Religious Studies (RELG)

An exploration of significant questions and concepts, beliefs and creative visions, theories and discoveries in Religious Studies for first-year students. Although topics vary, the courses also seek to improve students' communication skills beyond the written word.

An exploration of a specific topic in Religious Studies. A grade of C- or better fulfills the COLL 150 requirement. Although topics vary, the courses emphasize academic writing skills, reading and analysis of texts, and discussion.

An introduction to the comparative study of religion in human experience, intellectual thought, and social life in an array of different cultural and historical contexts. The course explores the role of religion in society, politics, and intellectual thought in an array of different contexts and from multiple methodological and theoretical perspectives used in the humanities and social sciences. By journeying together through seminal texts, ritual practices, art forms, myths, ethics, philosophies, and experiences of the sacred, we will arrive at a deepened understanding of religion in the world while also (re)-considering our own cultural assumptions and gaining a clearer understanding of our particular identities and histories. Specific religious traditions and themes may vary from semester to semester. No prerequisites.

An exploration of the origins and development of the ancient nations of Israel and Judah in their cultural and historical contexts. The course examines archaeological, epigraphic, and literary evidence from Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Egypt to understand both the history and worldview of the ancient Israelites. The Hebrew Bible is explored in depth as document in dialogue with but not identical to the religious beliefs and practices of ancient Israel.

A study of the emergence of Christianity from its beginnings as a sect of Second Temple Judaism to its establishment in the Mediterranean world under Constantine I.

Review of grammar followed by readings in various genres of Biblical literature. Emphasis on syntax, vocabulary and style of the Hebrew Bible. This course introduces the student to methods of modern biblical interpretation.

Selected topics and issues in Asian Religions, Islam, Ethics, and Western Religious History and Thought. Consult the schedule for the topic descriptions in up-coming semesters.  

This course is designed to engage students with some of the key topics and seminal moments in the history of Christianity. We will begin with the life of Jesus and the competing stories that surrounded it. We will end with contemporary issues that involve Christianity and will discuss some of the grand theories of religion in the broad context of modern globalization. Thus, the course will move through two consecutive parts. In the first part, we will cover early forms of Christianity, major theological disputes that involved emperors, bishops, and monks throughout the Mediterranean and into the far East. In the following part, we will bring the story of Christianity to current times and will discuss the relevance of Christianity to such highly contested topics as the future of Europe, American political life and culture, progressive secularization, and unification of culture throughout the world.

A study of the biblical origins of Judaism followed by an examination of representative literature from critical periods in the history of Jewish thought: rabbinic, medieval and modern.

A study of the origins, major ideas, practices, institutions and development of Islam within the context of Muslim history. Students may not take both this course and RELG 150: Islam for credit.

An introduction to the Hindu religious traditions, exploring the diversity of religious thought and practice among Hindus today and throughout history. The course will include topics such as: key historical developments; core teachings as found in major primary texts (the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, works of devotional poet-saints, etc.); the divine pantheon (mythology and imagery of Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, etc.); rituals, festivals, and practices of lived Hinduism; the role of Orientalism, colonialism, and Indian nationalism in modern Hinduism; and contemporary social and political issues relating to Hinduism in post-independence India (e.g., Hindu nationalism, communal violence, caste/untouchability).

A study of the history, doctrines, practices, and various manifestations of the Buddhist tradition. The course begins with the social and religious context out of which the Buddha emerged, progresses to an exploration of Buddhism’s philosophical basis, and traces the spread of Buddhism from India and its later developments in Nepal and Tibet, Southeast Asia, and China and Japan.

Introduction to the religious systems of China and Japan, including the literatures, histories, thought patterns and practices of the major schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Shintoism.

This is an introductory level, lecture-based, yet interactive, course that explores the complex, everyday intersections between religious beliefs and ideas on the one hand and ethical reasoning and behavior on the other, across a variety of religious traditions. The course examines ethical issues cross-culturally and from a variety of disciplinary approaches including philosophical, theological, anthropological, psychological, philological and others. While this is not a comparative religions class, we will try our best, given constraints of time, to familiarize ourselves with some of the core beliefs, practices and ethical foundations of some of the major (most widely followed) religious traditions of the world. Throughout the course, we will examine texts, interpretations, arguments and cultural practices of various religious communities and reflect about what they offer us as resources, and challenges, for thinking about the best way to live a happy and meaningful human life. The ethical teachings of religious traditions will invite and challenge us to carefully, critically and empathically examine the different ways in which religious traditions have shaped everyday human life across the globe in the past and continue to do so today. We shall also attend to the ways in which religious and ethical beliefs and practices compare with each other.

