Courses above 5000 can count towards either graduate or undergraduate study.

REL 1000 - Religions of the World - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area II: Humanities
An approach to the religions of the world which surveys themes in various religious traditions (such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and primitive religions). The course studies how these religious traditions conceive of gods and world order, founders and saviors, religious experience and practice, and religious communities. The course will pay attention to the contemporary status and significance of these themes.

REL 2000 - Introduction to religion - 4hrs.
An introduction to the study of religion intended to be universal in scope, theoretical and scientific in intent, and humanistic in orientation, of the nature and history of religion wherever it may be found, whatever its context, no matter what its forms, and attempting to raise whatever questions are necessary to illuminate its character. This will involve attention to more than one religious tradition, a discussion of the problems of definition, theory and method, an acknowledgement of the interdisciplinary aspects of much of the inquiry, and an examination of the consequences of this inquiry for problems of self-understanding in the context of western culture in general and American society in particular.

REL 3000 – Writing About Religion – 3hrs.  Fulfills Baccalaureate-level Writing Requirement
This course enhances writing skills in the context of reading and discussing selected materials on religion. Emphasis is upon the process of writing, with writing assignments in class and outside class. Reading selections focus on issues of contemporary interest. Required of all religion majors. This course is approved as a writing-intensive course which may fulfill the baccalaureate-level writing requirement of the student’s curriculum.

REL 3010 - Buddhist Traditions - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area IV: Other Cultures and Civilizations
This course is an introduction to the panorama of Buddhist traditions in South, Southeast, Central and East Asia. We will study the history of Buddhism, its characteristic doctrines and teachings, and try to assess the impact it has had on Asian civilizations. Special attention will be devoted to the problem of the religious ideals and how that is to be pursued. We will read scholarly studies on the traditions as well as original Buddhist texts in translations.

REL 3020 - Religion in the Indian Tradition - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area IV: Other Cultures and Civilizations
This course draws its materials primarily from the great religious traditions native to India-i.e., Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Hinduism. It is concerned primarily with definitions of the human in these traditions; the problems that are perceived to be central to human life and the resources assumed to be available for such problems' solution. To clarify problems, it examines social and political contexts in which various traditions have arisen. To exemplify solutions, it offers samples from religious literature, art, architecture, music, ritual, and spiritual discipline.

REL 3030 - Chinese Religion - 4hrs.Fulfills General Education Area IV: Other Cultures and Civilizations
Religious life in China is characterized by an impressive variety of religions combined with a striking commonality of outlook. The centrality of religion and though to all of Chinese life means that even contemporary China can be well understood only with reference to the persistent themes and practices of the past. The course will consider religious and philosophical Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism, and how these different strands are woven into traditional and popular religion in China and even amalgamated into Chinese communism. The overall aim of the course will be to examine what Chinese culture means to an individual growing up Chinese so that students taking the course may develop a grasp of the expectations of life, society, government, and behavior that are handed down from generation to generation in China.

REL 3040 - African Religions - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area IV: Other Cultures and Civilizations
This course is designed to introduce the student to the complexity and varieties of the religions of Africa. This is done by focusing on the myriad religious ideas (of the gods, of ancestors, of persons, of origins, of death, of authority and status), practices (initiation, divination, sorcery), institutions which have emerged in the long history of Africa. The course pays particular attention to the results of colonialism on indigenous religions as well as to the emergence of new religious movements.

REL 3050 - The Christian Tradition - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area II: Humanities
This course draws its materials primarily from the great religious traditions within Christianity-i.e., Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Orthodox tradition. It offers a careful look at the early Christian myths which give rise to these traditions. It is concerned primarily with definitions of the human in these traditions: the problems that are perceived to be central to human life and the resources assumed to be available for such problems' solution. To clarify problems, it examines social and political contexts in which various traditions have arisen. To exemplify solutions, it offers samples from religious literature, art, architecture, music, ritual and spiritual discipline.

REL 3060 - The Jewish Tradition - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area II: Humanities
This course traces the history and development of Judaism from its roots in the Ancient Near East to the present, and its role in the shaping of Western consciousness. Particular attention is given to the periods of radical social, political and cultural change in Jewish history and hence to the critical problem of Jewish identity. An analysis of Jewish writings, customs, and institutions taken from different periods of Jewish history reveals that Jewish people have discovered and expressed their identity within a religious framework that includes myths and rituals, festivals, and holy days, celebration of the past and anticipation of the future, as well as social movements and political revolutions.

