REL 100 Religion in Global Context

An introduction to the academic study of religion. The course aims for students to understand religion as a core element in human culture, life, and experience, by perceiving both its diverse forms and shared dimensions across cultures and eras of human history. Through studies of selected religious communities and traditions of primarily non-Western origins, this course will examine definitions of and approaches to the study of religion, as well as key components and dimensions in religions and religious experience, such as sacred space and time, ritual and worship, sacred texts, traditions, and narratives, moral practices and codes, the nature of community and social structures, beliefs, and worldviews. Reading and discussing selected scholarly analyses of religion from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (humanities, natural sciences, social sciences) will accompany studies of materials from various selected global religious traditions. This course does not assume prior study of religion or religions. Religion Perspective and International (Non-Western) Perspective.

Credits

1 Course Credit