heaven in the Midst of Hell: A Quaker Chaplain’s View of the war in Iraq by Sheri Snively and James N. Mattis. Greenleaf Book Group, 2010.
  • Religion and the Cold War. Dianne Kirby (ed.). Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Case studies

Codes of ethics

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Professional associations and faith groups

Recent research

  • Brewer, Edward C. and Kay Taylor. “Managing Collaboration in the Thirty Years War: Culture, Politics and the Influence of Donald Wildmon.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture> Vol. 23, No. 1 (April 2011): 1-13.
  • Levy, Yagil. “The Clash between Feminism and Religion in the Israeli Military: A Multilayered Analysis.” Social Politics. Vol. 17, No. 2 (March 2010): 185-209.
  • McLaughlin, Sandra S. MD; Andrew D. McLaughlin, MD and John A. Van Slyke, DO. “Faith and Religious Beliefs in an Outpatient Military Population.” Southern Medical Journal. Vol. 103, No. 6 (June 2010): 527-31.

Syllabi

Mathematics

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About the discipline

In their own ways, mathematics and religion are both used to solve real-world problems. While they may come at problem-solving from different points of view, they share a study of abstract concepts and are both based on the idea that objects are unchanging and that truths are certain and universal. Some religious beliefs have adopted mathematical ideas for religious or metaphysical purposes. Others have considered specific numbers and shapes to have mystical powers and divine meaning. Some people would argue that math itself is a religion, because of mathematicians’ belief that nature is simple, comprehensible and to be understood.

Founding principles: Pythagoras (582-507 B.C.), known as “the father of numbers,” also contributed to philosophy and religious teaching. While best known for the Pythagorean Theorem (a squared + b squared = c squared), he also founded the mathematical, mystic, religious and scientific society called the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras and his students believed that through mathematics, everything could be predicted and measured in rhythmic patterns or cycles. They found beauty in numbers, which informed a worldview that included music, mathematics and an order and meaning to the world based on numbers and shapes.

Religious interests also motivated innovators such as Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton, who developed advances in mathematics to understand the structure of the Cosmos and God’s plan. Devout Christians, they saw their scientific work in religious terms and also incorporated math into their religious understanding. This worldview attributed divine character to mathematics because it is part of the structure God has used to create the world. Mathematics with religious overtones is also seen in Chinese number mysticism and the fields of theological geometry and the philosophy of mathematics.

Another example is the storied “golden ratio” in mathematics, praised by Pythagoras and considered by some to be the “divine proportion.” The golden ratio expresses the relationship that the sum of two quantities is to the larger quantity as the larger is to the smaller. The golden ratio appears in art, music, philosophy, psychology and architecture. It is sometimes used to portray an ideal proportion as dictated by or found pleasing to the Divine; some believe it is also innately pleasing and psychologically satisfying to the human mind and eye. Studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, show these buildings may be built according to the “golden ratio.”

Religion and invention: Religious thinkers have contributed to mathematics for centuries, impacting the math we use today. It is believed that the Indian mathematician Baudhayana discovered the Pythagorean Theorem around 800 B.C., about 300 years before the Pythagoreans. Hindu texts about the geometry of altar construction, dating to 800 B.C. to 200 B.C. or earlier, contain large amounts of geometrical knowledge, developed for religious purposes. The method of expressing all possible numbers using a set of 10 symbols emerged in India, around the middle of the third century B.C. Known as Brahmi numerals, some based on Sanskrit letters, they developed into the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 used today.

Systems such as algebra, Arabic numerals, the decimal system and concept of zero were transmitted to Medieval Europe from the Muslim world. As Islam spread in the 7th century, blending of old and new and Eastern and Western ideas led to advances in physics, astronomy, medicine and mathematics. Arabic numerals – known as “Indian numerals” in Arabic because they originated in India – made mathematical tasks easier. The works of Al-Khwarizmi (Alghorismus), from whom the mathematical term “algorism” was derived, were translated into Latin and other European languages. Alghorismus created astronomical tables, laid the groundwork for algebra and found methods to address complex mathematical problems such as square roots and complex fractions. His experiments measured the height of the earth’s atmosphere and discovered the principle of the magnifying lens. Trigonometric work by Alkirmani of Toledo was translated into Latin (from which we get sine and cosine functions).

