Professor:
Dr. David G. Creamer, S. J.
Room 124, St. Paul's College - Phone: 474-9141 Fax:
474-7613.
E-mail: creamer@ms.umanitoba.ca
Office hours are posted. Feel free to drop into
my office anytime or telephone for an appointment. If you don't find me
in the office, check with my secretary in room 118 (474-9165).
Teaching Assistant: Michael Caligiuri, a
Ph.D. student, is available to meet with students with regards to questions
about WebCT. He can be found in Room 261, St. Paul's College (474-7055).
If you choose to do a Research Project for your final assignment, it will
be supervised and graded by Michael.
E-mail: mike_cal@hotmail.com
Course Time & Location:
Slot 03, (10:30-11:20 am) Monday, Wednesday &
Friday
St. Paul's College, Room 258
Course Objective:
This course is a general introduction to the psychology
of religion, embracing both classic and contemporary perspectives. You
will encounter the many approaches psychologists have used to understand
how religion influences people's lives. We start with William James and
the formal beginnings of the discipline. Then, in turn, we will consider
behavioural (Skinner), psychoanalytic (Freud and Jung), and interpretive(Otto
and Heiler) theories of religion. The contributions of developmental psychology
(Piaget, Kohlberg, and Fowler) and the American humanistic/existential
tradition (Allport, Fromm, May, and Frankl) follow. We conclude with an
examination of the so called "fourth force" in Psychology of Religion,
transpersonal or integral psychology, exemplified perhaps best in the work
of Ken Wilber ("the Einstein of consciousness"). To bring home the factor
of the "personal equation" -the effects of individual personality on scholarly
work- we will examine in some detail the lives of several contributors
to the discipline. PowerPoint lectures, video tapes and WebCT a suite of
tools developed to deliver Web-based course materials) will be used to
help facilitate understanding of the psychology of religion.
Textbook:
WULFF, David M. Psychology of Religion: Classic
and Contemporary. 2nd. Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
Requirements:
1. Read the assigned readings (ideally in advance
of the lectures).
2. Attend Lectures
3. Make WebCT Bulletin Board Postings
4. The Vision Quest Exercise
5. Two Quizzes
6. A Research Paper/Project
7. A Final Examination
Reading Assignments:
The course outline specifies the required readings
for
each topic. If not from the textbook, copies of the assigned readings are
available on two hour reserve in the St. Paul's College Library.
David Wulff's Psychology of Religion is also available on two hour
reserve.
Lectures:
Class will be primarily centred around lectures
given by the instructor. Most of the information covered will be in the
text book or assigned readings. Class attendance is monitored periodically
and is strongly recommended. You might be asking yourself, "But why?" There
are several reasons. First, hearing a second presentation of information
you have already read is practically guaranteed to help you learn the material.
Second, class lectures will offer examples and clarification of information
presented in the text, including an opportunity for you to ask questions
and discuss what you have read. Third, class lectures will include some
material that is NOT in the textbook or assigned readings, but will nonetheless
appear on exams. Finally, note the University's policy on Attendance at
Class (University of Manitoba Undergraduate Calendar: 2002-2003,
Section 6.1 (p. 28)-- "Regular attendance is expected of all students in
all courses. An instructor may initiate procedures to debar a student from
attending classes and from final examinations and/or from receiving credit
where un-excused absences exceed those permitted by the faculty or school
regulations." In the Faculty of Arts that is three hours of scheduled classes
in any one term.
WebCT Bulletin Board Postings (10%):
(a) By Monday, September 16, students are asked
to post a brief biographical sketch in the Class Biographies section
of the Bulletin Board. Include, your name, program of study and year, why
you enrolled in 020.221, your background in psychology, your involvement
or lack thereof in religion, interest or lack thereof in spirituality in
general.
(b) At least once each week (i. e., a total of 24times),
students are to make a course related posting on the Main Bulletin
Board. You may post comments about course content, ask a question about
course content, or seek clarification of some course topic. You may share
a personal encounter you have had that relates to Psychology of Religion,
summarize something you have read or a film you have seen, or review Web-Sites
related to course topics. Feel free, of course, to "reply" to postings
by other class members. During the Fall Term, you may ask questions or
post comments on the Vision Quest Exercise (prior or post). You will receive1/3
of a point for each appropriate and substantive posting (total of
8); two additional points will be awarded at the discretion of the instructor.
Vision Quest Exercise (20%): Due on
Friday, November 8, 2002
In earlier societies, the Vision Quest was a way
of attaining psychological and spiritual insights. Typically, a person
would embark on a Quest as a rite of passage into adulthood (the “Walkabout”
of Australian Aborigines), to find a solution to a crisis confronting the
individual or group, or to attain truth about oneself and one’s world.
