Religious Studies

The study of religion invites you, in an academic context, into a long tradition of theological and historical questions about the nature of humanity in relation to God and to the world, and it engages you in the interreligious and intercultural encounter that is taking place today.

Majors and Minors: Students who are considering a major or minor in religious studies can select any of the courses listed on the First-Year Student website under Religious Studies. Courses at the 100 level are particularly well-suited to first-year students. A course taken in Montserrat carrying an R designation is usually counted toward the major; it might be counted toward the minor with the approval of the department chair.

RELS 101
Comparative Study of Religion
Common Area: Cross-Cultural Studies or Studies in Religion

Introduction to the nature and place of religion in the human experience as critically understood through the modern disciplines of comparative history, text criticism, and social science. Viewpoints covered include the psychoanalytic, philosophical, biological, artistic, and anthropological. Sources range broadly from the Bible to modern fiction, Lao Tzu to Celtic myths. The course also examines the effects of modern change on religion in global perspective.


RELS 106
Buddhism
Common Area: Cross-Cultural Studies or Studies in Religion


Survey of the Buddhist tradition, from its origins in ancient India through its evolution as a pan-Asian faith. Topics include the legends of the Buddha, the early monastic community, the emergence of Theravada and Mahayana teachings, Buddhist ethics and social philosophy, meditation traditions, and the later development of distinctive Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese schools. Utilizes textual and anthropological sources.

RELS 107
Islam
Common Area: Cross-Cultural Studies or Studies in Religion

Examination of Islamic religious beliefs and practices from the origins of Islam to the present. Particular stress is placed on Islamic religious ideals, institutions and personalities. Central topics include: Islamic scripture and traditions, prophecy, law, rituals, theology and philosophy, sectarianism, mysticism, aesthetic ideals, art and architecture, pedagogy, and modern reinterpretations of the tradition. Also explores wider issues of religious identity by looking at the diversity of the Islamic tradition, tensions between elite and popular culture, and issues of gender and ethnicity.

 

RELS 108
Hinduism
Common Area: Cross Cultural or Studies in Religion

An examination of Hinduism and the Hindu tradition from the Vedas to the present day. Among the subject considered: the Upanishads; the Ramayana and Mahabharata; village Hinduism; Gandhi; and contemporary Hindu political thought. Evaluation will include both examinations and essays.


RELS 116
Catholicism 
Common Area: Studies in Religion

Introduction to the academic study of the beliefs and practices of Roman Catholic Christianity, and of the situation of the church in the contemporary United States. Topics include: approaches to the study of Catholicism; creeds and doctrinal foundations of the Church; structure, authority, and community; spirituality, worship, and the sacramental tradition; Catholic moral and social teaching; current issues and controversies in Catholicism.

RELS 118
New Testament
Common Area: Historical Studies or Studies in Religion

This course provides an introduction to early Christian literature and thought in the context of the early Church. The biblical texts will be investigated as works of literature, historical witnesses to early Christianity, and expressions of theology.

RELS 120
Compar Religions/World View
Common Area: Studies in Religion

Systematic exploration of similarities and differences within and among several traditions (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) and an examination of several key issues within the academic study of religion.

RELS 126
Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Common Area: Studies in Religion

This course includes a study of the major themes of the Hebrew Scriptures: creation, exodus, covenant, promised land, the Davidic kingship, prophecy, wisdom, and apocalyptic. The course explores these themes through literary and theological analysis as well as through the reconstruction of the historical background of these themes with reference to ancient Near Eastern sources.

 

RELS 139
Understanding Jesus
Common Area: Religious Studies

An examination of the figure of Jesus as presented in the gospels with attention devoted to historical questions about Jesus' life and teaching, the theological claims about Jesus being made by the gospel writers, and the direct challenge which the gospel story presents to the church and the world today.

RELS 141
Contemp Christian Morality
Common Area: Studies in Religion

This course addresses the implications of Christian belief and identity for personal and social morality.  Readings examine fundamental ethics of moral agency, human freedom, conscience, sin, suffering and virtue, as well as the method and themes of Catholic social teaching. The final part of the course explores several areas of contemporary ethical concern including the use of violence, human sexuality, healthcare, and the environment.


RELS 143
Social Ethics 
Common Area: Studies in Religion

An introduction to moral reasoning and various modes of Christian ethical reflection on contemporary social issues.


RELS 147
Judaism
Common Area: Studies in Religion

Introduction to the history, theology, and practices of the Jews which uses the evidence of Judaism to exemplify the interrelationship between a religious civilization and the historical and cultural framework within which it exists. How does what happens to the Jews affect their formulation of their religion, Judaism? By answering this question and by learning the details of Jewish belief and practice, students will come to comprehend both Judaism and the social construction of religion in general.

RELS 170
The Worlds of C.S. Lewis
Common Area: Studies in Religion

This class treats the works of the Anglican scholar and novelist, Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963). In particular, students will focus on Lewis’s use of the imagination in the articulation of his Christian faith and in his critique of modernity. A careful reading of such major works Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and The Abolition of Man will challenge participants to see life through Lewis’s “baptized imagination” and to reevaluate the principles that shape our contemporary world. Class presentations and discussions will allow students to assimilate primary sources and to formulate their own critiques.

RELS 199-F05
Saints&Sinners Around World
Common Area: Studies in Religion

Discover the diversity of global Catholicism in the modern world through the lives of saints, many who are not canonized, and the spaces, objects, and communities that celebrate them. Learn about Catholic culture and the theologies that undergird various religious practices—a foundation for probing the ways in which popular Catholicism is entwined with the daily struggles for justice in the modern world. Various historical, socio-political, and theological perspectives will be considered.

RELS 199-F06
Intro to Global Catholicism
Common Area: Studies in Religion

This course introduces students to the culturally diverse worlds of Catholicism. Focusing on Catholicisms of the Global South (Africa, Asia, and Latin America), the course examines the rich variety of ways in which communal practices and ways of knowing can inform the reception (and even the transformation) of Catholic traditions. Special attention is given to how local, indigenous values and spiritualities interact with the particularities of Catholicism, often resulting in a unique appropriation of the latter. The course offers students the opportunity to explore expressions of Catholic life and thought which illustrate the continuing change and plurality at the heart of a truly global Catholicism.

RELS 199-S03
Intro to the Hebrew Prophets
Common Area: Studies in Religion

This course examines the tradition of the Hebrew prophets and the prophetic movement in ancient Israel. Students will study the various literary forms that are found in the prophetic books (including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and Joel), and consider these in the context of the turbulent political background of Israel and Judah and of the ancient Near East. We will also cover the reinterpretation of the prophetic oracles by later redactors who compiled the book from the perspective of post-exilic times. Throughout the course, we will trace themes related to justice, suffering, worship, reconciliation, and hope.


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