THEOREL 201 : Religions in New Zealand

Arts

2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

An exploration of living religions in contemporary New Zealand, surveying the beliefs, traditions and practices that are central to religious groups in New Zealand and their interactions with contemporary culture both locally and globally. The course will introduce students to the comparative study of religion, engaging in such topics as religion and ritual, exploring belief, and interfaith dialogue.

Course Overview

Auckland is one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities. This diversity is reflected not just in Auckland's ethnic makeup but in the city's religious life. Auckland has New Zealand’s highest rates of religious affiliation, with proportionately more of the country’s smaller and newer religious communities represented here than in other regions.

At the same time, the 2023 census reveals that just over half of New Zealanders described themselves as having no religion. Although Auckland is more "religious" than most other parts of New Zealand, the "no religion" demographic is also proportionately higher than the national average in some regions of the city.

This course is designed to help you make sense of this diversity, exploring questions like:

  • How easy is it to define religion? Can we really find a definition that fits pre-Christian Māori worldviews, Māori religions after colonisation, and immigrant religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam? 
  • Do other national activities like sports or ANZAC Day also meet the definition of a religion?   
  • Is there really any difference between religion and "spirituality," or between religions and "cults"?
  • Do migrant religions have to change in order to adapt to life in New Zealand?
  • Is New Zealand religiously tolerant, and who needs to "tolerate" whom?
  • What does it mean to be secular? How should we understand the rapidly growing number of people who claim to have "no religion"?
  • How should members of religious communities and those with no religion negotiate their lives together?
  • What kind of future do religions have in this country?
As part of the course, you'll have the opportunity to visit two religious communities in Auckland and find out about their beliefs, practices, and place in the life of our city.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from the BA Schedule Restriction: THEOREL 320

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 6: Communication
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Critically evaluate basic concepts in the field of Religious Studies and the Sociology of Religion (Capability 3 and 4)
  2. Analyse and evaluate the history, current state, and possible futures of religious and spiritual life in Aotearoa-New Zealand (Capability 1, 3 and 4)
  3. Critically analyse the way in which religious/spiritual expression is affected by geographical context - specifically Auckland and Aotearoa-New Zealand (Capability 1 and 4)
  4. Analyse and evaluate the way in which religion and spirituality are represented and discussed in the media (Capability 3, 4 and 6)
  5. Synthesis and communicate information about a specific religious community in Aotearoa-New Zealand (Capability 1, 3, 4 and 6)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Personal reflection 10% Individual Coursework
Two in-class tests (20% each) 40% Individual Test
Religious Community Fact Sheet 25% Individual Coursework
Religious Community Site Visit Report 25% Individual Coursework

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 6 hours of reading and thinking about the content each week and 30 hours total on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at tutorials, and class tests will assess your understanding of the content covered in both lectures and tutorials.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Tutorials will not be available as recordings.
The course will not include live online events, including tutorials.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly delivery.

This course is not available for delivery to students studying remotely outside NZ.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

All required readings for this course can be downloaded via the Talis reading list. There is no textbook.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The content of this course is updated each year to reflect the changing nature of the religious scene in Aotearoa-New Zealand and the questions that previous students have wanted to explore in class discussions.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 30/10/2024 08:14 a.m.