Wondering about World Religions

In less than three months, the fall semester will begin at Amarillo College.  That sounds a little strange since it isn’t officially summer yet, although it feels like it here.

Anyway, when the time comes, teaching a course in “World Religions” will be among my new responsibilities.  I’m looking forward to it.  But I know I’ll have to do a lot of work between now and then.

It’s hard to describe a religion that you haven’t really met.  Sometimes it’s hard to characterize a religious tradition you supposedly know very well.  

When you are yourself a religious person, you realize that if someone from the other side of the planet (or even next door) were to define your religion, they’d likely not speak for you.  For example, in many parts of the world the only expression of Christianity known to the locals is Roman Catholicism.  So if a non-Christian in one of those places were to describe Christianity, my first reaction would be, “No, that’s not me.”

So I have to assume that knowledge I gain from a textbook or first-hand doesn’t necessarily mean that I can adequately speak about a certain religion.

I think that a World Religions course will have to include a lot of statements like, “Among many Buddists . . .” and “One traditional Jewish understanding is that . . .”   I also think that one of the best approaches is to read the texts that reflect the heart of a given tradition, and let them speak for themselves.  Obviously, that includes some selection, and some introduction or commentary too.

At this point, I’m not convinced that the classic textbook approach to a World Religions course is the best way to go.  I suppose I could read a book called, “All the Fish in the Gulf of Mexico.”  Or I could take a boat ten miles off the coast of Pensacola and drop a line.