RELI 215/2A: RELIGIONS OF ASIA
Wednesday and Friday 8:45-10:00am
Room: Hall Building, H 553
Instructor: Marcel Parent
Office: R03, 2060 Rue MacKay
Office Hours: Wednesday10:30-12:00
e-mail: [email protected]
Teaching Assistant: James Quinn
Office: Room R-07 2050 McKay
Office Hours: Friday 11:00-12:00
Email: [email protected]
Course Objectives
This class will introduce students to the most common beliefs, practices, and events in the
history of a number of Asian Religions. This course will also introduce students to some
of the basic concerns and issues regarding the scholarly study of religion in general and
Asian religions in particular. Students will be exposed to a sampling of primary sources
that supplement the scholarly material. Students will also be exposed to contemporary
manifestations of Asian religions both globally and in Canada. Students should come out
of the course having some analytical tools to interpret the representations of Asian
Religions in history, in popular culture, and in the contemporary globalized world.
Description
This course surveys the history, doctrines, institutions, and practices of religions that
have arisen in and spread throughout Asia, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and the
religions of China and Japan. The course explores the religious activities and experiences
of both women and men within these traditions.
Throughout the course each religion will be situated within a historical development in
relation to the others. The course will be split into two major sections: South Asia
(including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism) and East Asia (including
Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto). This will emphasize the greater cultural
milieu in which each religion participates.
This is not a course intended to teach one how to practice a particular religious tradition.
This course is an academic study of the various traditions. However, we will attempt to
understand the religious traditions on their own terms. We will attempt to understand the
positions and views that practitioners of Asian Religions, throughout history, have come
to understand their own tradition. We will also critically engage both the object of study
and ourselves as we examine religion in Asia.
Required Texts
Textbooks:
 Willard G. Oxtoby, ed., World Religions: Eastern Traditions, 3rd ed.
Readings can be found on WebCT:
 Christopher R. Cotter and David G. Robertson, “Introduction” to After World
Religions: Reconstructing Religious Studies.
 Richard King, “Disciplining Religion” in Orientalism and Religion.
Assignments
Media Analysis Assignment
2 Mid-Term Take-home Exams
Critical Analysis Paper
25%
25% each
25%
Media Analysis Paper:
Date Due:
Length: 4-5 pages
This assignment will be an analysis of a news article, a commercial, a particular element
of a TV show or movie, an advertisement or other contemporary media representation of
an Asian tradition covered in class. The general aim of the paper is analyze this piece of
media in order to reflect on how it engages with the category of religion or an Asian
religion in particular. You will construct a paper with one thesis that tells us something
about this media piece. For example, a sample thesis might look like [and I’m making
this up]: “While the film The Matrix knowingly incorporates Asian religious themes, it is
a pot-pourri of various ideologies that reflects the capitalist ideas of “shopping cart
religion” rather than any sustained reflection of Asian traditions.” Every sentence and
paragraph of the paper should be working towards proving this thesis.
You are to critically analyze this example of contemporary media and explore how it is
implicated in the way that Asian religions are represented. For this assignment you
should provide an analysis that explains the salient elements of the particular example of
media you explore such that the reader of the paper can understand the example without
having encountered it before. More nuanced papers will account for the context of its
production, the interests behind its production, the socio-historical framework that its
representation draws from. Practically, this means you will have to do research: who
made this piece? When? Who’s the audience (and does this matter)? Is it responding to
something? How was it received (box office, critical reception, news)? If it has an author
or director, have they expressed their intentions about the work? Are there scholarly
analyses of this piece? In the example above, about the Matrix, We might look for
interviews by the Watchowski siblings, who directed the film, in their interviews to find
them talking about incorporating Asian religious or philosophical themes. We might look
for scholarly work on the Matrix (there are books out there). We might want to find
scholarly analysis of “shopping cart” or “mix-and-match” religion that will help us make
our argument. In a four page paper, you don’t need to do a ton of research, just enough to
argue your thesis
Critically engage your example by exploring how this representation constructs
‘religion’, how it represents Asia, and what implications can be drawn from how it
represents its subject matter. Be critical in engaging with the representation: this means
not necessarily arguing whether something is a “good” or “bad” representation, but more
importantly how this representation gives its audience a particular picture of the subject
for particular reasons. Have fun by attempting to tease out a nuanced perspective on the
subject. For the Matrix example above, we could include a list of various religious
references from the movie (“Nebuchadnezzar”, “The spoon bends you”, and so on), in
order to show how these are on par with literary and other apparent ‘non-religious’
references (Alice in Wonderland, Jean Baudrillard, Kung-fu) in a manner that levels them
all out into a cultural soup that reflects a kind of pick-and-choose plethora of meaning.
Obviously, you do the kind of analysis you want on the media piece you choose, but have
fun with it!
Ultimately, choose a media piece that has something to do with Asian religions, and
critically engage with how it represents religion. Use the course material (cite!) to help
bolster your own position.