Issues today: Some scientists are using scientific data and principles, such as laws of probability, to attempt to prove or disprove the existence of God. Each side of the long-standing debate uses the universal language of mathematical probabilities to argue its point. In “The Probability of God: A Simple Calculation That Proves the Ultimate Truth” (2004), Stephen Unwin uses the Bayesian analysis – a math equation developed more than 200 years ago by European philosopher Thomas Bayes – to calculate the probability that God exists, concluding there is 67 percent “probability” that God does exist.

Those who use Bayes’ theorem in this way assign numerical values to the likelihood of religious experiences and beliefs, considering various factors. University of Oxford professor Richard Dawkins makes a case against this use of the theorem in his book, “The God Delusion” (2006), arguing that the equation is sound but the numbers used are based on “subjectively judged” experiences “turned into numbers for the sake of the exercise” (page 106).

Mathematicians have explored and debated spiritual aspects of mathematics for centuries, and continue to do so. Other recent books that explore the topic include “Mathematics in a Postmodern Age: A Christian Perspective” (2001) and “The Divine Challenge, Mathematics and the Divine” (2004). Mathematicians and others continue to see a divine hand in the complex and simple truths of mathematics; as well as evidence of a world that functions solely by its own, non-divine, laws.

Researchers could study whether religious faith impacts interest in mathematics or theories of mathematics; or how people believe using math to prove or disprove God impacts their religious beliefs or worldview. Researchers could examine whether belief or disbelief in divine origins affects the work ethics or other lifestyle beliefs and behaviors of mathematicians or others working with math. They could also look at whether different faiths, or lack thereof, have an impact on beliefs about mathematics and how it is utilized around the world.

Articles

Books

  • Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study. T. Koetsier and L. Bergmans, (eds.). Elsevier Science, 2005.
  • Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and His Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier. Cornell University Press, 2006.
  • A Passion for Mathematics: Numbers, Puzzles, Madness, Religion, and the Quest for Reality. Clifford A. Pickove. Wiley, 2005.
  • Interdisciplinary Research, section “Mathematics and Religion: Processes of Faith and Reason” by Allen F. Repko. SAGE, 2008.
  • Where mathematics comes from: how the embodied mind brings mathematics into being. George Lakoff. Basic Books, 2001.
  • Naming Infinity: A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Theory. Loren Graham, Harvard University Press, 2009.
  • Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science–from the Babylonians to the Maya. Dick Teresi. Simon and Schuster, 2003.
  • Philosophy of Mathematics. Stephen F. Barker. Prentice-Hall, 1964.
  • God: The Science of Christ and the Unseenby James Defares. CreateSpace, 2010.
  • A Christian Perspective on the Foundations of Mathematics. R. L. Brabena. Wheaten College, 1977.
  • The Faith Equation: One Mathematician’s Journey in Christianity by Marvin L. Bittinger. Literary Architects, 2007.
  • Logos: Mathematics and Christian Theology. C. Henry Granville. Associated University Presses, 1976.
  • More Precisely: The Math You Need to do Philosophy. Eric Steinhart. Broadview Press, 2009.
  • Mathematics in India. Kim Plofke. Princeton University Press, 2008.
  • Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry. Fukagawa Hidetoshi and Tony Rothman. Princeton University Press, 2008.
  • What is and What Will Be: Integrating Science and Religion. Paul Budnik. Mountain Math Software, 2006.
  • Science and Religion, 400 B.C. to A.D. 1550: From Aristotle to Copernicus. Edward Grant. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
  • Equations from God: Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith. Daniel J. Cohen The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
  • Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don’t Add Up. John Allen Paulos. Hill and Wang, 2009.

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Library and information science

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About the discipline

Some would argue that religion created the information revolution. The desire to have and to understand the record of religious thought and theology helped create what is now a mass market for information.

