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University Professor S.H. Nasr
Professors H.E. Yeide, Jr., D.D. Wallace, Jr., A.J. Hiltebeitel (Chair), P.B. Duff, R.J. Eisen
Assistant Professors T. Michael, K. Pemberton
Assistant Professorial Lecturers L.G. Berner, S.M. Glazer, B.N. Hebbar, E.C. Hostetter
Bachelor of Arts with a major in religion—The following requirements must be fulfilled:
1. The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
2. Prerequisite courses—Rel 1, 2.
3. Required courses in the major—30 credit hours, including at least 21 hours of upper-level courses. Twelve of these hours must be chosen from one religious tradition, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism. Appropriate graduate seminars may be approved as substitutions for advanced-level courses. The program must include Rel 101 and at least one course each in Hebrew Scriptures and in New Testament.
Special Honors are awarded to students who meet the requirements stated under University Regulations, maintain a grade-point average of 3.4 in courses in the major, and complete an honors thesis by enrolling in Rel 191. It is recommended that students include the study of foreign languages in their undergraduate program, including a language crucial to one of the religious traditions. All students expecting to enter graduate school are urged to study French or German.
Minor in religion—Required: a minimum of 18 credit hours in religion, of which at least 6 must be 100-level courses. The minor program will be developed in consultation with the departmental advisor. Rel 101 is strongly recommended for all participating students.
Minor in peace studies—Required: 18 credit hours, including PStd 10, 190 plus at least one course from each of the groups listed below. Peace as a Human Value—Phil 133; Rel 120, 121; WStu 125. Peace and National and International Systems—Econ 136, 181; Geog 120, 133; Hist 126, 129, 157, 184; PSc 140, 142, 144, 149. Peace and Interpersonal Relations—Psyc 119, 125, 156; Soc 184. With approval of the advisor, Selected Topics courses and 700 Series courses in related subjects may be counted toward the minor. An internship in a relevant agency (through CCAS 154) may also count for 3 hours of credit, with advisor's prior approval. With permission, a limited number of graduate courses in the department may be taken for credit toward an undergraduate degree. See the Graduate Programs Bulletin for course listings.
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| 1 |
Introduction to World Religions: West (3) |
Staff |
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Examination of the religions of the ancient Mediterranean and the major religions of the West. Religious foundations of Western civilizations. The development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and their confrontations with secularization and political upheaval in the modern world. (Fall and spring) |
| 2 |
Introduction to World Religions: East (3) |
Staff |
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Examination of the major religions of the East and comparison with religions in the West. Approaches to the cross-cultural study of religion. Hinduism, Buddhism, and the religions of Tibet, China, and Japan are studied with respect to their history and their encounter with modernity. (Fall and spring) |
| 9 |
Bible: Hebrew Scriptures (3) |
Duff |
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The literature, history, and religious thought represented by the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Continuities and contrasts between Israel and the ancient Near East are considered through study of the world view, oral and literary tradition, main religious ideas, and chief figures and movements of the biblical literature. (Fall and spring) |
| 10 |
Bible: New Testament (3) |
Duff |
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Literature and history of earliest Christianity in the setting of the religious movements of the Greco-Roman world and developments within Judaism. The meaning of the earliest Christian proclamation about the significance of the life, teaching, and death of Jesus of Nazareth becomes the basis for tracing the formation and expansion of the Christian movement. (Fall and spring) |
| 101 |
Theories in the Study of Religion (3) |
Yeide |
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Seminar taught jointly by the faculty of the Department of Religion. Analysis of different ways in which religious phenomena can be approached. Readings and discussion of some of the epoch-making books in the development of the study of religion. (Fall) |
| 102 |
The Psychological Study of Spirituality (3) |
Staff |
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Same as Psyc 109. |
| 103 |
Biblical Issues (3) |
Duff |
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Critical examination of a selected biblical topic or text. |
| 104 |
Jesus (3) |
Duff |
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Comprehensive study of the life and teachings of Jesus with critical attention to sources. Quest for the historical Jesus. |
| 105 |
Paul (3) |
Duff |
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Backgrounds of early Christianity, first-century religious and social conditions affecting the spread of Christianity, the life and journeys of Paul, Paul's presentation of the Christian faith. |
| 106 |
Judaism (3) |
Eisen |
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A survey of Jewish thought and practice from the biblical to the modern period; introduction to the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic Judaism, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, Judaism in the modern period; an examination of the central rituals in Judaism, including Sabbath, dietary laws, and major festivals. (Fall) |
| 107 |
Rabbinic Thought and Literature (3) |
Eisen |
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The thought-world of rabbinic Judaism in its formative period, 100–500 CE, through a close reading of primary texts in translation selected from Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash. Topics include Oral Torah, the mechanics of rabbinic law, conceptions of God, views on suffering. The influence of rabbinic Judaism on modern Jewish ethics and thought. |
