Being a student of religion

I found the definition of religious studies provided by the University of South Carolina to be most succinct in summarizing my goals in this project:

"The academic study of religion, which is often called religious studies, is a relatively new field that aims to treat all religious traditions even-handedly. Utilizing the tools from many other academic fields (including philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and theology itself), the academic study of religion arises out of a broad curiosity about the nature of religion and religious traditions."

As much as I would like to take full credit for this course of self-study, it would be remiss of me as an academic not to cite my sources. Here are the syllabi from which I have drawn my plans for the textbook part of my study:

UC Santa Barbara, RS 15: Religion & Psychology

http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/syllabus/RS15.pdf

Virginia Wesleyan College, RELST 113: Intro. to Religious Studies

http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~emazur/RELST113.html

University of South Carolina, RELG 110: Intro. to Religious Studies

http://people.cas.sc.edu/elansary/relg110wea.html

I'm taking the readings and general order of my studies from a combination of these three courses, as my schedule and inclinations permit. My readings for this week will be from the following texts:

• Studying Religion: And Introduction Through Cases by Gary E. Kessler (2nd ed.)
• The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion by Mircea Eliade
• Living Religions by Mary Pat Fisher (6th ed.)

I hope to post more about the readings and what I'm learning from them as the week progresses. Studying Religion is a particularly interesting book, since it addresses the desirable qualities of a student of religion -- openness, honesty, critical intelligence, careful observing/reading/listening, and critical tolerance -- and attempts to re-align the thinking of students to prepare them to approach religious studies in a scholarly manner.