Here you will find a library of videos, texts, assignments, and other resources to build asynchronous content for your course and to enrich your discussions. Under each section heading, you will find a link to a folder with texts and discussion questions.

Thanks to Dorothy Chang and Natalie Reynoso, who built this library over the summer of 2020. And thanks to the faculty who contributed their time and expertise to this effort.

James Cone's "Whose Earth Is It Anyway?": find videos, texts, and other resources for the First Year Experience shared text here.

Texts

Catherine Albanese, The Notion of Religion (excerpt)

Immanuel Kant, "What is Enlightenment?"

Clifford Geertz, “Religion as a Cultural System” from The Interpretation of Cultures

Bernard Lonergan, "Religion" from Method in Theology 

Bernard Lonergan, "Dialectic of Authority"

Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith (excerpt)

Elizabeth A. Johnson, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God (excerpts)

Rowan Williams, "Theological Integrity" in On Christian Theology 

Richard P. McBrien, "What Theology Is and Is Not"

Videos

A Conversation with Dr. Terrence Tilley on Faith: What It Is and What It Isn't

• This interview was conducted by Dr. Christine Firer Hinze. Each chapter is discussed at the following time stamps: Chapter 1: 8:33; Chapter 2: 10:59; Chapter 3: 15:53; Chapter 4: 19:35; Chapter 5: 27:50

A Conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Johnson on Quest for the Living God 

• This interview was conducted by Dr. Patrick Hornbeck. Length of Video: 32:16

Clifford Geertz: The Interpretation of Cultures (The Balinese Cockfight)

• Length of Video: 10:59

'Consuming Religion' Explores Corporate, Celebrity Culture with Kathryn Lofton

• Length of Video: 7:59

An Introduction to Sociology of Religion with Gracie Davie

• Length of Video: 39:41

"Eighteen Years in Hell" (BBC Podcast)

• How Aziz BineBine, through unconditional surrender to God, survived captivity in Morocco’s notorious underground jail. Length of Podcast: 26:30

Assignment Suggestions

Object of Faith 

• Essay or In-Class Writing Prompt: Tilley notes the following: “The first question we can ask to help discern the object of our faith, our god or gods, is: For what do we live? What energizes our life? The second question is perhaps even more telling: What would we die for? Why would we die for that?” How would you answer these questions? What is the object of your faith? What do you live for? 

This I Believe 

• Have students write their own This I Believe essay and/or create their own This I Believe podcast. Please see this college curriculum for more details. 

Texts

Pew Forum, "In U.S. Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace" (October 2019 Report)

Amy Butler, “Christianity as We Know It Is Dying. Let’s Welcome the New Life Ahead,” Religion News Service op-ed (October 30, 2019)

Videos & Audio

An Introduction to Spiritual Autobiography by Dr. Thomas Scirghi, S.J.

• Length of Video: 8:55

Deconversion & Disaffiliation: An Introduction by Dr. Patrick Hornbeck

• See accompanying questions here. Length of Video: 16:00

Movie Recommendation/Trailer: Becoming Truly Human

• Length of Film: 1h 25min

On Being Podcast with Krista Tippett: Mayfair Yang, "China's Hidden Spiritual Landscape"

• Length of Podcast Episode: 52:08

Assignment Suggestion

Religious Biography

• Interview an older family member, friend, guardian, etc., and write a "religious biography" detailing the interviewee's religious history based on the interview.

Judaism

List of Suggested Readings on Judaism

• Includes both primary and secondary recommendations.

What is Judaism? Part I: Origins and Global Migrations by Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz & Dr. Karina Martin Hogan

• Length of Video: 13:31 

What is Judaism? Part II: Text, Time and Tradition by Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz & Dr. Karina Martin Hogan 

• Length of Video: 15: 11

Accompanying Discussion Questions for "What Is Judaism?" Videos

1. What were some of the factors leading to the frequent migrations of the ancient Israelites and the Jewish people? 

2. Why do you think that, since ancient times, studying and debating about religious laws has been so central to Judaism?