To help think critically about the subject matter, you could make your paper a response to
ONE of the following questions:

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Does the media piece you examine essentialize or homogenize religion? Does it
reduce religion to some particular manifestation, or does it take one single
element the necessary condition for something to be considered religious? Does it
make all religions seem the same in relation to each other? How does it organize
sameness and difference? Is it fetishizing religion? Why, would you hypothesize,
is your piece constructing religion in this way? What are the benefits, culturally
and intellectually, for religion to be conceived of in the way it is in your piece?
What are the problems?
In what way can your media assignment example be analyzed using the critical
engagement of the term “religion” from the After World Religions selection? Does
it imagine religions as sui generis (i.e. existing uniquely before and apart from its
actual manifestations in the world)? Does it imagine religions from the Protestant
paradigm of faith or belief being the most important signifiers of religion? Does it
privilege the views of elites of a tradition? Does it hierarchize various religions?
In what way does your media piece valorize or resist the “world religions”
paradigm of religion?
Richard King invites us to understand that the way a term or category is used is
often more about what someone wants that category to mean, rather than some
neutral objective truth (even if framing it as objective is part of a rhetorical
strategy to give more weight to their position). He says, “debates about the
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meanings of key terms such as ‘religio’ and ‘mustikos’ reflect underlying
struggles for authority between rival power groups” (36). If we take this
understanding and apply it to the term ‘religion’, we do see that the plethora of
definitions or attempts to understand religion are often more about the desires or
political aspirations of those interpreting the term a certain way (i.e. why do
people want to make a distinction between ‘spirituality’ and ‘religion’?). What
political interest or desire does your media piece reflect in its attempt to construct
or define religion a certain way? What are the aims attempting to be achieved by
interpreting religion in the way it does?
If we accept that “the notion of ‘religion’ itself is a Christian theological
category,” (40) in what ways does your media example resist this culturally
specific notion of religion? If ‘religion’ as we know it today is an invention of
Christian influenced, Western secular Enlightenment thought, how does your
media example speak to this history? Does it reaffirm it in some ways and/or
challenge it in others?
Religion has, in practice, become very difficult for scholars to define. For every
definition of ‘religion’ there are more exceptions than the definition can account
for. This has led scholars to more creative ways of trying to understand the
category. Creatively, some scholars posit that ‘religion’ should be more broadly
conceived such that Marxism, Nationalism, sports, neo-liberalism and other
phenomena are “religious”. Can your media piece speak to this difficulty of
defining religion? Can it provide another way to understand the category? How
can we put the kinds of analyses done in Religious Studies to productive use
towards things not normally considered “religion”? What do we gain or what do
we lose with such an approach?
Critical Analysis Paper
Date Due:
Length: 5-6 pages
The purpose of this assignment is for students to explore as critically as possible what it
means to study religion. This assignment is designed to open up fundamental questions
about what it means to examine the foundational interpretive frameworks that shape
people’s lives and how this affects and is affected by gaze of the scholar. We should
retain a critical eye towards the categories, concepts and ideals that we bring to the study
of religion. This assignment will allow students to explore the topic of Asian Religions in
a sustained and critical manner. Students should take this as an opportunity to develop a
few questions or problems that they can explore throughout the length of the course. The
questions outlined below are designed to help students along in this process. Your ability
to communicate effectively in an appropriate writing style and your ability to develop
interesting critical engagement and analytical insight will be the basis for evaluation.
For this paper, develop one strong thesis and gear all your argumentation towards that
thesis. Make this thesis clear in the introduction. Keep the introduction concise: launch
right into a description of the thesis you will prove and a general idea of the specific
arguments you will make in the paper to prove it. Literally give a summary of the
arguments we will see in the paper. This will pique the interest of the reader. Make
your paper title something catchy, that also explains what you are going to be talking
about.Your conclusion will restate the problem and NOT add any new information. A
conclusion highlights for the reader what you think are the most important points to take
from the paper. Focus on narrowing your argument in a way that will lead to insight for
the reader. This means that if you say ANYTHING in the paper, you should prove that
this is the case and tell the reader the relevance of it for your argument. For example, if
your argument is that the moon landing is a hoax, you need to marshall evidence for this
fact. Furthermore, if you want to bring chem-trails and steel beams into your argument,
you need to both prove those things as well, but also show how they are relevant. Don’t
be afraid to change your thesis as you do research. Ask yourself, “what is interesting
about this?” So, for the example just cited, a more interesting thesis might answer: “what
are some common elements to these beliefs in conspiracy and what does that tell us about
the world around us?”
Aside from the flippant example in the last paragraph, the general constraints for the
paper are that it should be about religion as a concept/category or about Asian Religions
in particular. Below are the questions to which your answer will be your thesis. CHOSE
ONLY ONE. Each of these questions will have corresponding readings in Moodle. You
are encouraged to do more research if this will help you argue your thesis. If you want to
do a different question than those below, you must get verbal permission from the
instructor.
Questions :
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
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The Invention of Religion. The readings for this question argue that Asian
religions are, to some degree or another, an invention of the Western scholar.
How does this insight about the construction of Hinduism and Buddhism
transform the category of religion itself? What are the political and ethical
ramifications of these insights?
