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. Fall/Spring. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Readings in Western Literature from ancient to modern times will probe both the readers and the authors religious and spiritual foundations for attitudes toward aging. A Gerontological analysis of contemporary social stereotypes will challenge students to identify the sources and define the effects of those stereotypes on both our environment and ourselves. Students will gain skill in discovering and refining their own attitudes toward aging, their relationship toward aging people, and an awareness of the influence of culture on common attitudes. Students will seek to understand the phenomenon of spirituality, both within and aside from major religions, and to understand attitudes toward spirituality as they relate to self-successful aging.

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.

From the earliest explorers to the latest modern "cult," this course will consider the impact that religion has had on the United States, and the impact that the United States has had on religion. 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.

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.

The experience of African slaves in North America - from the time of capture off the Guinea Coast of Africa to becoming American citizens - is one of the most intriguing phenomena in American history. This course examines the crucial and ambiguous role of religion in that transformation process. The major thesis of the course is that a proper understanding of African American Religion stems from knowledge of the African religious heritage of the slaves. Thus a large section of the course is devoted to the study of African Traditional Religion. The mutual impact of Christianity and African Traditional Religion in the context of North American slavery also receives substantial attention.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Like most ancient peoples, the Greeks believed that a pantheon of heavenly, sublunar, and subterranean divinities controlled or supervised 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 the history and practice of Greek religions in the public sphere and the relationship between religious practices, rites and beliefs and the rich body of Greek myth.

Like most ancient peoples, the Romans 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 the history and practice of Roman religion in both the public and private spheres, including Roman Mystery Religions. We also will discuss how Romans, particularly the elite, reacted to new and different religious cults and how they wove religious practices into every aspect of ancient Roman life.

Students will examine various perspectives on the relationship between religion and society. This study will encourage students to explore such diverse themes as the relationship of religion and the state; national and global economic structures; ethics; counter-cultural religious movements; and the religious principles which may undergird a social matrix. Students will write a series of analytical essays, applying some of the religious principles encountered to the analysis of political, social, or economic issues.

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.

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).

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.

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.
Fall

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.

A course of variable content for upper-level students. Topics will not duplicate material covered in other courses.