Islam

Introduction to Islam by Dr. Sarah Eltantawi

• See accompanying discussion questions here. Length of Video: 15:45

Buddhism

Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism (excerpt)

Patrul Rinpoche, Kunzang Lama'i Shelung: The Words of My Perfect Teacher (excerpt)

Thich Nhat Hanh, The Other Shore (excerpt)

Introduction to Buddhism by Dr. Joshua Schapiro

• Length of Video: 14:31

Buddhism and Suffering: An Introduction by Dr. Joshua Schapiro

• See discussion questions here. Length of Video: 13:30

Ways of Being Buddhist: An Introduction by Dr. Joshua Schapiro

• See discussion questions here. Length of Video: 8:43

What is Karma?: An Introduction by Joshua Schapiro

• Length of Video: 14:43

Buddhism in Brief | Harvard EdX

• Length of Video: 5:37

Hinduism

The Pluralism Project: Hinduism (Harvard University)

Introduction to Hinduism by Dr. Joshua Schapiro

• Length of Video: 14:21

Hindu Puja Thought Experiments by Joshua Schapiro

• See discussion questions here. Length of Video: 8:26

Places of Worship: Hinduism - a Mandir and Artefacts

• Please consider using alongside "Hindu Puja Thought Experiments" Video.

A Hindu Morning Ritual, Sakila's Puja

• Please consider using alongside "Hindu Puja Thought Experiments" Video.

A Hindu Shrine | Oxford Digital Media

• Please consider using alongside "Hindu Puja Thought Experiments" Video.

Hindiusm in Brief | Harvard EdX

• Length of Video: 5:07

Rudra Havan

• Length of Video: 8:30

Texts

Elizabeth A. Johnson, She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, chapter 5

Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at Mt. Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (excerpt)

Amina Wadud, Qur’an and Women: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective (excerpt)

Delores S. Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk (excerpt)

Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation (excerpt)

"Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman Breaks Down Feminist Theology & More" (Click for Interview) 

Videos

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "We Should All Be Feminists" (Ted Talk)

• Length of Video: 29:19

Texts

Patrick S. Cheng, Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology (excerpt)

Vatican, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith document on“problem of homosexuality,” 1986

James Martin, Building a Bridge (excerpt)

James Martin, summary of Building a Bridge

Jamie Manson, “Tainted Love: The LGBTQ Experience of Church,” from Hornbeck and Firer Hinze, eds., More than a Monologue (Fordham UP, 2014)

Videos

What Is Theological Anthropology? An Introduction by Dr. Jeannine Hill Fletcher

• See accompanying discussion questions here. Length of Video: 12:38

LGBTQ Theologies & Sexual Diversity: An Introduction by Dr. Patrick Hornbeck 

• Discussion questions:

Where would you place the Vatican / CDF document on Jung’s and Smith’s spectrum of positions concerning homosexuality?

What are the key points of tension and disagreement in the approaches represented by Martin and Manson?

•  Length of Video: 17:31

Livestream | Building a Bridge: The Catholic Church and the LGBT Community

• Length of Video: 1h 23min

Videos

Only a Criminal Can Change the World: On the Moral Imperative of Disobedience

• A conversation with Dr. Willie James Jennings and Dr. Rufus Burnett, Jr. about MLK's Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (Fordham Theology 1000 First-Year Experience Plenary Spring 2021). Length of Video: 1hr 17min

This Decisive Hour: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Theological Vision for a ‘Colorblind’ Age

• A conversation with Michelle Alexander and Dr. Bryan Massingale (Fordham Theology 1000 First-Year Experience Plenary 2018). Length of Video: 1h 28min

Introduction to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail by Dr. Bryan Massingale

• Length of Video: 31:25

What Is Colonialism and Why Does It Matter for Theology and the Study of Religion? An Introduction by Dr. Kathryn Reklis. 

• See accompanying texts and discussion questions in Texts & Assignments folder. Length of Video: 16:35

On Decolonization: An Introduction by Dr. Rufus Burnett, Jr.