| 111 |
Myth, Epic, and Novel (3) |
Hiltebeitel |
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Religious themes and images of the hero and their cultural significance in literature: e.g., Indo-European, Biblical, Babylonian narrative traditions; Greek epic and drama; Dante, Milton, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Hesse, Faulkner, Beckett. |
| 112 |
Jewish Mysticism (3) |
Eisen |
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A historical treatment of the major forms of Jewish mysticism: the ecstatic schools of Merkavah mysticism, medieval German pietism, and Abraham Abulafia; the theosophic mysticism of medieval French and Spanish Kabbalah, Lurianic Kabbalah, and modern Hasidism; examination of major concepts, such as God, man, Israel, Torah, and redemption, as understood by these schools. |
| 113 |
Second Temple/Hellenistic Judaism (3) |
Duff |
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History of Judaism from the time of Ezra through the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE—canonization of the Pentateuch, Hellenism, Maccabean revolt, growth of sectarian movements, Herod, ferment against Rome in context of Eastern and Western political currents. Use of primary sources, especially the Bible, Josephus, and noncanonical writings. |
| 115 |
Jewish Philosophy in the Medieval Period (3) |
Eisen |
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An exploration of Jewish philosophical thinking from the close of the rabbinic period to the end of the Middle Ages through an analysis of four major philosophers—Saadiah, Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Gersonides. Topics include the nature of God, creation, divine providence, prophecy, and the rationale for the biblical commandments. |
| 116 |
Modern Jewish Thought (3) |
Eisen |
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Jewish thought from 1800 to the present through an exploration of six preeminent Jewish theologians: Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, A.J. Heschel, J.B. Soloveitchik, and Mordecai Kaplan. The relationship between these thinkers and the major Jewish denominations: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist. |
| 117 |
Seminar: Issues in Jewish Thought (3) |
Eisen |
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In-depth exploration of a selected thinker or issue in Jewish thought. Recommended for students with academic background in the study of religion or Judaic studies. |
| 118 |
Women in Judaism (3) |
Staff |
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Jewish women's spirituality as reflected in personal writings, ritual, liturgy, and midrash. Jewish women's history and legal status. Same as WStu 150. |
| 120 |
The Religions Wage Peace (3) |
Yeide |
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Resources in various world religions that contribute to peacemaking in both interpersonal and political settings. Ways in which the religions have sponsored and/or tolerated violence. |
| 121 |
Ethics and the World Religions (3) |
Yeide |
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Modern concepts of ethics and their relation to major world religions; religion as stimulus and barrier to moral change; modern moral issues and religious ethics. |
| 122 |
Christian Ethics and Modern Society (3) |
Yeide |
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Nature and principles of Christian life as developed by the Christian community; problems of personal conduct; application to various social institutions. |
| 123 |
Issues in Jewish Ethics (3) |
Staff |
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Exploration of current debates about major ethical issues among Jewish thinkers in the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform denominations; issues in bioethics, feminism, attitudes towards non-Jews, social action, the ethics of war. |
| 134 |
The Holocaust in Theology and Literature (3) |
Eisen, Ticktin |
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Theological and literary reactions of Jewish thinkers to the Holocaust; emphasis on evaluating contemporary responses to the Holocaust in light of attitudes toward suffering in the classical Jewish tradition; readings include Fackenheim, Rubinstein, Wiesel, and Appelfeld. |
| 143 |
Christianity in the Ancient World (3) |
Wallace |
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Rise and development of Christianity in relation to the culture, philosophy, mystery religions, and general religious life of the Greco-Roman world to A.D. 500. |
| 144 |
Medieval Faith and Symbolism (3) |
Wallace |
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Christian life and thought in the Middle Ages; mystics, saints, popes, and philosophers. |
| 145 |
Religion in the Renaissance and Reformation (3) |
Wallace |
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Transformation of the Western understanding of human identity and destiny from the end of the Middle Ages to the Age of Reason. |
| 146 |
Christianity in the Modern World (3) |
Wallace |
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Changes in Christian life and thought since 1700, as seen in theology, literature, political life, and religious institutions. |
| 151 |
The Minor Religions of India (3) |
Hebbar |
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The history, doctrines, and practices of Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Indian Judaism, Indian Christianity (Nestorian, Jacobite, Catholic, and Protestant), Indian Islam, and Sikhism. |
| 152 |
South Asian Buddhism (3) |
Hebbar |
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The life of Buddha, the Buddhist Councils, doctrines of the schools of Hinayana Buddhism, philosophies of the schools of Indian Mahayana Buddhism, history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, early history of Tibetan Buddhism, and the decline of Buddhism in India. |
| 155 |
Religion, Myth, and Magic (3) |
Staff |
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Same as Anth 155. |
| 156 |
The Goddess in India and Beyond (3) |