Elements of the Vision Quest survive today in “journey” literature (Lost
Horizons, Seven Years in Tibet), and something as ordinary as
going for a walk or drive by oneself “to have time to think.” Carl Jung
understood the Vision Quest- the idea of oneself as a wanderer, a seeker,
a pilgrim- as a universal archetypical theme that surfaces in the lives
of ordinary people as well as great religious leaders (Prince Siddhartha)
and mythical heros (Odysseus).
This assignment is a drastic modification of the
ancient Vision Quest! Your task is to go on a mini Vision Quest
and write about your experience. The main objective of this exercise is
to have students in psychology of religion experience and reflect upon
the depths of the human psyche.
Essays are to be 3000 words and should conform to
an appropriate style manual. Students, who wish, may hand in their
papers at least two weeks before the due date for feedback as to content
and style so as to provide an opportunity to redo the assignment before
the due date. NOTE: Except with prior permission of the instructor, or
in the case of documented illness or some other such serious reason, a
paper handed in after the due date will have one point deducted for each
day it is late.
See the Assignments Page on WebCT for more info.
Two Quizzes (15% each): Monday, Nov 25,
2002 & Monday, Feb 24, 2003
There are two, in class, quizzes (one each term).They
will consist of multiple choice type questions, and "short essay" type
questions (choices).
Research Paper/Project (25%): Due on
Monday, March 24, 2003
(a) Research papers offer a critical exposition
and evaluation of one or another of the major issues and/or psychologists
of religion studied. The main objective of these research papers is to
have students familiarize themselves with original source material and
the extensive research literature available in psychology of religion.
Papers are 3000 words (10 pages) and should conform to an appropriate style
manual, especially regarding references and bibliography.
Students, who wish, may hand in their papers at
least two weeks before the due date for feedback as to content and style
so as to provide an opportunity to redo the research paper before the due
date. NOTE: Except with prior permission of the instructor, or in the case
of documented illness or some other such serious reason, a research paper
handed in after the due date will have one point deducted for each day
it is late.
(b) Research Projects take two forms:
1) Using the Homepage
option on WebCT is an option for 10 students in the class (working in pairs).
The Project involves preparing at least fifteen pages of text, images,
and links on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor.
2) Create a Portfolio
on a specific person or school of thought in Psychology of Religion.
This would contain newspaper clippings, photographs, and other media types
as well as a presentation of the major biographical events and/or ideas.
See the Assignments Page on WebCT for more info.
Final Examination (15%): Wednesday, April
9, 2003, In Class
In addition to multiple choice type questions, the
final examination will include longer "synthesis type" questions covering
the broad themes of the course (choices). Attendance at lectures, good
notes, and a grasp of the required reading assignments will make this examination
easy.
Bonus Points (2%)
Students can receive up to two “bonus points” by
attending at least one lecture in either the Hanley Lecture series or Jesuit
Speakers series at St. Paul’s College. The requirements are (a) attend
the lecture of choice and (b) in the “Bonus Points” section of the Bulletin
Board on WebCT, post a two or three paragraph review/reaction to the lecture
you attended.
Sol Kanee Lecture
(Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice)
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 (daytime). Inaugural Lecturer: Prince
El Hassan of Jordan (on a topic relating to the role of the Abrahamic religions
in the promotion of Peace and Justice in the Middle East)
Fr. John Hanley, S.J., Memorial Lecture Series
Sunday/Monday, October 20 & 21, 2002. Sr. Mary C. Boys,
S.N.J.M. on “Questions that touch on the Heart of our Faith: Judaism as
a New ‘Catechism’ for Christians”
Lecture I: “What might Judaism teach us about Christianity?”
Sunday, October 20, 2002 at 7:00 p.m., Jensen Theatre, Room 100, SPC
Lecture II: “Why do we need Jesus? Isn’t God enough?”
Monday, October 21, 2002 at 1:30 p.m., Hanley Hall, SPC
Lecture III: “For Christianity to be true, need Judaism be false?”
Monday, October 21, 2002 at 7:00 p.m., Jensen Theatre, Room 100, SPC
November 18, 2002 (David Burell), Time, Place, TBA
February, 2003 (Drew Christianson), Date, Time, Place, TBA
University Affiliation Lecture
March, 2003, Speaker, Date, Time, Place, TBA.
Evaluation Summary:
|
Quiz One 15%
|
Research Paper 25%
|
|
Vision Quest Exercise
20%
|
WebCT postings 10%
|
|
Quiz Two 15%
|
Final examination 15%
|
The Department of Religion grading scheme (page 25
of The University of Manitoba General Calendar, 2002-2003) will
be used in the course (Final Grades Subject to Religion Department Review)
Incomplete Term Work:See page 25 of the University
of Manitoba Undergraduate Calendar: 2002-2003 for the regulations (4.1.2).