A consideration of the role of religion in American culture addressing a range of themes that may include: demographics, politics, law, religious diversity, history, and/or polarization.

Reading and interpretive study of religious texts in their original languages. Among the languages are Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Sanskrit.

A study of the first five books of the Jewish and Christian Bibles, including questions of their composition, literary genres, historical setting, and their place in the communities that preserved them.

Ancient Israel and Ancient Greece are two of the most influential ancient “places” for our understanding of the modern world. However, and even though they flourished at roughly the same time and not so very far away from each other, they are rarely studied together. This course examines what the study of both can help us see about each that might otherwise be harder to see. Our discussions will proceed more or less chronologically from the thirteenth century B.C.E. to the conquests of Alexander in the fourth century, dealing throughout with crucial issues in the study of history, memory, ethnic identity, and especially myth.

We will apply techniques of contemporary literary theory to the narratives and poetry of some of the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible.

A study of the wisdom literature of Ancient Israel, with emphasis on Job and Proverbs. The literature will be examined within its historical, intellectual and cultural context. The course focuses on the distinctive religious and humanistic characteristics of Israelite wisdom.

Selected topics and issues in Asian Religions, Ethics, Islam, and Western Religious History and Thought. Consult the schedule for topic descriptions in up-coming semesters. Note:  This course may be repeated for credit if there is no duplication of topic

A study of religious and ethical aspects of the destruction of European Jews under Nazi rule. Readings include descriptions of these events and responses by Jews and Christians focusing on meaning, religious self-understanding, responsibility and divine and human justice. Open to juniors and seniors only.

A study of selected topics in Jewish history, life and thought. Consult the bulletin for topic description in up-coming semesters.  

Blood Libels. Expulsion from Spain. The Inquisition. Pogroms. The Holocaust. It is easy to take a lachrymose view of Jewish history, highlighting persecution throughout the ages. This course seeks to overturn the stereotype of Jewish history as one reduced to a tale of oppression. Through rich primary sources such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and memoirs, this course introduces students to the major themes, actors, and movements of European Jewish history, from the eighteenth century through the fall of communism. We will explore political, social, economic and religious developments, as well as how these events impacted the personal and inner lives of ordinary and extraordinary Jews. This class assumes no previous knowledge of Judaism or Jewish history.

In this course we explore the person, life, work, thought and legacy of the early Jewish and Christian figure known as Paul of Tarsus.

An examination of the Fourth Gospel's narrative in light of issues raised by the academic study of early Judaism and Christianity.

This course examines the religion of Judaism as it existed in Palestine and the Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic and early Roman periods (ca 331 BCE ñ 73 CD).

In this course we will trace the developments of rabbinic Judaism and catholic Christianity from the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 CE to the Muslim conquest of Caesarea in 640 CE, with a particular focus on the way each religion interpreted their scriptures. In the first half we track the rise of each group, as well as the posture of 2nd century catholic Christianity toward the Jews. In the second half, we make a detailed comparison of the ways in which each group interpreted their sacred literature, giving special attention to (a) talmudic and midrashic literature among the rabbis, (b) Old Testament commentary and hermeneutical treatises among the catholics, (c) the interpretive philosophies of four major figures of the period (Rabbi Ishmael, Rabbi Akiva, Origen and Augustine) and (d) each group’s views of the other, as espoused in the Babylonian Talmud (on Jesus) and Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History (on Jews of the apostolic age).

A study of the changing status and role of women in Muslim society. The course focuses on the relationship between religion and culture as they shape the lives and options of women in traditional society, in the modern period and in the contemporary Islamic experience.

This course focuses on sociopolitical circumstances underlying the dynamism and diversity of modern Islamic thought. Special emphasis will be given to political aspects of modern Islamic thought.

This course explores the religious culture of Mesopotamia from approximately 3000-500 BCE--from the beginning of writing and cities to the age of imperial states. Mesopotamian religious texts and artifacts provide a window into the development of core religious ideas: What is a god? What is the relationship between the divine and human realms, specifically in matters of family, livelihood, politics, and warfare? The approaches developed by the Mespotamians to these questions continue to influence modern Western worldviews, and so provide an unexpected lens through which to examine our own cultures.

Utilizing first-person experiential learning of evidenced-based meditation, third-person analysis of academic enquiry, and second-person seminar discussion, this course critically analyzes recent scientific research on cognitive, affective, and neurophysiological effects of meditation, and reads them against select Buddhist and Hindu texts on meditation in relation to wellbeing.

A study of the moral and religious aspects of such problems in human ecology as pollution, overpopulation and resource depletion. The course relates these issues to religious perspectives on human nature, responsibilities to the earth and to future generations.

