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Teaching Techniques in Religion by Robert Baird

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In the essay “Religion,” Robert Baird argues against teaching techniques of secular university religion courses. Baird’s repeated use of phrases like “humanistic,” “human culture” and “understanding of man” in the paragraphs following thesection titled “The Secular Study of Religion” all accurately describes the state of secular university religion courses. The first point Baird uses to argue against the methods of teaching, is the humanistic basis of the courses. Braid also argues that secular religious courses have no specific line of attack. The study of religion does not possess a distinct methodology. It utilizes the methodologies of history, literary criticism, philosophy, sociology, or phenomenology when they seem appropriate, avoiding reductionism only to various degrees.
This leads to the last argument Baird makes against teaching techniques of secular university religion courses. Baird argues strongly against the secular university’s strong reliance on history as a method of teaching religion. All of the arguments Baird used to support his dislike of teaching techniques used by secular universities in religion courses; are very accurate and are very well supported in his essay. For the reminder of the essay, Baird addresses the position Christians need to take when confronted with the academic study of religion. First he addresses the historical aspect of teaching the Christian will encounter. When Baird tackles this aspect of
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