Note that you must “apply to the instructor prior to the end of lectures
for an incomplete grade and time extension for work completion.”
Academic Integrity:Acquaint yourself with
the University’s policy on Plagiarism and Cheating (7.1), on p.
28 and Personation at Examinations (4.2.8) on p. 27 of the University
of Manitoba Undergraduate Calendar: 2002-2003.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. OVERVIEW
a) Meaning of the terms: 'psychology,' 'of,' and
'religion.'
b) Objections to the idea of 'Psychology of Religion'
c) A look ahead
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology
of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 1 Introduction: The Psychology of Religion in a Changing
World, pp. 1-20.
II. THE FORMAL BEGINNINGS OF PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION
a) The Anglo-American tradition
b) The German tradition
c) The French tradition
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology
of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 2 The Formal Beginnings: Three Traditions, pp. 21-48.
III. THE BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF RELIGION
a) G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924): Pioneer in psychology
of religion
b) The four temperaments and religion
c) Deliberate facilitation of religious experience
d) Evaluation of the biological approach to the
study of religion
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology
of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 3 The Biological Foundations of Religion, pp. 49-64, 69-95,
112-116.
IV. WILLIAM JAMES AND HIS LEGACY
a) William James (1842-1910) and the Jameses
b) The Varieties of Religious Experience
(1902)
c) James Pratt (1875-1944) and the religious consciousness
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology
of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 11 William James and his Legacy, pp. 472-523.
V. B. F. SKINNER (1904-1990) AND THE BEHAVIOURAL
MODEL
a) Behavioural theory and religion
b) B. F. Skinner's autobiography (three volumes)
c) The Skinnerian understanding of psychology of
religion: Walden Two
d) VIDEO: B. F. Skinner: A Fresh Appraisal
e) Evaluation of the behavioural understanding of
religion
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology
of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 4 Behavioural and Comparative Theories of Religion, pp.
117-139 and 158-166.
VI. SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939) AND THE PSYCHOANALYTIC
PERSPECTIVE
a) Sigmund Freud; the personal equation
b) Freud and Psychoanalysis
c) Freud on religion; Totem and Taboo (1913)
& The Future of an Illusion (1927)
d) VIDEO: Freud Under Analysis
e) Moses and Monotheism (1939)
f) Ana-Maria Rizzuto's critique of Freud on God
g) Freud's legacy to psychology of religion
h) Freud Museums: London & Vienna
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology of
Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 7 The Perspective of Sigmund Freud, pp. 258-286 and292-319.
VII. CARL JUNG (1875-1961) AND ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY
a) Jung's life story: Memories, Dreams, Reflections
(1962)
b) VIDEO: Carl Jung: The Wisdom of the Dream
c) Structure of the human psyche
d) Jung's psychology of religion
e) Collective Unconscious: Gnosticism/alchemy/psychic
transformation
f) Answer to Job (1952)
g) Evaluation of the Jungian approach to religion
h) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Reading (Required): David M. Wulff,
Psychology of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John
Wiley & Sons,1997), Chapter 10 C. G. Jung and the Analytical
Tradition, pp. 414-471.
Reading (Suggested):
[1] David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates, Please Understand
Me: Character & Temperament Types (Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis
Book Company, 1984), pp. 1-26.
[2] Gordon Lawrence, People Types and Tiger Stripes:
A Practical Guide to Learning Styles (Gainesville, FL: Centre for Applications
of Psychological Type, 1979), pp. 1-26.
VIII. RUDOLF OTTO (1869-1937) AND THE GERMAN
DESCRIPTIVE TRADITION
a) Phenomenological and interpretive psychologies
b) Otto's The Idea of the Holy (1917)
c) Friedrich Heiler's prayer typology (Prayer,1932)
d) Existential-Interpretive psychologies of religion
e) Evaluation of the German descriptive tradition
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology of
Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 12 The German Descriptive Tradition, pp. 524-557and 568-581.
IX. THE AMERICAN HUMANISTIC SYNTHESIS
a) Gordon Allport (1897-1967); The Individual
and His Religion (1950)
b) Erich Fromm (1900-1980); The Art of Loving
(1956)
c) Rollo May (1909-1994); Man's Search for Himself
(1953)
d) Viktor Frankl (1905- ); Man's Search for Meaning
(1946): Logotherapy
e) Evaluation of the American Humanistic Approach
g) Robert Coles (1929- ) VIDEO; The Crayon Man
h) M. Scott Peck (1936- ); People of the Lie-
Bobby's story
Reading:
[1] David M. Wulff, Psychology of Religion: Classic
and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997), Chapter
13 The American Humanistic Synthesis, pp. 582-604 and 624-632.
[2] Robert Coles, The Spiritual Life of Children(Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990) "Psychoanalysis and Religion,"pp. 1-21.
