| Religion Courses
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| | 100 Understandings of Religion | 4 credits | | A study of the religious dimension in the lives of individuals, communities, and cultures. Students will explore understandings of religion and roles of religion, along with commonalities and differences in expression of religion. This will be accomplished by examining topics such as God, scripture, ritual, values, ethical issues and cosmology, as expressed within several specific religious traditions, including Judaism and Christianity. |
| 200 History of Christian Thought | 4 credits | | Students will concentrate on major Christian issues, such as dogma, canon, creed, Christology, justification, salvation, Word and sacraments and church unity, from an historical and ecumenical point of view. Special attention will be given to the ways history and cultures have influenced and shaped Christian thought. |
| 201 Jewish Bible/Old Testament | 4 credits | | Concentrating on representative sampling of texts from the Torah (Law), Prophets, and Writings, students will be introduced to the current methods of Biblical studies. Attention will be directed to the historical periods in which this literature developed and to the basic theological concepts in the literature. Students will also become acquainted with the history of Israel, prominent Hebrew leaders, covenants, laws, and worship practices of Hebrew life. |
| 202 The Gospels | 4 credits | | Concentrating on the New Testament gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), students will be introduced to the basic methods of Biblical studies. Specifically, students will examine the particular historical, theological, and literary emphasis of each Biblical author in light of modern Biblical research. |
| 203 The Letters of the New Testament | 4 credits | | Concentrating on the letters of the New Testament (e.g. Romans, Galatians, Ephesians), students will be introduced to the basic methods of Biblical studies to examine the theological, historical, and literary questions raised by each letter. Careful attention will be given to matters of structure and authorship, as well as to the information contained in these letters about the early Christian communities. |
| 204 Christian Spirituality | 4 credits | | An in-depth exploration of Christian spirituality, or how ardent Christians throughout history have variously understood and sought relationship with their God. Inquiry into the writings and activities of the earliest desert-dwelling monastic is followed by readings from such great mystics of the middle ages as Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, and John of the Cross. These are supplemented by the works of contemporary advocates of the inner life, including Thomas Greene, Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton. Literature study is balanced by practical exploration of Christian and other forms of prayer and meditation, and with dialogue in religious communities with monks and nuns who have elected a contemplative lifestyle. |
| 207 Understandings of Love | 4 credits | | The course is a study of understandings of love, expressions of love, and failures to love in the light of Biblical, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions, and in the light of contemporary experience. Special attention is given to exploring the dynamics of liking, romantically loving, romance, sexuality, intimacy, and mature, disciplined love. The course aims at opening participants to the many rewards awaiting persons, couples, families, and communities that cultivate an understanding and observance of the distinction between love as romance and love as disciplined intervention to foster the welfare of another. This is achieved through reading, analysis, and debate of several case studies using a collection of diverse interpretive models. |
| 220 Faith, Love, and Ethics | 4 credits | | Students will concentrate on the nature and bases of ethics and morality as informed by the Bible, Christian theology, and tradition. Special attention will be given to specific issues such as human sexuality, divorce, war and peace, personal and corporate responsibility, poverty and world hunger. |
| 230 Issues in Living and Dying | 4 credits | | Students will concentrate on concepts and issues related to illness, dying, death, and grief. Special attention will be given to issues such as definitions of death, attitudes toward death, rights and wishes of the dying, forms of euthanasia, views of suffering and death, funeral packages and the grief process. A particular effort will be made to enable students to see the issues in the light of Christian understandings and to help students arrive at their own positions. |
| 271 / 471 Topics in Religion | 1-4 credits | | A study in a major area or subject of current concern which will build upon courses now offered or move into areas beyond the scope of present courses. |
| 275 Research Methods | 4 credits | | An introduction on how to conduct research through the focus on one topic from the following disciplines: philosophy, religion, or classics. The class will focus on learning how to distinguish and evaluate primary and secondary sources; write a researched paper; to recognize different approaches (theoretical) to a given topic; and become familiar with the work of representative classicists/philosophers/theologians/historians. |
