CLWR 2210 - Difficult Dialogues: Religious Beliefs

Introduction to serious, informed discussion of basic intellectual issues in religious belief. One of two Difficult Dialogues courses offered by the Department of Classics and World Religions to encourage thoughtful and productive discussion of historically contentious topics. Discussions concerning religious beliefs are notoriously difficult. They have often devolved into disputes, which have divided families, sundered friendships, and even fueled wars. Experience in navigating difficult dialogues concerning, we believe, transfer into the more generalized skill of productive discussion concerning virtually any difficult topic. So, this class is concerned specifically with learning to think through difficult religious topics and more generally with learning to think through any difficult and contentious topic.

Credit Hours: 3
General Education Code: 2HL
Repeat/Retake Information: May be retaken two times excluding withdrawals, but only last course taken counts.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:

To develop the skill of consciously distinguishing good thinking or wisdom from comfortable, trendy, modern thinking.
To develop the skill of consciously distinguishing your responses to the psychology or personality of the speaker/writer from the merits of the ideas s/he espouses.
To develop the skill of rising above habituated response or partisan bias in assessing the value and wisdom of ideas.
To learn the skill of careful, honest, accurate reading/listening.
To personally grapple with fundamental questions of the meaning and value of human life.
To recognize the necessary and proper intellectual tensions that animate all vital religious traditions.

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Ohio University

Ohio University

CLWR 2210 - Difficult Dialogues: Religious Beliefs