Hiltebeitel |
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The goddess traditions of Hinduism, with some attention to goddess traditions in the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean. Classical Sanskritic, Tantric, and popular expressions of Hindu goddess worship. Comparative studies and issues of gender. |
| 157 |
Indian Philosophy and Mysticism (3) |
Hiltebeitel |
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Indian speculative and mystical traditions; late Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist, and Hindu soteriological systems. |
| 158 |
Hinduism (3) |
Hiltebeitel |
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Study of continuity and change in Hinduism, with emphasis on historical development and the consolidating features of the religion. Attention to relations between classical and popular living forms. |
| 159 |
Mythologies of India (3) |
Hiltebeitel |
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The lore of Indian gods (Vedic, Puranic), heroes (epics), and holy men (Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Tantric); ties with Indian art, caste, cult, cosmology, and spiritual ideals. |
| 160 |
Buddhism (3) |
Hiltebeitel |
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Origin, development, and contemporary status of Buddhist life and thought; its impact on Asia. |
| 161 |
Islam (3) |
Nasr |
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Origin, development, and contemporary status of Islamic life and thought; its impact on the Near East. |
| 162 |
Women in Islam (3) |
Pemberton |
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The ways in which Islam has articulated gender identity and male–female relationships, and conversely, how women have constructed, interpreted, and articulated Islam and their places within it. Same as WStu 162. |
| 163 |
Islamic Religion and Art (3) |
Nasr |
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Investigation of major forms of Islamic art, such as calligraphy, architecture, and urban design; Quranic chanting, poetry, and music in relation to the principles of Islamic revelation. Same as AH 119. |
| 164 |
Islamic Philosophy and Theology (3) |
Nasr |
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The major schools of Islamic philosophy and theology, considered in both a morphological and historical manner. The relation between revelation and reason, determination and free will, and divine and human knowledge as well as the relation among science, philosophy, and religion. The development of various schools of thought, from the classical period to the present. |
| 165 |
Sufism (Islamic Mysticism) (3) |
Nasr |
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The foundation of Sufism in the Quranic revelation, its subsequent development, and its significance within Islamic civilization. Doctrines and practices of Sufism; history of the Sufi orders; Sufi literature, particularly in Arabic and Persian. The influence of Sufism upon social and political life and its state and role in the contemporary world, both Islamic and non-Islamic. |
| 172 |
Religion in the United States (3) |
Wallace |
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Growth of religious groups and institutions in relation to American culture, development of religious thought, and analysis of the contemporary religious scene. |
| 173 |
Religion in Contemporary America (3) |
Wallace |
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Trends and currents in American religion in the past fifty years. The nature and meaning of religious pluralism in the United States. |
| 174 |
American Judaism (3) |
Staff |
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Religious thought and institutions with emphasis on contemporary Judaism. Mythic and ritual life of American Jews, including responses to Israel, diaspora, the Holocaust, family and community dynamics. |
| 181 |
Women in Western Religion (3) |
Staff |
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Historical, theological, and ethical investigation of the image and role of women in Judaism and Christianity; special consideration of the Biblical experience, the sexual qualifications for religious office, use of male and female images and languages, and contemporary issues. Same as WStu 181. |
| 182 |
Religion and Philosophy in East Asia (3) |
Michael |
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General introduction to the religions and philosophical tradition of China, Japan, and Korea. Same as EALL 182. |
| 183 |
Confucian Literature in East Asia (3) |
Michael |
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General introduction to the Confucian traditions of literature, with an emphasis on history, historical writings, popular tales, and drama in China, Japan, and Korea. Same as EALL 183. |
| 184 |
Religion and Ethics in East Asia (3) |
Michael |
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Introduction to the foundational traditions of ethics in China, Japan, and Korea, with an emphasis on their early origins and transformation in pre-modern and contemporary times. Same as EALL 184. |
| 185 |
Daoism in East Asia (3) |
Michael |
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Study of the early history of the formation and development of Daoism, its growth into an institutionalized religious organization in China, and its role in the religious and philosophical history of Japan and Korea. Same as EALL 185. |
| 186 |
Shamanism in East Asia (3) |
Michael |
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Introduction to the modern theories of Shamanism and the history and practice of Shamanism in China, Japan, and Korea. Same as EALL 186. |
| 190 |
Selected Topics (3) |
Staff |
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Critical examination of religious phenomena rendered timely by current events or special resources. Topic announced in the Schedule of Classes. May be repeated for credit provided the topic differs. |
| 191 |
Senior Honors Thesis (3) |
Staff |
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Required of and open only to undergraduate honors candidates in religion. (Fall and spring) |
