Thinking About Religion?

This course introduces students to the study of religion, paying particular attention to the following three interrelated items: first, the origin, evolution, and contemporary expressions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; second, the contribution of ancient Greek philosophy to the development of these three religious traditions; and, third, secularization and the re-emergence of religion in the 20th and 21st centuries. Over the course of the semester, students will have the opportunity to compare and contrast these three Western religious traditions to non-Western religious traditions, e.g., Buddhist and Native American. Over the course of the semester, students will be encouraged to bring the knowledge and skills they have learned in Thinking about Religion into conversation with that learned in the Greco-Roman Heritage, Ancient Philosophy, and Liberal Arts Methodology.