Sociology 3595: Sociology of Religion Study Guide 3

I. Multiple choice: Abrahamic religions, antisemitism, the "new" immigrants (1890-1910), 2nd Vatican Council, Nostre Aetate, United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Raphael Lemkin, William Proxmire, moral entrepreneurs(Howard Becker), ethnicity, ethnic fusion, race, forced conversion/expulsion of the Jews (England, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal), pale of settlement, triple melting pot hypothesis(Herberg), assimilation and intermarriage, the black church in America and the civil rights movement, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the role of Christianity in slave communities, double consciousness (DuBois), storefront churches, Elijah Muhammed and the Nation of Islam, American Muslim Mission, feminism and Christianity, patriarchy and ordination of women, Islam: women as imams, Judaism: women as rabbis, women as religious founders, % of American Catholics now supporting women as priests, stained glass ceiling, researching the lifeworlds of women in churches past, culture wars, Promise Keepers, religion and abortion, pro-life movement, religion and sexuality, gendered images of God, feminism and neo-paganism, Catholic immigration to the United States, Jewish immigration, Reform and Conservative Judaism vs. Orthodox Judaism, nativism, "becoming white," key vocabulary relating to Islam ( islam, muslim, ummah,dhimmi, jihad, shariah, the "rightly guided" caliphs, Sunni Islam vs. Shii Islam, 5 pillars of Islam), fundamentalism, exclusive militancy, "text without context," Islamization, American civil religion, functional theory, World on Fire (Amy Chua)

Videos: "America and the Holocaust," "Speaking of Faith: Joan Chittester," "Sisters," "The Evolution of Religion,"

II. Essay Questions
1. Compare and contrast the historic treatment of Jews by Moslem countries and the treatment of Jews by Christian countries. Why was there such a difference?

2. What were the religious beliefs of the first few waves of European immigrants to the United States and how did that group respond to the religion of later immigrants?

3. Why was there such a strong theme of anti-Semitism in the United States in the early 20th century and how did that affect America's response to the holocaust?

4. What were the prevalent values and beliefs of the Arab tribe (the Quraysh) that controlled Mecca in Muhammad's early years, and what was the transformation sought by Muhammad as a result of his revelations? How did Islam emerge victorious from that struggle?

5. Western colonial domination posed some special problems for Islamic countries in terms of their belief system. Why did independence movements tend to have a secular agenda and why is that secular agenda now being challenged by Islamic fundamentalism?

6. Support or challenge the claim that "all fundamentalisms, as they are advanced around the globe today, are specifically modern products. Include a definition of fundamentalism and some examples.

7. Why has the creation and support of Israel become such a particularly contentious point of conflict between the West and the Islamic world? Is it a reflection of greater long-term anti-Semitism in the Islamic world?

8. Why do you suppose the United States as a culture responded to the 9/11 attacks with the song, "God Bless America," rather than some other patriotic song? What does that show us about American civil religion? Can you see any ways in which that choice contributed to a growing rift with the Islamic world?

9. How does Jared Diamond try to put religion in the context of social evolution? What does he mean by "functions" of religion? What are the strengths and weaknesses of his approach?