• Length of Video: 12:43

Decolonial Options: A Conversation with Drs. Rufus Burnett, Jr. and Kathryn Reklis

• Length of Video: 35:43

Crystal Valentine, "And the Reporter Says Jesus is White” (Spoken Word Poem)

• Length of Video: 2:09

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "The danger of a single story” (Ted Talk)

• Length of Video: 19:16

Is the Black Church Dead? A Rountable Discussion - October 2010

• Length of Video: 2h 2min

Soul Fire Farm - An Overview

• Learn more about Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York. This can expand class discussions of decolonial relationships to the land and labor in conversation with the Movement for Black Lives. Length of Video: 8:30

Soul Fire Farm - Further Context and Background

• This video is explicit about the legacy of Black relationships to the land, both in devastating colonial terms and in empowering decolonial terms, as well as historical background to Black leadership in the organic, farm-to-table, and sustainable food movements. Length of Video: 6:07

Our Lady of the Bronx

• Length of Video: 16:08

Video 

What Is Liberation Theology? An Introduction by Dr. Leo Guardado

• Discussion questions

  • How do you understand the relationship between faith and socio-political involvement? 

  • How do you understand the relationship between salvation and notions of liberation from oppression? 

  • If you grew up with a religious tradition, how does your tradition relate to questions of in/justice? 

  • Does a faith commitment to addressing poverty and oppression make religious traditions more relevant to you/society? 

• Length of Video: 12:17

Texts

• Gutierrez, Theology of Liberation (excerpt)

• Gutierrez, On Job (excerpt)

Assignment Suggestion

• Interactive Game: Spent

Video

Laudato Si: Background, Content, and Ongoing Questions by Dr. Christiana Zenner

• See discussion questions and assignment suggestions in Texts & Assignments folder. Length of Video: 16:58

Enchanted Earth: Addressing the Plight of the Earth by Overcoming Religious Supremacy by Rev. Dr. John J. Thatamanil with Dr. Jeanine Hill-Fletcher

• FYE lecture for Fall 2023

Texts

• Pope Francis, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home

• Martin, "Top Ten Takeaways from 'Laudato Si'"

• Pope Francis, "Address to the United Nations"

• Zenner, "Pope Francis and the 4th Era of the Catholic Church's Engagement with Science"

• Grazer, "Laudato Si: Continuity, Change, and Challenge"

• Scheid, "Laudato Si and the Development of Catholic Social Teaching"

• Ruether, "Ecofeminism -- The Challenge to Theology"

• Ruether, "Ecofeminism"

• Harris, "Ecowomanism: Black Women, Religion, and the Environment"

• Cone,  "Whose Earth is it Anyway?"

Powerpoint

Varieties of Unbelief: Making Sense of a Crucial Category of Contemporary Life

• A presentation by Dr. James McCartin

Texts

• Marx, "Introduction" to A Contribution to Hegel's Philosophy of Right

• Freud, Future of an Illusion (excerpt)

• Feuerbach, "God as Projection"

• McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism (excerpt)

Videos & Online Resources

Modernity and Secularization: An Introduction by Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou

• Discussion questions

  • What are the three different meanings of “secular”?

  • How is the form of the secular different in United States, the Scandinavian Countries, and France?  

  • Do you think religion should be privatized (French model), or should it have a ‘public role’ in a democracy?

• Length of Video: 15:38

Islam and Western Secular Modernity: A Conversation with Nilüfer Göle

• Length of Video: 1:12:37

The Immanent Frame: Secularism, Religion, and Public Sphere  |  "Rethinking Secularism"

• Essays by leading Religious Studies scholars from a range of traditions and methodologies.

Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University  |  Globalization, Religions, and the Secular

• A project led by José Casanova, featuring essays and videos by Charles Taylor, Peter Berger, and others.

Texts

• Taylor, "Western Secularity" from Rethinking Secularism

• Taylor, "Religion is Not the Problem: Secularism & Democracy"

• Butler and Scott, "Gender and the Politics of Secularism"

• Lloyd et. al., "Religion, Secularism, and Black Lives Matter"

• Further Reading Suggestion: Casanova, "The Secular, Secularizations, Secularisms" from Rethinking Secularism

Video

Movie Recommendation: God on Trial

• Please see link for final scene of the movie.

Texts

• Dostoevsky, "Rebellion" from Brothers Karamazov

• Johnson, Quest for the Living God, chapter 3

• Wiesel, "The Sacrifice of Isaac: A Survivor's Story"

• Book Recommendation: Wiesel, Night 

• Book Recommendation: Wiesel, The Trial of God (as it was held on February 25, 1649, in Shamgorod)

Texts

• Prothero, God is Not One (excerpts)

• Johnson, Quest for the Living God, chapter 9

Assignment Suggestions

• Have students write a comparative paper looking at a common theme in different religious traditions.

