CHAPTER 14: ARGUMENTATION IN RELIGION
Chapter 14 can be a difficult one to teach. Some students are quite interested in religion and others are
not. Frequently, their interest is clouded by strong feelings one way or another. You need to emphasize
that they study this sphere to see how people who are involved with it argue. They are not trying to deny
or affirm any particular religion.
Some instructors have students avoid discussing their own religious beliefs because a few students will
simply become dogmatic and refuse to see them as anything other than “God’s Truth” or as a basis for
attacking someone else’s religion because it is “false.” That danger can be prepared for in advance with
clear explanations of what is expected on an assignment to examine one’s own religion. Even where one
or two insist upon just citing dogma, the experience is still worth it for the other students to understand
their own religion better.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The religions of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition all believe that
2. In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition human beings do not
3. In religious argumentation human behavior is not governed by
4. The values most often associated with religion are
5. Clement of Alexandria said that there are five kinds of meaning in a sacred text. Three of those are
given below.
Which of the following is not one of the five?
6. Which is the most important source of evidence in Judeo-Christian-Islamic religious argumentation?
7. Claims warranted from which of the following are considered strongest?
8. Which type of religious arguments is least likely to be found in other spheres of argumentation?
9. Which of the following types of arguments are least likely to be found in religious argumentation?
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Explain the difference between natural and revealed theology.
3. Some narratives can be seen as argument by authority or by analogy that results in a single claim. For
instance, the parable of the prodigal son can be seen as an analogy that claims that God accepts
4. Discuss how the role of the church can be different in different branches of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic
tradition.
EXERCISES/PROJECTS
1. Choose a short text which is important to your religion. Explain what it means to you. Evaluate your
own answer,. On what bases did you make your interpretation? If your religion is not from the traditions
2. Write a short essay on how you answer the question of the existence and nature of God. What kind of
3. With several classmates, conduct a group discussion on one of the seven major themes.
