ALABAMA Alabama State University-Montgomery
2012-13 religious studies classes and history classes that delve into religious themes: Literature of the Old Testament; Literature of the New Testament; Introduction to Church History; Religion in American Culture; Comparative Religions; Contemporary Religious Thought; Religion and the African American Experience in America; Ancient and Medieval Political Thought Introduction to Church History - course description: A survey of the history of the church from its beginning to contemporary times. Attention will be given to major movements and personalities. ARIZONA Arizona State University
Spring 2013 classes categorized under religious studies: Religious of the world; religion and the media; Biblical Hebrew; religion and the modern world; religion and popular culture; ritual, symbol and myth; intro to Jewish civilization; intro to southeast Asia; what is religion; gender and peace; comparative mysticism; approaches to religion; western religious tradition; Hebrew Bible Old Testament; American religious traditions; religion in America; African American religion; Native American religious traditions; South American Indian religion; Asian religious traditions; Hinduism; Buddhism; Islam and Islamic Societies; Islam and the modern world; women in Islam; Women in Judaism; Lost Scriptures/Lost Christianities; religion, nationalism and ethnic conflict; religion and moral issues; women and religion; philosophy and religion; Islam and Eurasia; study of yoga; religion and immigration; curanderismo: diving, loving and healing; religions and India; religion and conflict; Roman religion; Emergence: from biology to religion; suffering and transformation; religion and global politics; Stalinism in Literature and Film; science and religion; Sharia, a social history; Stalinism in European Literature; anthropology of body and pain; voices within contemporary Islamic discourse; and anthropology of material culture. Lost scriptures/lost Christianities - course description: Wide diversity of early Christianity and its suppressed and lost texts, which have been found in modern times. ARKANSAS University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Classes categorized under religious studies: World religions; introduction to religious studies; Christianity; religious counter cultures; reading sacred texts; Islam; religion and modern south Asia; science techniques; eastern thought; philosophy of religion; Judaism; Apocalypse Now... and Then: A History of Apocalyptic Thought and Movements; religious history of the United States; religion, society and culture; and topics in religion. Christianity - course description: survey of major developments in the history of Christian thought from its origins in the New Testament through the Protestant Reformation. CALIFORNIA Sacramento State University
Spring 2013 humanities/religious
studies classes:
Arts and ideas; approaches to religious studies; culture classical Rome; classical mythology; intro to New Testament; Christianity reform; exploring world religions; history of Buddhism; world mythology; spirit and nature; multicultural America; American space and identity; images and America; Hollywood and America; the Hindu year; many realities of consciousness; religions of the Roman Empire; and intro to the east Asian world. Intro to New Testament - course description: Study of the New Testament literature in its historical and cultural setting. Topics covered include the literary relationships of the four Gospels, the historical Jesus, the evolution of early Christianity, and the diverse theologies represented in the letters of Paul and other canonical and non-canonical writings.
COLORADO University of Colorado, Denver 2012-13 classes categorized under religious studies: Comparative religious systems; sociology of religion; psychology of religion; philosophy of religion; myth and symbol; spirituality and the modern world; differing concepts of God; goddess traditions; concepts of the soul; religion and politics; whores and saints: medieval women; mysticism; death and concepts of afterlife; intro to religious studies; world religions; American Indian experience; Bible as literature; Judaism, Christianity and Islam; history of early Christianity; reformation Europe; Islamic politics and culture; shamanic traditions; Asian religions; religions of India; Chinese philosophy and culture; religious narratives; Old Testament; New Testament; Archaeological Discoveries Relating to the Bible; religion and cultural diversity; western religious thought; eastern religious thought; special topics in religion; theories of the universe; the hero's journey; current perspectives on the evolution of consciousness and culture; Freudian and Jungian perspectives in dream analysis; perspectives on good and evil; and women and religion. History of early Christianity - course description: History of the rise of Christianity and the decline of paganism in the Roman Empire from the birth of Jesus of Nazareth to ca. 500 A.D.Special emphasis on social, historical, legal, and cultural context of Christianity's rise and paganism's decline. New Testament - course description: Examines the books of the New Testament from a scholarly, historical-critical perspective, which views it as a historically and culturally conditioned text, reflecting the beliefs and attitudes of the authors who produced it The course covers the canonical gospels, letters, and other writings of the New Testament. The Hero's Journey - course description: The myth of the hero's journey serves as a metaphor for the vicissitudes life puts each of us through. The hero or hera represents the ego-self who undertakes the journey-a grand adventure into the realm of the unknown-to seek the treasure. He or she is greatly transformed by the process, ultimately into the great self, who wins the boon to share with all humanity. Versions of the story are found all over the world, such as in the sagas of Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Psyche, KingArthur, Dorothy of Oz,and Luke Skywalker from a galaxy far, far, away (also an English class).
CONNETICUT University of Connecticut 2012-13 religious studies classes (categorized under philosophy or history, but with religious focuses):
Philosophy and Religion; the early Christian church; World of Late Antiquity; Byzantium; Early Middle Ages; and Medieval Islamic Civilization to 1700. The Early Christian Church - course description: The evolution of Christian institutions, leadership and doctrines in the Roman Empire ca. 50-451 C.E.Topics may include gnosticism, prophecy, martyrdom, asceticism, pilgrimage, heresy, orthodoxy. FLORIDA Florida State University, Tallahassee
Spring 2013 religious studies classes: Beginning Hebrew; philosophy of religion; intro to world religions; religions in the United States; intro to the Old Testament; intro to the New Testament; religions of South Asia; religions of east Asia; critics of religion; religion and fantasy; religion, self and society; gender and religion; religious ethics; religion and bioethics; human rights and crimes against humanity; ethics of food; abortion and contraception in Ancient Christianity; Buddhist tradition; Islamic traditions in the modern world; anthropology and religion; the Christian tradition; religion in Africa: courage; Syriac; what is religion; Catholic social thought; performance in Africa; the book of Genesis; Chinese Buddhism; Shi'ite Islam; modern Judaism; Enochic Literature; Ge'ez; reading in classical Chinese religions texts; readings in Sanskrit Texts; textual analysis; Calvin's Institutes; New Testament proseminar; and Sanskrit II New Testament Proseminar - course description: describe and employ the methods of contemporary New Testament scholarship; identify distinctive contributions of the most important figures who have developed these methods; describe and analyze critically the chief results of the modern historical-critical approach to the New Testament. The Christian Tradition - course description: examines the historical narrative of the tradition from its beginnings in the first century through twentieth-century developments. We will also focus on the doctrinal side of the tradition by reading primary texts of key Christian thinkers. Intro to the New Testament - course description: The distinctive concerns and literary features of individual texts will be studied in the contexts of the historical development of the early Christian church, ancient Judaism, and the wider Greco-Roman world. Emphasis throughout will fall on the variety of interpretations of the Christian message as Christians encountered new social circumstances and theological challenges. GEORGIA Georgia State University, Atlanta
2013 religious studies classes: Intro to world religions; intro to religion; philosophy of religion; biblical studies; Asian religions in America; survey of world religions; Jesus Inside and Outside the Gospels; Early Christianity; modern Christian thought; contemporary religious thought; new religious movements; intro to Judaism; intro to Islam; theories and methods; religion and popular culture; religion, morality and film; tragedy and comedy; Augustine and Aquinas; evil and God; religious dimensions in Human Experience; religion and law; religion in America; religion and psychology; death and the afterlife; cognitive foundations religion; African-American religion; religion, race and nation; religion and literature; women and religion; pilgrimage; religion, sport and spirituality; metaphysics; modern Judaism; Judaism and the south; Martin Buber, thought and influence; Islamic faith and practices;
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topics in Judaism; topics of Islam; life of Muhammad; Hinduism; Hindu sacred myths and epics; Buddhism; Confucianism and Taoism; classical Chinese philosophy; Zen and Shinto; topics in Asian religion; comparative study of mysticism; religion and sexuality, the problem of the erotic; religion and ethics; church and state; Christianity and democracy; war, peace and religion; secularism, liberalism and religion; issues in religious studies; Jesus Inside and Outside the Gospels - course description: Comparative study of portrayals of Jesus as they have evolved over the past two millennia ... Jesus in the non-canonical gospels, the way Jesus is depicted in texts from other religions (e.g, Quran, Gandhi's "What Jesus Means to Me"),and visual depictions of Jesus in modern media such as film, television and the internet Early Christianity - course description: God, faith, the role of the Church, and the nature of human beings in the thought of figures such as Paul, Augustine and Luther; alternatives to Orthodoxy such as Gnosticism and Pelagianism; impact of science and historical criticism in thinkers such as Hume, Schleiermacher, and Feuerbach. HAWAII University of Hawaii Fall 2012 religious studies classes: Introduction to the World's Major Religions; Religion and the Meaning of Existence; Understanding the Old Testament; Understanding the New Testament; Understanding Indian Religions; Understanding Chinese Religions; Understanding Japanese Religions; Understanding Hawaiian Religion; Understanding Buddhism; Understanding Judaism; Understanding Islam; Understanding Christianity; The Study of Religion; Creation and Evolution; Zen Buddhist Masters; Global Christianity; Cults and New Religions; Religion, Politics, and Society; Christian Ethics in Modern Life; Witches and Witchcraft; Women and Religion; Love, Sex, and Religion; Religion and Art; Mysticism East and West; Hawaiian Gods: Pele, Kamapua'a; On Death and Dying; Life and Teachings of Jesus; Anthropology of Religion; Health/Medicine in Religion; Anthropology of Buddhism; Spiritual Ecology; Sacred Places; Sociology of Religion; Seminar on Buddhism; Taoism in China; Buddhism in Japan; and Polynesian Religions. Understanding the New Testament - course description: Origin and development of early Christian message as set forth in the New Testament; special attention to Jesus and Paul. Understanding Christianity - course description: History of ideas concentrating on events, persons, and issues with the greatest impact on the evolution of Christianity. Global Christianity - course description: Christianity as a transcultural religion. Christian Ethics in Modern Life - course description: The meaning of Christian faith for the moral life with reference to contemporary moral issues. Life and Teachings of Jesus - course description: Critical study of synoptic gospels and of extraBiblical sources. IDAHO Boise State University
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2012-13 religious studies classes (categorized under history, but with religious focuses) Early Christianity; Popular Religion and Culture in Europe: 800-1600; The Age of Renaissance and Reformation; Saints and Sinners: Women in Christianity; The History of Marriage and The Family in Europe; American Religious History; Islamic Civilization; history of SOcialism;ancient Rome; the Byzantine Empire; medieval Europe; the Islamic Middle East; and the modern Middle East. Early Christianity - course description: A study of the rise and development of Christianity from its Jewish and Greek origins in the first century through its establishment and elaboration as the state religion of the late Roman empire in the fifth century. Doctrinal, ethical, organizational, liturgical, and aesthetic developments within the Christian movement, and the political, social, and cultural roles of the Church within the late empire are analyzed through the media of early Christian and contemporary pagan writings and artistic remains. ILLINOIS University of Illinois at Springfield
2012-13 religious studies classes (categorized under history, but with religious focuses): Peoples of the past; making of the west; Gods and Heroes of Early Europe; topics in comparative religion; topics in Middle East history; women in the Middle East; European history; Islamic civilization; Christian-Muslim encounters; politics and religion, culture wars; colonial America; renaissance and reformation Europe; history of Christmas; American Revivalism and Christian Religion; and eastern Christianity. American Revivalism and Christian Religion - course description: Development of American revivalism from colonial times to the near present, and the part American Christian denominations, sects, and communitarian religious organizations played in the shaping of revivalism, evangelicalism, and religious reform movements. History of Christmas: Seminar on the origins and development of the celebration of Christmas. Themes include early Christian Nativity traditions, the date of Christmas, devotional literature, liturgical texts, hymnography, art, global perspectives on the celebration and Christmas traditions. INDIANA Butler University (Indianapolis)
2012-13 religious studies classes: Religions of the world; The Bible; Book of Psalms; Historical Jesus; Paul and the early church; topics in Biblical studies; history of Christianity; topics in Judaism; Buddhism: past and president; Islam: Religion, Culture Society; African and Afro-Caribbean Religion; Native American religion; Hinduism: past and present; War, peace and religion; religion, politics and conflict in south Asia; modern religious thought; religion and science; mysticism; faith and doubt: The Brothers Karamozov; topics in religion; religion, gender and the Goddess in Asia; and topics in theory and method. History of Christianity - course description: The historical development of Christianity from the first century to the present. Special attention to selected topics, such as Eastern Orthodox worship and icons, Benedictine monasticism, the Roman Papacy, Luther and the Protestant Reformation, African Christianity and challenges to Christian belief in modern times.
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Historical Jesus - course description: A close look at Jesus of Nazareth focused on sources and methods of knowledge about Jesus as a historical figure. Attention will also be paid to historical and cultural context, and to beliefs about and depictions of Jesus in early Christian literature.