Human health, at least physical if not also mental, spiritual and emotional, has been always and everywhere compromised by illness. Any understanding of a good human life, of human flourishing and ethics must then include an understanding of how human beings and cultures have imagined, described, interpreted, experienced and responded to the existence of illness. This course explores different facets of the historical and contemporary intersections between religious thought and human (ill)health at the individual and social levels. We shall read accounts of illness comparatively and cross-culturally and try to understand how human health and illness have been differently understood in different religio-cultural vocabularies and what the philosophical and practical implications of those differences might be for our times and our collective humanity. The course offers students the opportunity to reflect about their own views about, and experiences with, illness and good health in dialogue with a variety of religious-ethical accounts of the same from across time and place. 

A study of moral and religious issues in warfare, including classical and contemporary views. The course focuses on such topics as pacifism, just war and nuclear weapons.

This course is designed to help students understand the ethical lives of Muslims qua religious beings: their views about the good life, their understanding of God and the varied ethical implications they have drawn by taking seriously God’s existence and the existence of revelations and prophets. In short, this class is a window onto the range of ways in which Muslims in different cultural and social settings have reasoned about a good life. We will read a wide range of primary and scholarly sources to examine how Muslims justify particular moral positions, the values they hold dear and the variety of ways in which, and methods by which, they conceptualize a flourishing human life at the personal, social, cultural and political levels. We will try to understand how Muslims argue about things that matter to them as religious and moral beings. We shall learn about the legal, philosophical, moral, political and exegetical dimensions of their individual and communal lives. We will do this by focusing on a limited range of important ethical topics such as war and conflict, political governance, the environment, gender, sex and marriage, biomedical issues, inter-faith relations and others. Throughout, we will think comparatively about how Muslim understandings and behaviors about such issues challenge, contradict or deepen other ways of reasoning about the good life.

A study of the arrival of the Jews in America, the development of the religion in the new world, and the contemporary Jewish experience in America.

Early readings will ground us in what Jewish law, as detailed in the Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud have to say about sex, sexuality, marriage, and family. Thereafter, we will study how Jews of all genders interact with the legacies of these laws in their modern lives. Primarily organized thematically, we will be skimming the surface of the vast field that is gender and Judaism. The course readings will introduce us to major themes and issues within Jewish communities; individual projects will enable students to delve into more narrow topics that reflect their interests.

An examination of various types of Jewish interpretation of biblical texts. The course explores not only the changing modes of commentary from Talmudic to modern times, but also the changing concerns of the commentators themselves.

A study of how biblical religion became Judaism. An exploration of the impact of the Talmudic rabbis - the ways they changed existing communal practice, understood their own authority to initiate such change, and consequently transformed Jewish self-understanding.

A study of personalities, institutional changes and theological movements in European and British Christianity from the Reformation through the 18th century. Includes Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anabaptism, Protestant Radicalism, the Roman Catholic Reformation, the English Reformation and Methodism and the Evangelical Revival.

A critical examination of important texts in modern Jewish and Christian thought concerning the nature, origin, interpretation, and justification of religion. Texts selected from the writings of Moses Mendelssohn, Abraham Geiger, Mordecai Kaplan, Rudolf Bultmann, John A. T. Robinson, Joseph Fletcher, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Gustavo Gutierrez, and John Spong.

This course examines the historical development of modern-day conceptions of “spirituality” and investigates spirituality’s complex relationships with “religion,” secularism, neoliberalism, and consumerism. In particular, we seek to understand the phenomenon of a rapidly increasing number of Americans who identify as “spiritual, but not religious.” In exploring the rise and meaning of “spirituality,” the class will give special emphasis to the historical influences of consumer capitalism, the liberal political tradition, colonialism, orientalism and, relatedly, the modern reform of Asian religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. To see the ways in which modern-day “spirituality” is intertwined with secularism, scientism, race, class, neoliberalism, and consumerism, we will examine how “spirituality” is differently constructed and understood by evangelical Christians, atheists/non-believers, and contemporary practitioners of yoga, meditation, mindfulness, transhumanism, indigenous traditions, and nature (eco-) spiritualities.

This course begins with an analysis of comedy and tragedy, and an analysis of the comic and tragic visions of life. Then it examines the world’s major religions in light of their comic and tragic elements.