Early Christian records moved from verbal memorization to papyrus scroll to parchment codex or book, which was portable and easily referenced. Moveable type meant books such as Bibles were no longer prohibitively expensive, didn’t take a long time to produce and were available in vernacular translations outside Latin. This 16th-century revolution could be compared to today’s Internet, allowing easy access to a multitude of information with no “gatekeeper.”

Historically, religion has been one of the first elements of society to embrace technological advances, from the printing press to radio to the Internet. Though some religions have been criticized at various points in their history for controlling and censoring information, historically religiously affiliated institutions such as Christian monasteries and Islamic libraries have preserved important religious, philosophical and scientific texts across the ages. This archiving not only preserved information but encouraged the ideology of placing value on information.

Modern information technology and library science – with its focus on improving learning, information organization and retrieval, human invention and innovation, and dissemination of new technologies and processes – could look to religion as a model of how information and technology have been used over the centuries and today.

Religion and technology: Religions aim to meet human spiritual, social and community needs. As technology has changed – changing both how people communicate and how communities are structured – religions have adapted to and used these new ways to communicate thoughts and ideas. Information and communities available on the Internet have taken religion to a place begun with the Protestant Reformation and printing of vernacular Bibles – it allows people to develop spirituality outside of the traditional power structures such as churches or religious leaders. Advances in technology have also been useful in preserving and disseminating religious texts. Today, people can read the entire Bible, Koran and other texts on-line, and many sites are searchable by chapter, phrase or keyword.

Houses of worship, denominations and faiths have Web sites where you can find everything from what time services are, to the address, to basic beliefs and pro- and con- arguments about the faith. Virtual seminaries are changing religious education, and digitized resources are available for schools and churches. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of texts, from journals to literature and primary sources – are available digitized and for free over the Internet. The Virtual Vatican site allows researchers to access the Vatican library and virtually examine objects such as 15th-century manuscripts. The Holy Land Satellite Atlas with a CD-ROM contains satellite maps of the Middle East and software permitting students to “fly” over the terrain of biblical sites.

Issues today: Advances in technology bring with them new ethical debates. One could examine whether online religious communities provide the same connection as “real” ones, and whether the Internet functions to bind a real-world community together or disconnect members from each other. The Internet has made pornography, infidelity, child crimes and identity crimes more accessible, which poses new challenges for a community as a whole and ethical dilemmas for some in the religious community who believe the Internet can be used for good, but has great propensity for evil.

While some would deem exposure to other belief systems found through the Internet an enhancement to their spirituality, some religious leaders are concerned exposure to other religions or criticism about their religion could weaken believers’ adherence or cause spiritual ruin. Still, the field of religion and technology poses many opportunities for those in the information technology or library profession. Cataloguing and making available the thousands of religious documents that exist can inform us about the past and our views of religion today. With the expanding global marketplace, they could make digital texts accessible in previously unavailable languages and allow access to documents previously unseen in nations around the world. Having these resources available opens the global public to information that previously may have been unavailable, in some countries even suppressed, possibly for religious reasons.

There is increased interest in religion, with discovery of texts such as the Gospel of Judas, and Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. Having access to information digitally and easily can put “primary documents” into people’s hands as they explore questions about faith. Maintaining the religious record in new ways also makes them accessible for younger generations who grew up with this technology and will naturally use it in years to come.

Articles

Books

  • TechGnosis: Myth, Magic & Mysticism in the Age of Information. Erik Davis. Gale Group, 2004.
  • Painting Religion in Public: John Singer Sargent’s Triumph of Religion at the Boston Public Library. Sally M. Promey. Princeton University Press, 1999.
  • Library Research Guide to Religion and Theology: Illustrated Search Strategy and Sources. James R. Kennedy. Pierian, 1984.
  • The ancient library of Alexandria and early Christian theological development. J. Harold Ellens. Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, 1993.
  • The Library of Alexandria: Centre of Learning in the Ancient World. Roy MacLeod. I. B. Tauris, 2004.

Case studies

Codes of ethics

Journals

More links

Professional associations and faith groups

Syllabi