| 301 Post-Exilic Judaism | 4 credits | | Concentrating on the period from the end of the Babylonian exile to the first century of the Common Era (c.500 BCE - 100 CE), students will explore the various ways Judaism evolved into its present "rabbinic" form, and simultaneously unfolded in other diverse ways. Students will explore such topics as: Messianic expectations, apocalyptic Judaism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, the expansion of the law, and the emergence of Christianity. This range of issues will focus students on that period of Israel's life not specifically covered by study of the biblical texts. |
| 302 Women and The Bible | 4 credits | | This course is an opportunity to study the situation of women at the time of the Biblical writings, to investigate evidence for how women were treated in the earliest Christian churches, and to take seriously the impact that the interpretation of Biblical texts has had on women's social roles throughout history and in our own day. |
| 303 Creation and Apocalypse | 4 credits | | This course will look at themes of human origin and destruction as articulated in the Bible and related Jewish and Christian material. We will also consider how different views on creation and the end of the world have influenced theological beliefs, social issues, and scientific investigation throughout Western history, and in contemporary U.S. culture. Students will have the opportunity to analyze modern-day debates about creation, evolution, and the end of the world based on their interaction with these ancient texts and ideas. |
| 304 Church History | 4 credits | | A study of the Christian Church from apostolic times to the present with special attention to the sociological, economic, psychological, and doctrinal factors in its development. While primary emphasis is placed on the Western European tradition, consideration is given to the worldwide development of Christianity. A background of world history or religion is beneficial. |
| 306 Luther and the Reformation | 4 credits | | Students will concentrate on the Reformation era and give special attention to the life and thought of Martin Luther and other reformers. Specific attention will be given to the Protestant and Roman Catholic Reformation and to the religious, political, intellectual, cultural, social, and economic influences and issues of the sixteenth century. |
| 307 Religion in America | 4 credits | | From the earliest explorers to the latest modern "cult," this course will consider the impact that Christianity has had on the United States, and the impact that the United States has had on Christianity. The focus in this historical survey will be on both large-scale movements or denominations and the personal experience of small groups and individual believers. |
| 308 Parish Service | 2 or 4 credits | | The student is assigned to a congregation or other church organization in order to practice leadership in several self-chosen areas of church life. Students will meet regularly with their placement supervisor, will participate in classroom conferences with the professor, submit complete reports of plans and activities, and complete supplemental readings. |
| 310 Judaism | 4 credits | | This course is an introduction to the self-definition of Judaism. It will analyze Judaism by examining such central concepts as God, Torah, and Israel. This central self-definition will then be tested by means of close readings of representative texts, and by investigating the range of Jewish history. The course will also examine significant events which shaped 20th century Judaism, including the creation of the State of Israel, the Holocaust, and modern American Jewish movements. |
| 311 Hinduism | 4 credits | | This course will provide an in-depth introduction to those social, philosophical, and religious phenomena that western observers have called Hinduism. The first part of the course will focus on religious texts, as we explore the roots of the tradition and the flowering of the devotional movement. The latter part of the course will focus more on modern Hindu life, in an attempt to give some appreciation of its religious quality. This process will provide some opportunity to reflect on the nature and meaning of religious life, and to consider the ways in which the faith of these men and women can inform our own lives. |
| 312 Islam | 4 credits | | This course will provide an in-depth introduction to the world of Islam, the most recent of the great faiths tracing its descent from the prophet Abraham. The beginning of the course will examine the roots and development of Islam, and the gradual growth of Islamic institutions. The latter part of the course will focus on modern Muslim life, partly on its individual dimensions, in an effort to convey some appreciation for its religious quality, and to consider the ways in which the faith of these men and women can inform our own lives; but more pointedly on the political influence of Islam, and the ways in which growth of Islamic revivalism has shaped and continues to shape the world in which we live. |
| 313 Buddhism | 4 credits | | An intensive look at the world's oldest missionary religion, from its origin in the Ganges basin in 500 BCE to its contemporary manifestations. The course's primary emphasis will be on the historical development of the tradition, and the ways that its message has been transformed through the influence of different cultures, including the United States. An important part of this will be closely examining the Buddhist way of life throughout the centuries, and the ways in which this ancient message is still relevant in the modern world. |