REL 3070 - The Islamic Tradition - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area IV: Other Cultures and Civilizations
A study of the most important factors involved in the development of both the Islamic religious tradition and Islamic civilization. The Pre-Islamic background, the life of Mohammed, the Qur'an, geographical expansion of the Muslim Community. Islamic law, mysticism, politics, philosophy, science, and contemporary Islamic movements are the major topics for examination.

REL 3080 - Japanese Religion - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area IV: Other Cultures and Civilizations
A study of the historical continuity and overall unity in the Japanese religious tradition. The major organized religions of Shinto and Japanese Buddhism, and also the influence of Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity are discussed. Also taken up are the informal religious movements of "ancestor worship," family religion, and state religion. An attempt is made to assess the meaning of religion in Japanese culture.

REL 3110 - Myth and Ritual - 4hrs.
Eric Dardel, an anthropologist, has written: "Myth says with utmost seriousness something that is of essential importance." In this course an attempt will be made to discover just what this important something is and how it is actualized in certain rituals. Myths and rituals will be taken from a variety of historical traditions in order to reflect the cultural milieu of the communities whose lives are governed by them. Special problems to be considered will be the relationship between myth and cult, the problem of time and myth, the logic of mythic forms, etc.

REL 3130 - Religion in America - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area III: United States: Cultures and Issues
This course is designed to introduce students to the full range of religious expression in the United States from the colonial period to the present. As such, it will focus not only on the history of specific groups, institutions, and denominations (e.g. Congregationalism, the Catholic Church, Reform Judaism, the nation of Islam, etc.), but also on those non-traditional and frequently non-institutional forms of religion which have had an impact on the development of American culture and society (e.g., utopian communalism, occult and metaphysical movements, the "New Age," etc.). In addition, this course will also address such religious themes as individualism, millennial dominance, and civil religion which, while once prominent features of American culture at large, are now increasingly brought into question as the United States enters a period of unprecedented cultural diversity and cultural change.

REL 3200 - The Philosophy of Religion - 4hrs.
An examination of the place of religion in human experience with special attention to the nature of religious language, the role and structure of religious concepts, the relation between religion and theology, and the logic of religious symbols.

REL 3230 - Religion and Revolution - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area IV: Social and Behavioral Sciences
This course will explore, investigate and compare different religions in different cultures as driving forces of social and cultural change. The course will examine the conservative and progressive roles the religions of the world play in familial, social, economic, and political stability and change. Different approaches to analyzing these forces and roles will be examined, but particular emphasis will be placed upon the contribution of critical theory and its dialectical method of thinking. The course will stress communicative ethics and discourse theory of rights and of the democratic constitutional state.

REL 3240 - Psychological Elements in Religion - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area II: Humanities
This course is concerned with the correlation between religion and the human subject-the religious or a religious individual. The central interest of the course is with religious propensities, feelings, impulses, passions, attitudes, motivations, values, ideas, prejudices. Critical questions such as the following will be asked:

• What is the function of religious faith for the nervous stability, mental health and wholesomeness of the subject?
• Does religion reinforce or hinder the maturation process of the individual?
• Is the need for religion just a derivation from the child's feeling of helplessness and of the longing it evokes for a sublime father figure?

REL 3320 - Religion and Social Ethics - 4hrs.  Fulfills General Education Area II: Humanities
This course will compare different forms of religious and secular ethics from ancient moral codes to contemporary ethical systems. It will deal with the creative ideas, problems, and attitudes toward the social world intrinsic to these different ethical norms. While the course will emphasize the variety of ethical responses to social problems provided by the religions of the world as well as to secular approaches, it will pay particular attention to problems raised and solutions proposed by critical theorists about issues such as abortion, euthanasia, artificial insemination, race, gender, class, war and peace, poverty and ecological catastrophes. The course will stress communicative ethics, the discourse theory of rights, and of the democratic constitutional state.

REL 3340 - Religion in Modern Society - 4hrs.
Whereas a major focus of the systematic study of religion is upon religious traditions, or aspects of them, it is important that attention also be paid to the questions raised by the various contexts in which religion occurs as well as to questions raised by the methods developed in studying religion in such contexts. The specific context of religion to be studied in this course is that of industrial society. For religion to be understood in more than historic terms it is important that attention be paid to this kind of context. As a consequence of such a focus questions also are raised about the methods developed to specify and delineate such contexts and the role that religion plays in them. This provides an occasion for raising questions about the assumptions underlying such methods and about their relationship to the systematic study of religion.

