INTRODUCTION TO RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Course#  50:840:101:01
T/TH 9:35 am – 10:55 pm  
Professor Karapanagiotis
Course is being taught online, synchronously 

This course introduces students to major academic methods for the study of religion and theories about religious belief and practice. It draws on diverse materials from the world’s religions and multiple disciplinary approaches. Topics may include belief systems, morality, sacred literature, myth, ritual, history, gender, ethnicity, and debates about the roles of religion in contemporary life.
Fulfills the Gen ED requirements: GCM

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS
Course#  50:840:103:01
M 3:45 pm – 5:05 pm 
Professor Gilmore-Clough
Course is being taught online, synchronously

A general introduction to the basic religious concerns of humanity, and the ways in which religions have developed in Eastern and Western history, giving intellectual, moral, and institutional expression to the meaning of human existence.
Fulfills the Gen ED requirements: HAC and ECL

ASIAN RELIGIONS
Course#  50:840:111:01
W 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm 
Professor McCauley
Course is being taught online, synchronously

A historical and comparative study of the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto and their expressions in the cultures of India, China, and Japan.
Fulfill the Gen Ed Requirements:  GCM

JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS
Course#  50:840:112:01
Online
Professor Banner
Course is being taught online, asynchronously

The historical development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the earliest roots in the myths and rituals of the ancient world to their modern forms. The interaction between each tradition and the cultural context in which it emerges and develops. The popular expression of each religion’s beliefs in its holidays, rituals, and legends.
Fulfills Gen Ed Requirements:  HAC 

MYTH AND SYMBOL
Course#  50:840:123:01
Online
Professor Salyer

Comparative studies of the creation myths and hero myths of selected Eastern, Middle Eastern, European, Native American, and African cultures. Attention given to the religious worldview, the psychological and social implications, and the symbolic forms of expression of each. Various methodologies for the study of myth investigated.

THE HISTORICAL JESUS
Course#  50:840:208:01
Online
Professor Banner

Who was the Jewish teacher named Jesus? This course will explore how scholars use historical method to reconstruct the life of an ancient figure as well as how ideas and beliefs about a religious leader develop over time. It will examine the original sources for the historical Jesus and the major issues under debate in current scholarship.
Fulfills the Gen Ed Requirement:  HAC 

HINDIUISM
Course#  50:840:220:01
T/TH 11:10 am – 12:30 pm
Professor Karapanagiotis
Course being taught online, synchronously

An in-depth examination into the Hindu traditions, including their histories, philosophies and texts, rituals, contemporary expressions, material cultures, politics of representation, and presence in the diaspora.
Fulfills the Gen Ed Requirement:  HAC

RELIGION AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Course#  50:840:338:01
T/TH 9:35 am – 10:55 am 
Professor Walker
Course being taught online, synchronously

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 was born in response to the genocide of over six million Jews in Nazi Germany. And yet, its values were conceived hundreds of years prior by religious communities that, in their own geographic and cultural contexts, advocated for protections for human’s inalienable rights.
In this Global Communities course, students will use both legal studies and religious studies to examine the origins, developments, effects, and critiques of four legal frameworks: freedom of religion, freedom for religion, freedom from religion, and freedom within religion. By studying international case studies, students will cultivate their cross-cultural, inter-religious, and intra- religious understanding about how the rule of law can be used to promote and protect the human right to “freedom of religion or belief” for people of all religions and none. Special attention will be given to the critical examination of the limitations of human-rights frameworks and the limitations of rule-of-law responses to human rights abuses.
Why is this such an urgent subject? Over three quarters of the world’s population lives in countries with high levels of government restrictions on religious people; these restrictions corelate with increased levels of social hostilities and violence. The legal framework of human rights has been a proven, albeit limited, remedy in deescalating such conflicts, demonstrating that the promotion of peaceful coexistence can be an effective security strategy.

INDEPENDENT STUDIES

An individual reading and research project under the guidance of a member of the philosophy department in an area of interest to the department. Prerequisite: Permission of department.

Course# 50:840:389:01
Professor Charme

Course# 50:840:389:02
Professor Karapanagiotis

Course# 50:840:389:03
Professor Wall