Religion and culture

Abstract

REL-1002 (3) Exploring Religions: World's Religions (3 hrs Lecture) Religion is a universal phenomenon that varies in meaning from culture to culture. This course examines the ways religion is understood in different cultures, introducing basic concepts used in the academic study of religion (e.g., sacred and profane, myth and history, symbol and ritual, etc.) through a survey of the major world religious traditions (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and the religions of indigenous peoples of North and South America). The teachings of individual traditions, how these teachings developed over time, and differences in interpretation will be examined against the background of the culture that produced them.