Invitation to World Religions

Why study religion? To study religion is to better understand the history, literature, and art of the world. Convictions arising from religious belief have produced movements of mass violence as well as inspired achievements in the world’s great artistic, architectural,
philosophical, literary, and other modes of human expression. Learning about other
religious systems can help us better appreciate influential perspectives that have shaped
the world. Ultimately, encountering other belief systems and moral visions helps us look
afresh at our place in our own societies.

This 20-week course looks at six major faith traditions: Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity,
Islam, Buddhism, and African diasporic. Members of these 6 branches make up the
majority of the world’s population and today can be found in every continent, if not every
city, across the globe. While a single course cannot begin to do justice to the geographic
breadth, communal diversity, and internal complexities found within each of these
religions, this class serves as a brief window, or an invitation, to some of the religious
ideas and the religious communities that have shaped our world through a secular and academic lens.

The course introduces each of the religions in question through a secular lens with art, historical, and sociological analysis, entering core ideas by considering a foundational text or set of texts. Attention will also be given to modern lived expressions of, internal differences within, and interactions between distinct religious streams.

Class sessions consist primarily of a short orienting lecture, with most of the class period
devoted to a Socratic seminar format emphasizing careful listening and focused discussion with fellow classmates.

Student participation will focus on spoken and written expression of ideas. Spoken
expression will take form during sessions through a Socratic seminar format. Seminars
emphasize careful attention to the texts and focused discussion around a prearranged set of questions. Course participants are invited to prepare and lead 1 class discussion.
Written expression will emphasize rhetorical analysis, expression of ideas, and grammar
and punctuation use. Written assessments include: a) 3 short essays, b) a term-translation exercise, and c) a final exam.