A cross-cultural analysis of religious belief and behavior. Emphasis is placed on religions found among non-Western cultural groups and includes consideration of how major religions of the world are manifested on local levels. Cross-listed with ANTH 4130, 5130, RLST 4010.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

This course introduces students to the nature and functions of religion in society, emphasizing western religions in the U.S. Students will develop and apply an understanding of classic and modern sociological theories of religion to current events and disciplinary developments. Cross-listed with SOCY 4610, SOCY 5610, RLST 4020.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Fall.

Race/ethnicity and religion are conconstitutive social and cultural formations that have played a fundamental part in determining the boundaries of belonging of the United States. In this course, students will interrogate when, why and how race/ethnicity and religion have been used to delineate borders, determine citizenship, navigate legal classifications, dictate social mobility, and regulate economic possibilities. We will analyze both primary sources ‐such as sermons, reality TV shows, court cases and graphic images‐as well as scholarly writing to explore how formations of race and religion have shaped notions of belonging in the US nation‐state, thereby constructing the boundaries of the state itself. Cross-listed with ETST 4030, ETST 5030, RLST 4030, HIST 4209 and HIST 5029.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Examines the theories developed by some of the great names in the field of psychology and their approaches to religion. Questions addressed include why people become religious, how religion functions in their lives, religious experience and assessment of the validity of religious claims. Key theorists studied include: William James, Sigmund Freud, Carl G. Jung, Abraham Maslow and Erich Fromm. Cross-listed with RLST 4040.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Does God exist? Can the existence of God be proved? When is believing on faith acceptable? How or why is there a “problem of evil”? What are the attributes of a "god" and how can they be known, if at all? What is the relation of God to the world we experience? How does morality relate to religious belief and practice? The goal of the course is to broaden and deepen our understanding of key philosophical debates within religious traditions as we study prominent thinkers in the history of philosophy. Cross-listed with HUMN 5600, PHIL 4600, PHIL 5600, RLST 4060, and SSCI 5600.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Summer.

This course focuses on the dynamics between religion, culture, and communication and how these have led to intercultural peace, centuries of war, and/or different visions of belonging. This class addresses these dynamics to improve intercultural dialogue and conflict resolution processes, foregrounding the search for justice. Cross-listed with COMM 4152, INTS 4152, RLST 4152, COMM 5152, and INTS 5152.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Explores the mystical strains within the world's great religious traditions. Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mystics did not always express the same beliefs and attitudes as mainstream adherents. When mystics are placed side-by-side, amazing similarities appear. One cannot always tell whether a given mystical statement is Hindu, Jewish, Sufi, or Christian. This class examines these mystical traditions, East and West. Cross-listed with RLST 4160.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Approaches the field of classical Greek mythology and religion from the perspective of Jungian archetypal theory. The deities of the ancient Greeks are presented as archetypal patterns with universal correlates elsewhere in world religions. A foundation in C. G. Jung's archetypal theory will be offered to ground the course material. Cross-listed with RLST 4300.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Focuses on the phenomenon of dreams in a way that differs distinctly from the traditional approach to the subject in the field of psychology. "Spiritual" approaches to dreams are examined, as well as some major theorists on dreams, especially the work of Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung. Cross-listed with RLST 4360.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Fall.

God, Gods, and Goddesses have been imagined in many different modes, forms, aspects, and guises throughout human history. This course investigates Paleolithic models of God, the Great Goddess of the Neolithic era, the Gods of mythological traditions, Biblical God, the abstract God of the philosophers, the God of the pantheists, the deists, and the God of the mystics. Cross-listed with RLST 4400, PHIL 4650 and 5655.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Fall.

Explores the many forms which Goddesses have assumed through history, including the Neolithic Great Mother and her heiresses in the ancient Mediterranean cultures, such as: Isis, Ishtar, Demeter, Hecate, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena and others, and their parallels in India. Goddess traditions have encompassed a full spectrum from virgins to Great Mothers to dark underworld Goddesses of death and destruction. Cross-listed with RLST 4420 and WGST 4420/5420.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Asks the questions: What is the nature of the human being? What makes us "human?" Do humans have a "soul?" What is its nature? Is it different from the "spirit?" What is its ultimate fate? Examines the various theories put forward by philosophers of both Eastern and Western traditions. Cross-listed with RLST 4440 and PHIL 4470, 5470.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Examines how the major religious traditions approach the issue of death. Where the Egyptians were fascinated by death, their Mesopotamian and Hebrew neighbors saw no kind of experience continuing after death. Concepts of the Final Judgment Day and the end of the world follow in Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam, while Indian religions developed a sophisticated theory of reincarnation and the "art of dying." Finally, we will turn to Chinese belief in ancestral spirits. Cross-listed with RLST 4460.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Fall.

This course studies Islamic thought and practice over the last two centuries in terms of major historical processes that have operated at local, national, and global scales. Cross-listed with RLST 4462, HIST 4462, HIST 5462.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Examines "problem of evil" as formulated in the philosophical tradition. Presents classical formulation of the problem, traditional solutions & classical critiques of each answer. Considers perspectives of various religious orientations, which deal differently with the question of suffering. Cross-listed with PHIL 4480/5480, RLST 4480.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Fall.

Exploration of: (1) theoretical perspectives on the relationship between religion and politics; (2) causes of and justifications for the historical development of the Western separation of "church and state;" (3) contemporary responses to and analyses of this separation; and (4) several current debates about public policy in America that reveal tensions between these two spheres. Cross-listed with PSCI 4057, 5057 and RLST 4500.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

A sociological exploration of the contemporary roles of women in religion. Course examines American and world religious groups with an eye to women's involvement. Considers how women have changed these traditions as they take on leadership roles and discusses the tensions that arise within these traditions as a result of their expanded participation. Cross-listed with HUMN 5710, SSCI 4710/5710, WGST 4710/5710, RLST 4710.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Studies how women are presented in texts, as well as works by women. Investigates the roles open to women and societal attitudes toward women, who were considered seductresses, saints, scholars and warriors in the middle ages. Cross-listed with ENGL 4510/5510, RLST 4730 and WGST 4510/5510.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors

Typically Offered: Spring.

Students will engage in original research projects supervised and mentored by faculty. Students must work with faculty prior to registration to develop a proposal for their project and receive permission to take this course. Note: Students must submit a special processing form completely filled out and signed by the student and faculty member, describing the course expectations, assignments and outcomes, to the CLAS Graduate Academic Services Coordinator for approval. Repeatable.

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.

Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.