Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0204 - Comparative Religious Ideas

This course introduces some of the major ideas at work in religious traditions throughout the world. It explores how three major themes - The Human Condition, Ultimate Realities, and Religious Truth - are understood in Chinese religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As a whole, this course thus provides a multi-cultural approach to some of the core ideas, texts, and thinkers of the religions practiced by most of the world's population. By studying religious ideas from various traditions side by side, this course also reflects upon what it means to engage in comparative study more generally, and how to go about forging comparisons in a sophisticated manner. As such, it provides students with a thorough introduction to both the nature of religion and to its study.

Culture, Humanities, and Languages Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives Independent Work Number of hours students are expected to spend in work and preparation outside of class time: 0-165