Religion 228 - Is Religion the Future? Exploring Global Religion

Is India a “religious” society while Sweden is truly “secular”? What do such labels actually tell us—and what do they obscure? This course challenges familiar narratives about religion and secularity by examining how religion appears when studied empirically from a global perspective.

Rather than surveying religious traditions as coherent belief systems, the course focuses on how religion is practiced, embodied, negotiated, and contested in everyday life, social groups, institutions, and political settings. Students work with global statistics, ethnographic research, and comparative case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States to explore religion in relation to nationalism, migration, health, gender, politics, and social inequality.

Throughout the course, students reflect on how different methods shape what we can know about religion and why these choices matter. In the final part, the course turns to pressing questions about religion’s transformations and possible futures, inviting students to develop informed, critical, and constructive arguments about religion’s role in a rapidly changing world.

Fall semester. STINT Fellow Enstadt.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference given to Religion Majors

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Students will be expected to complete assigned readings in advance, attend class regularly, and participate actively in discussion. The course will include short reading responses and written analytical assignments, and either a final paper or exam.