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Posted on Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 8 a.m.

Religion courses a great place to ask, answer tough questions

By Benjamin Verdi

Are there questions you have about God, faith or anything supernatural that you walk around trying to answer all day? I know I have questions big and small about Christianity, its origins, history, the church’s first dilemmas and the ways those foundational issues manifest themselves today.

I also wonder why not all religions seem to have intellectual holes in them, at least on a surface level of understanding their basic tenets. I wonder how anyone can be certain that the religion they’ve chosen, or the one they’ve been raised to follow, is not only the best one, but the truest one.

Something I could’ve done, that I conveniently have only realized now that I’m just weeks from graduating from the University of Michigan, is that there are few people — especially on this campus of thinkers — who don’t have these kinds of questions bouncing around in their heads all day.

I check my emails nowadays and get tons of updates for new, exciting courses that I can now register for and take next fall, and a part of me swallows a pang of nostalgia while the rest of me is left scratching my head.

Why didn’t I ever take a “religion” class? It just dawned on me that, instead of walking across the diag and aimlessly pondering the universe for four years, I could’ve been engaging in an intelligent discussion and study of the world’s religions and their histories, and perhaps wouldn’t have any of these fundamental religious hangups I have.

And the Religion Studies Department does not look — from the perspective of someone whose taken classes called “Extreme Weather” and “Adolescent Literature” during his tenure at U of M — like a cake walk. There are introductory courses to major world religions, and an “Introduction to the Old Testament” class that would probably challenge me more than any math or science class I sat through. (I mean…have you ever even tried to read The Old Testament?)

From there, courses intensify and focus their scope from intros to “Near Eastern Religions,” to “Buddhism,” to “Rabbinic Literature/History” and “Jesus and the Gospels.” As detailed and as all-encompassing as the other classes I’ve taken here have been, I wonder and wince at how much more I’d know about the world’s religions and religious history had I ever decided to take one of these classes, which generally fill humanities credits that everyone needs.

While there are lots of these history-based classes available to introductory religion students, there are also more advanced classes called “Religion and Violence in the Secular World,” and “Psychology and Spiritual Development” which probably produce heated and relevant discussions of the world’s religions, and how much power they should have over our societies, as well as ourselves.

Violence seems to fly in the faces of the world’s major religions, and what they all try to preach as the “right way” to treat other people. Yet, throughout history, there’s been seemingly more violence stemming from religion than there has ever been from anything else.

A class that analyzes this paradoxical connection throughout history between human violence and God (without, perhaps, explaining away these issues) would invite a diverse and opinionated group of young people to have a real conversation. For once.

And, even if the prospect of that conversation might be a bit intimidating, the rewards of that kind of intellectual teamwork would benefit someone like me — someone with questions — on both a spiritual and historical, academic level.

Juxtaposed against the very visible issues surrounding violence and religion, I never would’ve thought to have a class that dealt with the psychology of religion. This class sounds intriguing simply because it’s something I would’ve never considered study-able, but is paramount to my understanding of God.

Frankly, any study of religion that didn’t involve a psychological analysis of the individual as he/she discovers, grapples with and either accepts of rejects the teachings of God would be incomplete — as would a psychology class that lacked basic questions and elements of religion and religious studies.

These classes are opportunities to get a grade for engaging in the most important conversations a person can ever have. The closest class to these that I ever signed up for was an American Culture class called “AMCULT 498: Why Do They Hate Us?”

It was about American/Middle-Eastern relations and challenged my conceptions of Muslims, Arabs, terrorism and my previously Orientalist understanding of the history of the Middle East, and America’s role in defining all of these words —most often to solely benefit America. Had I another semester at Michigan, I’d only take classes that challenged me this much because I see how much I got out of just one.

I’d have forums for airing the grievances I have with religious people and with non-religious people, and they would have similar opportunities to think about what I so passionately raised my hand to say, and call it nonsense, and we’d go from there. There are healthy ways to have conversations about God, religion and cultural differences, and by the end of a class like those found in the religion department, I bet students leave with a respect for one another that is produced in no other kind of environment.

If only it’d crossed my mind to challenge myself more during my career as a college student. Maybe I’d have learned a little more about what I think I’ve known for years.

Ben Verdi is a man with a Bible and a laptop and a nasty curveball. He can be reached at jerboiz@aol.com.

Comments

Will

Sat, Mar 26, 2011 : 9:40 p.m.

As someone who has taken a lot of religion classes in my life, I can tell you that they rarely answer all life's questions. They may give you a broader picture of the different ideas out there but as far as answering any of the questions you have brought up, probably not so much. I would recommend reading like crazy to answer questions. Read Nietzsche and then read Chesterton's "Orthdoxy". Read Dawkin's 'God Delusion' and then read Douglas Wilson's 'The Deluded Atheist'. Read Christopher Hitchens God is not Great and then read his brother Peter Hitchens Rage Against the God. Read the classics. Read Augustine. Read Calvin. Read Luther. Read DesCartes. And read lots of CS Lewis. Aim for a book a week. Budget for books (although the classics are free on Kindle).

REBBAPRAGADA

Sat, Mar 26, 2011 : 5:16 p.m.

There is no need to ask tough questions. You need to ask only the very simple questions and get basic knowledge about yourself and understand as to how you exist in nature. Man is a created being and spirituality describes the nature of the connection between man and his Creator. Man exists in the physical world not because of his knowledge or merit. If you understand your true nature and as to what you do for your existence, you would get the simple knowledge about Lord's Mercy, Grace, and Compassion. If you experience the mercy, grace, and compassion, you would not seek to explore world's religions. God does not exist in the religious formulas that man has created. He exists by His own Power, independent of our reason, and faith. Since the time of Socrates and before, the teaching has been that of "Know thyself."

SusanR

Sat, Mar 26, 2011 : 2:47 p.m.

Learning does not stop after graduation. If you want to listen to a great course on world religions, go to iTunes University and download -- for free -- the "World Religions" course taught by Eastern Michigan University history professor Rick M. Rogers. At one point, it was the most downloaded course on iTunes U. The course book can be purchased on Amazon. Rogers earned his PhD in Near Eastern Studies at University of Michigan in the 1996. One of his dissertation advisers was UM's wonderful Ralph Williams.

Sarah Rigg

Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 1:37 p.m.

Have you ever tried to read the Old Testament? you ask. Why yes. Yes I have tried... and completed reading the Old Testament and the New One. Three times, cover to cover. The "begats" are a little hard to get through, but the rest is pretty entertaining. I'm always amused when Christians who who haven't read the Bible through even once try to argue with me (an atheist) about what is and isn't in there.