Nov 15, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

RELSTY 309 - Approaches to the Study of Religion: Theory and Method in Religious Studies

3 Credit(s) | Lecture | Graded or pass/fail
Course can be counted for credit once

Description:
What is religion? How is it distinct from other aspects of human life? Does religion have a biological or psychological basis? Is it shaped mainly by social conditions and historical circumstances? Why is religion both ubiquitous and incredibly diverse, and why does it remain so significant in the modern world? This course takes up such questions by exploring the many ways in which scholars seek to “make sense” of religion. We will examine the history of religious studies as an interdisciplinary field, and explore the dominant scholarly approaches: sociological, anthropological, psychological, feminist, and phenomenological, to name a few. We will also explore newer trends in the study of religion, such as approaches drawing on cognitive science. The assigned readings include both classical theorists and contemporary voices.

Course Attribute(s):
Distribution Area: Humanities

040979:1