REL 4000 - Topics in Religion - 4hrs.
The topic to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester. Students may repeat the course for credit as long as the subject matter is different. Topics will include religious traditions, forms of religion and current issues in method and theory.

REL 5000 - Historical Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
The topic to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester. Students may repeat the course for credit as long as the subject matter is different. Topics such as the following will be studied:

• Zen Buddhism,
• Buddhism,
• Taoism,
• Shinto,
• New Religions of Japan,
• Religion in Japanese Literature,
• Islam in the Modern World,
• Christian Theology to 1500,
• Renaissance and Reformation Theology, and
• Mystical Dimensions of Islam.

REL 5100 - Morphological and Phenomenological Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
Topic announced in the Schedule of Classes. May be repeated for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5110 - Women in Religion - 3hrs.
Drawing together materials from many religious traditions, this course explores religion's effect on women and women's effect on religion. It attends especially to women's roles in traditions studied-both roles allotted to women and roles women shape for themselves. It also traces repeating patterns in women's religious experience and evaluates common explanations for such patterns. Prerequisites: Junior or senior level and two courses (6 hours) in either Religion or Women's Studies.

REL 5200 - Methodological Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
The topic to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester. Students may repeat the course for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5300 - Constructive Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
Topic announced in the Schedule of Classes. May be repeated for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5980 - Readings in Religion - Variable Credit
Research on a selected period or topic under supervision of a member of the Comparative Religion faculty. Approval of the instructor involved and the Chairperson of the Department must be secured in advance of registration.

Courses above 5000 can count towards either graduate or undergraduate study.

REL 5000 - Historical Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
The topic to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester. Students may repeat the course for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5100 - Morphological and Phenomenological Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
Topic announced in the Schedule of Classes. May be repeated for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5110 - Women in Religion - 3hrs.
Drawing together materials from many religious traditions, this course explores religion's effect on women and women's effect on religion. It attends especially to women's roles in traditions studied-both roles allotted to women and roles women shape for themselves. It also traces repeating patterns in women's religious experience and evaluates common explanations for such patterns. Prerequisites: Junior or senior level and two courses (6 hours) in either Religion or Women's Studies.

REL 5200 - Methodological Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
The topic to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester. Students may repeat the course for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5300 - Constructive Studies in Religion - 2-4hrs.
Topic announced in the Schedule of Classes. May be repeated for credit as long as the subject matter is different.

REL 5980 - Readings in Religion - Variable Credit
Research on a selected period or topic under supervision of a member of the Comparative Religion faculty. Approval of the instructor involved and the Chairperson of the Department must be secured in advance of registration.

REL 6000 - Classics I - 3hrs.
A systematic study of the most important scholarly works in Comparative Religion. Special attention will be paid to the historical context in which these classics were produced, their role in intellectual history, and their contributions to the humanities and the social sciences.

REL 6100- Theory and Method I - 3hrs.
An examination of the major theoretical options for understanding and explaining religion in comparative perspective and the major methods employed by theoreticians in their development of such theoretical options. Particular attention will be paid to intellectualist, symbolist, structuralist, ideological, emotivist and cognitive method and theory.

REL 6150 - Survey of Religions of the World - 3hrs.
A survey of ten major religious traditions; each tradition will be studied through its historical development, its unified system (symbols, beliefs and rituals), and dynamics (actual practices such as annual celebrations, rites of passage). While learning the content of individual traditions and exploring the comparative questions between/among traditions, students will focus on the issues of teaching about religion generally and the problematics of presenting individual traditions. This course will balance content of religious traditions and pedagogical techniques as a way of preparing students to teach basic courses in religion.

REL 6200 - Advanced Seminar in Comparative Religion - 3 hrs.
Advanced study in a major problem area of comparative research in the religions of humankind. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

REL 7000 - Master's Thesis - 6hrs.

REL 7100 - Independent Research - 2-6hrs.
Designed for highly qualified advanced graduate students, or small groups, who wish to pursue individual studies or projects under the direction of a member of the Graduate Faculty. An application form, signed by the student's graduate advisor, the faculty supervisor, and the Department Chairperson, must be submitted to Registration at the time of enrollment. Credit/No Credit only.

REL 7120 - Professional Field Experience - 2-12hrs.
Designed for superior graduate students who wish to pursue internships off campus (e.g, field study research). An application form, signed by the student's graduate advisor, the faculty supervisor, and the Department Chairperson, must be submitted to Registration at the time of enrollment. Credit/No Credit only.