[3] M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie: The Hope
for Healing Human Evil (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), "Towarda
Psychology of Evil," pp. 36-84.
X. JEAN PIAGET (1896-1980)/LAWRENCE KOHLBERG
(1927-1987) AND THE COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
a) Piaget's life story as illustrative of the personal
equation
b) VIDEO: Piaget's Developmental Theory: An Overview
c) Moral judgment and religion
d) VIDEO: Morality: The Process of Moral Development
e) Kohlberg's theory of moral development
f) The Heinz Dilemma
g) Carol Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg: In
A Different Voice (1982)
h) Cognitive development and religious development
Reading:
[1] David M. Wulff, Psychology of Religion: Classic
and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997), Chapter2
The Formal Beginnings: Three Traditions, pp. 43-48.
[2] John H. Kunkel, Encounters with Great Psychologists:
Twelve Dramatic Portraits (Toronto: Wall & Thompson, 1989), pp.223-229.
[3] James R. Rest, Darcia Narvaez, Stephen J. Thoma,
and Muriel J. Bebeau, "A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach to Morality Research,
"Journal of Moral Education (Volume 29, Number 4, Dec 2000), pp.381-395.
[4] Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice: Psychological
Theory and Women's Development (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1982), "Woman's Place in Man's Life Cycle," pp. 5-23.
XI. ERIK ERIKSON (1902-1994) AND THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL
PERSPECTIVE
a) Erikson's life story; the personal equation
b) VIDEO: Erik H. Erikson: A Life's Work
c) VIDEO: Everybody Rides the Carousel (Eight
Ages in the Life Cycle)
d) Erik and Joan Erikson: Vital Involvement in
Old Age: Stage 9, "Very Old Age"
e) VIDEO: A Conversation with Joan Erikson at
92
f) Homo religiosus: Martin Luther, Mahatma
Gandhi, Jesus Christ
g) Elements of ritualization
h) Evaluation of Erikson's perspective
Reading: David M. Wulff, Psychology
of Religion: Classic and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons,1997),
Chapter 9 Erik H. Erikson: Religion in the Human Life Cycle,pp.
371-401 and 405-413.
XII. JAMES W. FOWLER (1940-): "FAITH" DEVELOPMENT
THEORY
a) The "Image of God" and "Life Tapestry" exercises
b) VIDEO: James W. Fowler and Faith Development
Theory
c) Fowler's stage-centred theory of faith development
d) Evaluation of faith development theory
Reading:
[1] David M. Wulff, Psychology of Religion: Classic
and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997), pp. 401-405.
[2] David G. Creamer, S.J., Guides for the Journey:
John Macmurray, Bernard Lonergan, James Fowler (Lanham, MD: University
Press of America, Inc., 1996), Chapters 6 and 7.
XIII. TRANSPERSONAL OR INTEGRAL PSYCHOLOGY
a) Abraham Maslow
b) Ken Wilber
Reading:
[1] David M. Wulff, Psychology of Religion: Classic
and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997), Chapter13
The American Humanistic Synthesis, pp. 604-624.
[2] Abraham Maslow, "The Farther Reaches of Human
Nature," The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (Vol. 1, No. 1,Spring
1969), pp. 1-9
[3] Denise H. Lajoie, S. I. Shapiro, and Thomas
B.Roberts, "A Historical Analysis of the Statement of Purpose in The
Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The Journal of Transpersonal
Psychology(Vol. 23, No.2, 1991), pp. 175-181.
[4] Ken Wilber, Integral Psychology: Consciousness,
Spirit, Psychology, Therapy (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000),Note
to the Reader, pp. vii-xiii; Chapter 1, The Basic Levels or Waves,5-27;
Part Two, Path from Premodern to Modern, 57-85.
XIV. SUMMATION AND REVIEW OF COURSE
a) Who is Bernard Lonergan and what is the "Lonergan
enterprise"
b) Lonergan's methodology: An instrument for the
new human science?
c) Appropriating the "Lonergan idea" with a view
to evaluation and summation of the course
Reading (Required):
[1] David M. Wulff, Psychology of Religion: Classic
and Contemporary (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997), Epilogue,
pp. 633-645.
[2] Mark D. Morelli and Elizabeth A. Morelli, The
Lonergan Reader (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), Introduction,
pp. 3-28.
Reading (Suggested): David G. Creamer,
Guides for the Journey: John Macmurray, Bernard Lonergan, James Fowler
(Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc., 1996), Chapters 4 and 5.