Department of Religious Studies

This course is designed to introduce students to the academic study of religion. We will ask big questions like: What is religion? What do religious people think and do? In what ways can we differentiate between cultural forms marked as religious and other cultural forms?  What is a belief system and what power does it have in the world? Through select readings (primary and secondary), digital resources, films, and class discussions, we will examine the philosophical, the material, and the ritual or practical elements that interact to form belief systems across a variety of religious and ideological traditions. As scholars and students committed to the academic study of religion, we will take a critical perspective in the examination of religious systems, which will, and should, challenge us to think outside of our primary systems of socialization. Students in this course will be exposed to a wide variety of worldviews which will allow us to expand our understanding of what it means to be a human in the world.

Instructor: TBD

GenEd A&H, CASE A&H

• A&H
• What are CASE requirements?