REL 140 - Philosophy of Religion

1. Demonstrate an understanding of philosophical method.
2. Examine the meaning of the terms “religion” and “God.”
3. Review the classical arguments for and against the existence of God.
4. Explain the impact of religion on ethics, psychology, and law.
5. Examine faith and reason.
6. Summarize the impact of theodicy.
7. Analyze mysticism.

1. Philosophical Method
   1. Logic
      1. Deductive and inductive reasoning
      2. Formal and informal fallacies
   2. Analytic vs. synthetic
   3. A priori vs. a posteriori
   4. The problem of truth
2. Nature and Meaning of Religion and God
   1. Religion and Theism
   2. Religion and Spirituality
   3. Anthropological, legal, philosophical, and traditional meaning of religion
   4. Possible meanings for “God”
      1. Monism
      2. Monotheism
      3. Pantheism
      4. Panentheism
      5. Polytheism
3. Classical Arguments
   1. Anselm’s ontological argument
   2. Thomas Aquinas’ “Five Ways”
   3. Cosmological argument
   4. Teleological argument
   5. Descartes’ ontological argument
   6. Replies of Hume and Kant
4. Impact of Religion on Ethics, Psychology, and Law
   1. Divine command theory in ethics (Good and God)
   2. Psychology
      1. Freud
      2. Jung
      3. William James
      4. Ken Wilber
   3. Law
      1. Theocracy
      2. Constitutional issues
5. Faith and Reason
   1. Faith as truth
   2. Rational vs. irrational
   3. Existentialism
      1. Kierkegaard
      2. Nietzsche
      3. Sartre
6. Theodicy
   1. Definitions of evil
   2. Problem of evil
   3. God and evil
7. Mysticism
   1. States and stages of consciousness 
   2. Multiple intelligences
   3. Meditation and philosophy
   4. Mysticism and truth