| 314 East Asian Religion | 4 credits | | An intensive look at religion in East Asia, focusing both on the region's indigenous religious traditions—Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto—as well as Buddhism, its best-known and most successful transplant. The primary emphasis will be on the historical development of these traditions, their mutual influence on one another, and the way that their values have shaped and continue to shape the cultures in which they appear. This process will provide some opportunity to reflect on the nature and meaning of religious life, and to consider the ways in which the faith of these men and women can inform our own lives. |
| 320 Luther and Christian Theology | 4 credits | | This seminar is devoted to critical textual analyses of many of the Reformer's major theological works. Luther's Christocentric Trinitarianism made a significant impact on the western church's subsequent teaching on scripture and tradition, the church's proclamation of God's word as law and gospel, salvation by grace through faith, sacraments as a means of grace, Christians as righteous and sinful in their justification by Christ before God in eternity, and their sanctification by the Holy Spirit among neighbors within secular callings in society. |
| 330 Greek and Roman Mystery Religions | 4 credits | | Most ancient people believed that a pantheon of heavenly, sublunar, and subterranean divinities controlled every detail of life on earth, and they often went to great extremes to appease certain of these gods and goddesses. In this course we will consider how cults of "mysteries" developed, and examine what is known about their unusual and secretive practices. We also will compare these cults with more traditional worship of Greek and Roman deities, and with the beliefs and practices of those who followed Jesus. |
| 335 Religion and Society | 4 credits |
| Students will examine various perspectives on the relationship between religion and society. This study will encourage students to explore such diverse themes as: religion, poverty, and war; religion and race; religion and gender; religions that condemn "the world"; and religion and popular culture. The course is writing-intensive (WI). |
| 336 Religion and Society in Modern India | 4 credits | | Selected topics illustrating the mutual involvement of religion and society in India since the 16th century. Major themes will include Hindu devotional movements, the rise and development of the Sikhs, Hindu reform movements, Islamic self-definition, the rise of nationalistic (or independence) movements in each of these three groups, and responses to the pressures of globalization. |
| 340 Biblical Images of Christ | 4 credits | | The Christologies of the New Testament will be examined both by investigating their background in the history of religions and by analyzing the images of Christ presented in various documents of the New Testament (e.g., Mark, John, Paul, Hebrews). Specific attention will be given to christological titles and to the pre-Christian figures with whom Jesus is identified (e.g., Moses, Wisdom). |
| 345 Christian Doctrinal Ecumenism | 4 credits | | This seminar will critically analyze recent ecumenical documents that seek to contribute to visible church unity and the common good. The doctrinal texts outline convergences and even consensus on such controversial themes as baptism, eucharist, ministry, church, justification and sanctification, mission and moral involvement in society. They have been co-authored by officially appointed representatives of major Christian communions. The choice of documents to be surveyed will reflect the choices and interests of the class participants. |
| 370 The Dead Sea Scrolls | 4 credits | | Through a careful examination of some of the texts discovered at Qumran on the Dead Sea, students will investigate the history and theology of the Jewish sect known as the Essenes. This investigation will include an examination of the archaeological evidence uncovered at the site as well as an analysis of the relationship of this community with other contemporary Jewish sects (the Pharisees and the Sadducees). In addition, students will examine possible points of contact between the Essenes and early Christian communities. |
| 400 Senior Seminar | 4 credits | | The Senior Seminar is taught and directed by one member of the department with the assistance and participation of other members. The seminar will lead the student toward the completion of the Senior Project, which will be determined by the student and the directing professor. |
| 414 Religious Thinkers of Modern Times | 4 credits | | A seminar dedicated to nineteenth and twentieth century development in religious thought. While some focused attention falls on specifically Christian developments such as distinctions among the liberal, neo-orthodox, and conservative orthodox theological currents, some modern thought in Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions also is explored. Emphasis falls upon free analysis and evaluation of particular writers whose works are especially provocative and relevant to daily life. |
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