Official Course Description: MCCCD Approval: 11-22-2011
REL151  2012 Spring – 2012 Spring	LEC  3.0 Credit(s)  3.0 Period(s)  3.0 Load  Acad
Religion in the Hispanic World
Survey of various religious traditions within Spain and the Spanish-settled world. Considers the impact of and impact on both major world religions and indigenous traditions. Prerequisites: None.

 

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MCCCD Official Course Competencies:
REL151  2012 Spring – 2012 Spring	Religion in the Hispanic World

 

1.         Describe the religious beliefs and practices of Pre-Christian Iberia. (I)

2.         Describe the core beliefs and practices of Judaism. (II)

3.         Describe the core beliefs and practices of Christianity. (III)

4.         Describe the core beliefs and practices of Islam. (IV)

5.         Trace the impact of the "convivencia" and al-Andalus on religious practice and beliefs in Iberia. (IV)

6.         Trace the impact of the "reconquista" on religious practice and beliefs in Iberia. (V, VI)

7.         Describe the variety of religious beliefs and practices of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. (VII)

8.         Describe the variety of religious beliefs and practices of Pre-Columbian South America. (VII)

9.         Examine the variety of responses of Spanish explorers and settlers to the indigenous traditions of America. (VIII)

10.       Examine the variety of responses of indigenous peoples to the religious traditions of the Spanish explorers and settlers. (IX)

11.       Examine the variety of relationships between the Roman Catholic Church and the independence movements of Hispanic nations. (X)

12.       Analyze the variety of responses to various revolutionary movements in Hispanic nations. (XI)

13.       Describe the diversity of religion in the modern Hispanic world. (XII)

14.       Appraise the relationship between the major contemporary religious perspectives of the Hispanic world and its antecedents. (III, IV, V, VI, VIII, XI, XII)

 

 

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MCCCD Official Course Outline:
REL151  2012 Spring – 2012 Spring	Religion in the Hispanic World

 

I.          Pre-Christian Iberia

            A.        Germanic and Celtic tribal traditions

            B.        Religion in the kingdom of Tartessos

            C.        Religion in Phoenician coastal settlements

            D.        Greco-Roman religions in Iberia

II.        Jewish Settlement in Iberia

            A.        The essentials of Jewish religion

                        1.         The Torah

                        2.         The Mishnah and Talmud

                        3.         Core communal practices

                                    a.         High Holy Days

                                    b.         Public prayer and the synagogue

                                    c.         Circumcision

                        4.         Core individual/family practices

                                    a.         Shabbat

                                    b.         Pesach

                        5.         Central ethical principles

            B.        Religion of the "Judean diaspora"

                        1.         The role of Torah and Talmud

                        2.         The place of the synagogue

                        3.         Interaction with North African Judaism

            C.        The development of "Sephardic Judaism"

III.       Christianization of Iberia

            A.        The foundations of Christianity

                        1.         Jesus of Nazareth

                        2.         Baptism and Lord's Supper

                        3.         Early movements in conflict (Gnostic, Ebionite, Pauline, Proto-orthodox)

                        4.         Pre-Nicene Iberian Saints

            B.        Establishment of Nicene Christianity

                        1.         Early trinitarian thought

                        2.         Differences of authority

                        3.         The New Testament

            C.        Visigoth Christianity and the Arian controversy

            D.        Establishment of Roman Catholicism

IV.       Islamic Conquest

            A.        The essentials of Islam

                        1.         Muhammad

                        2.         Qur'an

                        3.         Core practices (Shahadah, Prayers, Almsgiving, Fasting, Hajj)

                        4.         Muslim expansion

                        5.         The Caliphate (Umayyads and Abbasids)

            B.        The Berbers and Islam

                        1.         Arab treatment of conquered peoples

                        2.         Tariq al-Zayid and the Iberian conquest

            C.        The role of Abd al-Rahman

                        1.         Abd al-Rahman and the Abbasids

                        2.         The Arrival of Abd al-Rahman in Cordoba

                        3.         The Caliphate of Cordoba

                        4.         Al-Andalus and the "convivencia"

            D.        Ongoing Iberian conflict and "religious war"

V.        The Reconquista

            A.        The early Christian conquests and the Christian embrace of Al-Andalus

            B.        The "Catholic Monarchs"

                        1.         Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile-Leon

                        2.         The Alhambra Decree

                        3.         The Spanish Inquisition

VI.       The Explorers and Conquistadores

            A.        The role of "Conversos" and "Moors"

            B.        Jesuit and Franciscan missions

VII.     Pre-Columbian Religious Traditions

            A.        Caribbean traditions

            B.        The Aztecs

            C.        The Mayans

            D.        The Inca

            E.         Amazonian peoples

VIII.    Spanish Responses to the Pre-Columbian Traditions

            A.        The violence of Columbus and Cortez

            B.        Positive and negative reactions of the Church

                        1.         Juan de Zumarraga

                        2.         Bartolome de las Casas

                        3.         Father Eusebio Kino

                        4.         The Inquisition in the New World

IX.       Post-Columbian Development of Indigenous Traditions

            A.        The Pueblo

            B.        The Yaqui

            C.        The Huichol

X.        Independence Movements and the Roman Catholic Church

            A.        Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar (South America)

            B.        Miguel Hidalgo (Mexico)

            C.        Jose Marti (Cuba)

XI.       The Church and Latin American Revolutionary Movements

            A.        The Castro Revolution (Cuba)

            B.        Oscar Romero (El Salvador)

            C.        The Sandinistas (Nicaragua)

            D.        Liberation Theology and Pope John Paul II

XII.     The Present State of Religion in the Hispanic World

            A.        Spain, the decline of active Christianity and the reintroduction of Islam and Judaism

            B.        The impact of Protestant and Mormon missions in Latin America

            C.          The rise of Pentecostal Christianity in Latin America

 

 

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