REL 5000 - What is Religion? Great Thinkers and Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Religious Studies

Goals: This course will investigate the following questions: What is religion? How do we define it? Is religion something that exists “out there” or is it a creation of the scholar’s imagination? What methods should be used to study religion? What theories best explain it? How has the field of religious studies evolved, and where might it be headed?

Content: Students will be introduced to the major thinkers from multiple disciplines who have influenced the development of religious studies in the west. These will include psychologists, theologians, anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, historians, as well as feminist approaches from several of these disciplines.

Taught: Fall term

Prerequisite: Declared religion major and junior or senior status, or instructor permission

Credits: 4