Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to concepts central to the academic study of religion exploring various relevant methodologies. Provides a framework for understanding the many ways in which humans experience the phenomenon of the sacred through symbol, ritual, doctrine and experience in a variety of religious traditions and cultures. Students who have taken HUM 230 prior to 2007 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities Equivalent Courses: GS230 HUM230 Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Humanities 130 introduces Religious Studies, a field which encompasses everything from indigenous religions to Islam to Buddhism. Following Adam Yuet Chau, religion can be defined as a cultural phenomenon dealing with the metaphysical aspects of life, encompassing five modalities: scripture, personal growth, ritual behaviour, magical behaviour, and relations with supernatural being(s), and expressed through four key areas: belief, narrative, behaviour, and philosophy.

More simply, religion is the human connection with the sacred, an attempt to reach the divine by any and every means. Some traditions send their shamans out to negotiate with the gods; others call the gods right down into human bodies through possession. Still others rely on intermediary saints or spirits or holy texts in sacred languages. All religions have access to the divine, whatever that might mean in context. 

This course contextualizes myth and ritual, belief and behaviour, by exploring a variety of world religions, most of which are also practiced here in British Columbia. In addition to the book-based monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we will explore major world religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism as well as the less well-known traditions of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora and emerging religions such as Neopaganism.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: