World Religions and Sacred Scriptures, Distance Education

General

The course is offered as a freestanding course. It is part of the Pre-Master in Religious Studies and Theology, 60 credits.

Course Description

The study of religion is a diverse enterprise; religion is as rich a phenomenon as human life itself. The evolution of religions can be studied in relation to the complex development of sacred scriptures. These scriptures entail themes that concern gender and sexuality, art and science, violence and peace, and power and authority. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are world religions, diverse in language, culture, history and creed, but in their scriptural traditions there is a common language that recent scholarly work has discovered. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism present a rich array of sacred scriptures from across the Indian subcontinent; in China, Korea, and Japan we also find diverse scriptural traditions. Comparative Religion studies common ways of making texts sacred and religious; sacred texts reveal more than just one religion. They also reveal clues to what religion is. In the course, we will both look at particular religions and discover the phenomenon of religion through its sacred texts.

Learning Outcomes 

After completion of the course the student should be able to:

1. Knowledge and understanding:

1.1 relate both general and specific features of sacred texts in various religions;

1.2 describe the central features of major world religions in a thorough manner;

1.3 account for common methods used in the field.

2. Competence and skills:

2.1 compare similar features in various sacred texts;

2.2 apply different methods on sacred texts;

2.3 present his/her analyses for different audiences.

3. Judgement and approach:

3.1 formulate problems of ethical and social concerns that specific religious texts give rise to.

See course plan for more information.