• Reflection in which students attend a religious service of a tradition other than their own and reflect on the experience

Videos & Other Resources

Hostile Terrain 94

• The exhibit Hostile Terrain 94 will be installed in Lincoln Center’s Lipani Gallery from mid-October to early December 2021. The installation addresses issues about US immigration enforcement strategies designed to discourage undocumented migrants from crossing the U.S/Mexico border. The installation consists of 3,200 toe tags to be filled out by the Fordham community representing migrant deaths in the Sonoran Desert over the past 20 years. These tags will be installed on a map of the desert to show the location where the remains were found. To discuss having your class fill out toe tags or to schedule a visit to the installation, please email  hostileterrain94@fordham.edu.

Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime...Or is it? Faith and Civil Resistance at the Border

• A conversation with Rev. John Fife, Co-Founder of No More Deaths, and Dr. Leo Guardado of Fordham Theology. Length of Video: 1hr 1min

Movie Recommendation: Human Flow (2017)

From Here to Home: Five Films About Immigration and Belonging | NYTimes OpDocs

• This is a series of short videos, each less than 30 minutes.

We Are Kids Who Remember Only War | NYTimes OpDocs

• Length of Video: 18:07

Texts

• Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (excerpt)

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching: A Brief Overview by Dr. Thomas Massaro, S.J.

• Discussion questions  

Texts

• Massaro, "Chapter 2," Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action

Assignment Suggestion

• Students could be asked to read (at least selections from) any of the 14 major documents of Catholic Social Teaching and report on which issues it treats and what conclusions it reaches about social justice on these topics. Find relevant documents here.

Ignatian Spirituality & Mission

Ignatian Spirituality: An Introduction by Dr. Michael C. McCarthy, S.J.

• Length of Video: 14:24

Texts

• Ignatius of Loyola, Personal Writings 

Science and Religion

Texts

• Alister McGrath, "Models of Interaction Between Science and Religion," Science and Religion: A New Introduction chapter 6 (2010)

• Alister McGrath, "Science, Religion, and the Explanation of Things," Science and Religion: A New Introduction chapter 7 (2010)

Faith and COVID-19

Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive Resource

"Communities of Faith Grapple with the Coronavirus"

• WNYC Audio Interview with Dr. Patrick Hornbeck, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, and  Dr. Reverend Jacqui Lewis

Augustine

• Soliloquies (excerpt)

• Free Choice of the Will (excerpt)

• Faith and the Creed (excerpt)

• On the Trinity (Book 8)

• The Creed for Catechumens (excerpt)

• Usefulness of Belief (excerpt)

• Augustine on Manichees (excerpt from Harmless, Augustine in His Own Words)

• Augustine on Women (excerpt from Harmless, Augustine in His Own Words)

Other

• David Foster Wallace, “This is Water”

• Tara Isabella Burton, “Study Theology, Even If You Don’t Believe in God”

• Weil, “What is Sacred in Every Human Being?” 

• Merton, "Letter to a Young Activist"

Online Resources

Asychronous Online Teaching: How Do You Visit a Museum from Home?

Pandemic Pedagogy: Annotation as Close Reading 

Pandemic Pedagogy: Pamphlet Final Projects and Laughter

Teaching Strategies | Fordham Course Content

The Religious Studies Project

Teaching Resources: Religion & American Culture

Purdue Repository for Online Teaching and Learning

Support Documents 

APPORTO Tips and Instructions

Online Pedagogy and Technical Support

VoiceThread Tips and Instructions

Wordpress Tips and Instructions

Assignment Suggestions

Op-ed Interview

• • See Texts & Assignments folder

Religion in Pop Culture

• • "At least once during the semester, every student is required to bring to the attention of the class an instance where themes from the course are present in popular culture. You are encouraged to send me video or audio links ahead of time, so I can have them prepared for the class to view. You will be expected to explain the object and how it connects to the class for 1-3 minutes. Simply completing this action with due diligence and engagement will earn full credit."

Collaborative Website 

• Example: Hierophanies, created by Dr. Emanuel Fiano's Sacred Texts of the Middle East classes