Expanding Religion. If we broaden our scope to religion in popular culture, this
leads to some interesting insights. Many of the things that we don’t normally
think of as religious seem to show religious elements. Furthermore, by looking at
popular culture, the way we study religion itself becomes transformed. How does
looking at religion more broadly change the way we think about religion? (Feel
free to use an example from popular culture as a case study for your arguments.)
Deconstructing “Religion”. As we have seen, the Post-Enlightenment
development of the category of religion has created a number of oppositional
pairs (faith/reason, religion/philosophy, religion/spirituality, tradition/modernity).
What are the effects of thinking about the category in the way we do? Is there a
way to understand the category of religion beyond how it has been understood in
history?
Asia in the West. We have seen a number of Asian traditions enter into Europe
and North America. We have also seen particular elements of Asian traditions
extracted from their cultural contexts and taken up in the West (i.e. Yoga,
meditation, Tantra). What are the ethical issues involved in this process? When
does cultural borrowing become cultural appropriation?
Remember, for this assignment to cite your sources!
Grading Guidelines
A Outstanding: Superior grasp of material (for written assignments, this means:
interesting or insightful analysis, a well-argued critical stance, the ability to account for
nuanced data and provide a solid interpretation of this data) , informed class participation,
well written assignments.
B+, B, B- Above average: Good understanding (clear analysis of material, evidence of
critical thought) clear and orderly presentation demonstrating ability to apply materials
and concepts, regular attendance
C+, C, C- Satisfactory: Adequate grasp of material (Summary of the material, some
analysis); reasonably clear presentation
D Minimally satisfactory: evidence of course work, irregular attendance
F Inadequate or incomplete class assignments, absenteeism, plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is unacceptable. Students should be familiar with Concordia's regulations on
plagiarism (http://cdev.Concordia.ca/CnD/studentlearn/Help/handouts/WritingHO/
AvoidingPlagiarism.html). Plagiarism will be dealt with by the administration. It is a
serious offence and IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to understand what it is and how
to avoid it. A good source for appropriate citation is:
http://juno.concordia.ca/services/citations.html
Late Assignments
Assignments handed in after the due date are deducted 5% per day (including weekends).
No assignment will be accepted 2 weeks after due date. These restrictions will only be
lifted for a valid reason with adequate proof (i.e. doctors note).
Gender Inclusive Language
All assignments should be written with gender inclusive language. Assignments without
gender inclusive language will be penalized.
Course Schedule:
September:
7: Intro to Course: Religious Studies as science
9: Defining Religion: Religion as a category, critique of “world religions”, critique of
“religion vs. philosophy”
14: Analysis of Readings. Eurocentrism; Enlightenment; Opening up the category:
benefits and issues
16: How to write a paper; Research; Expectations.
(Sept.19 is add/drop deadline)
21: Media Analysis assignment due. Class discussion of papers.
23: Shramana Period: Socio-political shifts; Mendicancy and asceticism; Householder
and Renouncer; karma, samsara, rebirth
28: Shramana Period: Brahmanical Vedic Culture, Jainism, Buddhism, Caste
30: Greco-Bactrian period: Chandragupta (Jainism) and Asoka (Buddhism);
Digambara/Svetambara divide; itihasa: Dharmasastras, Puranas, Epics.
October:
5: Gupta Period: Solidification of Classical Hinduism; Three Divines (Siva, Vishnu,
Devi); Pan-Indian versus local; purity/pollution; darshana
7: Spread of Buddhism; Buddhist Sectarianism; Mahayana Buddhism and Emptiness;
12: Tantra; Saiva-Buddhism in South-East Asia; Socio-political realities; Stupas
14: Bhakti; Jain Bhakti; Jain absorbtion of caste; decline of Buddhism
(October 10 Thanksgiving Holiday)
19: Sikhism; Sikh absorption of caste
21: Modernity; politics of religion as category; politics of respectibility
26: Mid-term #1 Due. Period of the 100 Philosophers: Dao, Ancestor Worship, Filial
Piety, Yin/Yang, Heaven and Earth
28: Period of the 100 Philosophers: Daoism, Confucianism, Moism, Legalism
November:
2: Qin Dynasty Legalism; Han Dynasty Confucianism; Daoist revolution
4: Buddhism enters China; Buddhist/Daoist Hybridity
(November 6: Last day for academic withdrawal)
9: Tang Dynasty: Confucianism, the State, and Education; Religious Daoism;
11: Hwa Yen Buddhism and Emptiness; Ch’an Buddhism
16: Spread of Chinese traditions to Korea and Japan (Shinto/Daoism and Buddhism;
Confucianism and Buddhism); Neo-Confucianism
18: Modernity: Maoism/Marxism and the category of religion, “political religion”; Korea
and Christianity; Japan, Shinto and Nationalism
23: Mid-term #2 Due.
25: Religion and Asia: modernity and tradition; nationalism and religion,
30: Colonialism, romanticism vs. vilification,
December:
2: Final Paper Due
(December 5 Last day of Classes)