ELG 201 Introduction to Reason and Faith (3credits)

RELG 201: Introduction to Reason and Faith

Course Objectives By the end of RELG 201, students should be able to: • Define and distinguish key concepts such as reason, faith, belief, knowledge, evidence, doubt, revelation, and rational inquiry. • Explain major historical developments that shaped Western conversations about faith and reason. • Analyze arguments from religious, philosophical, scientific, and cultural perspectives with accuracy and fairness. • Evaluate contemporary questions about belief, skepticism, science, ethics, pluralism, and public reason. • Practice respectful dialogue by listening carefully, interpreting charitably, and responding thoughtfully to differing viewpoints. • Develop clear written and oral arguments that connect course readings, classroom discussions, and contemporary issues. Learning Objectives • Explain key historical debates concerning the relationship between belief and reason. • Identify major thinkers and movements that contributed to Western understandings of faith, knowledge, and skepticism. • Analyze contemporary questions about religion, science, culture, and rational inquiry. • Develop clear written and oral arguments that engage both religious and philosophical perspectives. Class Format Class meetings will combine lecture, guided discussion, short readings, reflective writing, and collaborative analysis of primary and secondary texts. Students are expected to come prepared to participate thoughtfully and respectfully. Weekly Lessons 1. Week 1: Introduction to Reason and Faith. Objective: Students will define reason, faith, belief, knowledge, and inquiry. Instructor focus: Establish course expectations and introduce the central tension between belief and rational analysis. Activity: Ask students to write a brief response to the question, “Can faith be reasonable?” then discuss in pairs before opening whole-class conversation. Discussion prompts: What counts as evidence? What makes a belief rational? Follow-up: Assign a short reflection on students’ starting assumptions about faith and reason. 2. Week 2: Classical Foundations and Religious Knowledge. Objective: Students will explain how classical philosophy and religious traditions approach truth, wisdom, revelation, testimony, and authority. Instructor focus: Connect philosophical questioning with religious ways of knowing. Activity: Have students map different sources of knowledge and identify strengths and limitations of each. Discussion prompts: How does argument differ from opinion? When is testimony trustworthy? Follow-up: Assign a short response on authority and interpretation. 3. Week 3: Early Christian and Medieval Approaches to Faith and Reason. Objective: Students will describe how Christian thinkers used philosophy to explain belief and analyze medieval efforts to harmonize faith with rational demonstration. Instructor focus: Present theology and philosophy as interacting traditions. Activity: Conduct an argument-mapping exercise using a simplified theological or philosophical claim. Discussion prompts: Why might religious thinkers use philosophy? What might remain beyond rational proof? Follow-up: Ask students to evaluate the strengths and limits of one faith-and-reason argument. 4. Week 4: Reformation, Authority, and Conscience. Objective: Students will explain how debates over scripture, tradition, and conscience affected Western thought. Instructor focus: Show how questions of religious authority influenced individual interpretation and social change. Activity: Stage a structured discussion in which students evaluate competing sources of authority. Discussion prompts: Who has the right to interpret religious truth? What happens when conscience conflicts with institution? Follow-up: Assign a reflection connecting authority and personal responsibility. 5. Week 5: Enlightenment Critiques and Modern Reason. Objective: Students will identify major Enlightenment challenges to religious authority and belief. Instructor focus: Introduce skepticism, empiricism, autonomy, and critiques of superstition or dogmatism. Activity: Use a debate format in which students evaluate whether reason liberates or limits religious life. Discussion prompts: What did Enlightenment thinkers hope reason could accomplish? What concerns did they raise about religion? Follow-up: Assign a short comparison between premodern and modern views of reason. 6. Week 6: Science, Belief, and the Modern Worldview. Objective: Students will analyze how scientific developments influenced religious interpretation and public debates about truth. Instructor focus: Present multiple models of relationship between science and religion, including conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration. Activity: Students classify case examples according to different models of science-religion interaction. Discussion prompts: When do scientific explanations challenge religious claims? When might they deepen religious reflection? Follow-up: Ask students to prepare a discussion question on science and belief. 7. Week 7: Doubt, Skepticism, and Religious Epistemology. Objective: Students will evaluate intellectual and existential challenges to faith and assess contemporary approaches to evidence, experience, testimony, and rational justification. Instructor focus: Treat doubt as a serious philosophical and religious concern while introducing current questions about whether religious belief can be rationally warranted. Activity: Have students evaluate different reasons someone might give for belief and classify them by type of justification. Discussion prompts: Must all rational beliefs be proven? What kinds of doubt are intellectual, moral, or personal? Follow-up: Ask students to draft a thesis for the analytical essay. 8. Week 8: Pluralism, Public Reason, and Course Synthesis. Objective: Students will analyze how people with different beliefs can reason together in public life and synthesize major course themes. Instructor focus: Emphasize respectful disagreement, civic dialogue, and the course arc from definitions to contemporary questions. Activity: Student presentations or structured dialogue followed by instructor synthesis. Discussion prompts: What makes public reasoning fair? How has the course complicated the relationship between faith and reason? Follow-up: Collect final projects and a closing reflection on learning outcomes. Assignments • Reading responses: Short reflections connecting assigned readings to course themes. • Discussion participation: Active, respectful engagement in class conversations. • Analytical essay: A written argument evaluating a major question concerning reason and faith. • Final presentation or project: A synthesis of course concepts applied to a contemporary issue. Suggested Grading Breakdown • Reading responses: 20% • Participation and discussion: 20% • Analytical essay: 30% • Final presentation or project: 30% Classroom Expectations Because this course addresses significant religious, philosophical, and cultural questions, students should practice careful listening, charitable interpretation, and respectful disagreement. The classroom should be a space for serious inquiry, intellectual humility, and thoughtful engagement.