Religions and sports are both indications of cultural values. When we look at the place of religions, sports, and their intersections in our lives and history, we can learn about the priorities of our culture. Some of those priorities might make us proud; others might make us uncomfortable. This course treats religions and sports as intertwined cultural phenomena that deserve our attention because, through this, we can learn much about our cultural context, social systems, and underlying values. We will start with the question of whether sport is in itself a religion, and then we will then turn to religious traditions and social issues. We will examine religion’s role in patterns of belonging and marginalization by exploring race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. Throughout, we will look at the historical and cultural factors that bring religion and sport together. In order to deepen your understanding of justice, equity, and the value-laden processes of social inclusion and exclusion through institutional, cultural, and normative practices that are both historical and ongoing, we will explore historical, anthropological, and ethical approaches to multiple intersections of religion and sport in the U.S. At the end of this course, you will be able to describe religions and sports as disciplinary systems and show how these systems create and sustain cultural values.

This course examines the role of religion in the construction of colonial and national identities in the New World. We will examine how Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans developed understandings of each other and the consequences of these understandings.

A critical investigation of the relationship between religion, politics, and social identities in the United States, historically and today. Course topics may include: the contested meaning of, and diversity of appeals to, “religious freedom” (the “free exercise” of religion) in America; the separation of church and state (“disestablishment,” its history, and challenges to it); key Supreme Court cases impacting the place and shifting meaning of “religion” in American society; the influence of white Christian nationalism and the Religious Right in American politics; effects of settler colonialism and U.S. state actions upon Native American and African-American cultural and religious life; the relationship between race and religion; Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and challenges faced by religious minorities in the U.S.; and American discourses of multiculturalism, tolerance, and religious pluralism. This a COLL 350 and a COLL 200 (CSI) designated course.

A study of new and alternative religions, past and present, with an emphasis on cultural context, historical development, and tensions with political and religious authorities.

An historical, thematic, and theoretical overview of African American religions from enslavement through contemporary Carribean and African migrations.

This course is designed to introduce students to a larger literature on transnationalsim, immigration and religion in America. We will analyze the Inherent transnational nature of religious traditions, assess the major waves of immigration and their relevance to America's changing religious character, evaluate why religion is so central to immigrants' understanding of American identity, and analyze the connection between racial/ethnic, national, religious identities.

This course surveys the history of the major Christian churches and communities in the East. We will explore topics like East/West ecclesiastical divisions and controversies, mysticism, the theological and social role of pillar saints, holy warriors, holy fools, vampires, and witches. The discussion of Orthodox communities and their theologies will throw light on the formation of secular culture and the role of the Orthodox churches in contemporary politics and society.

A study of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the multicultural, historical, and political settings in which they were composed. The course also addresses similar gospels excluded from the canon and the issues pertaining to historical Jesus.

An introduction to the study of Hinduism in modern India, exploring the way in which Hindu religiosity has both influenced and been influenced by political, social, economic, and environmental issues specific to the modern age (circa 1800 to the present-day). Our study of modern Hinduism will emphasize: (1) the impacts of British colonialism, (2) the social realities of caste, untouchability, and gender, (3) Hindu nationalism (and Hindu-Muslim relations) in Indian social and political life, and (4) effects of and responses to climate change and environmental exploitation. Other topics may include: patriarchy, gender roles, and feminism in modern India; the shared freedom struggles of African Americans and colonized South Asians; key figures in colonial-era Hindu reform efforts; Partition and its impacts; diaspora Hinduism (e.g., Hindus in modern America); transnational neo-Hindu guru-led movements; ethnographic studies of lived Hinduism in modern India; and impacts upon traditional Hindu religiosity of globalization, neoliberalism, and rapid urbanization.

This interdisciplinary course explores different understandings of and interactions between the realms of "magic," "science" and "religion" across a range of historical and cultural contexts. Drawing together materials from the fields of religious studies, anthropology, history of science, philosophy, science studies, and the natural sciences, the course will examine and problematize standard narratives of modernity by (a) interrogating modern understandings of religion, science, rationality, and disenchantment, (b) exploring the historical origins and development of our dominant (science-based) modern Western episteme, and (c) examining unconventional ways of knowing and alternative understandings of the sacred, rationality, and enchantment. Topics may also include: classic theories of magic, science, and religion; experiences of the extraordinary, uncanny, and non-rational; the roles of magic, science, and religion in practices and discourses of colonialism; the modern-day authority of science and the marginalization of other ways of knowing; debates regarding the nature and varieties of human consciousness; issues surrounding the method, practice, and ideology of science; and intersections of religion, magic, and science in neuroscience, quantum physics, paranormal phenomenon, and popular culture.

This course traces the historical development of the traditions of Yoga and Tantra in South Asia and examines modern-day understandings and practices of Yoga and Tantra in the West. We will discuss contemporary debates and controversies surrounding Yoga and Tantra, while also investigating the origins of these traditions and how they came to be perceived and practiced in the way they are today. Special attention will be given to: key primary texts of the Hindu yogic traditions; the different historical forms of yogic and tantric meditation, asceticism, and “magic;” colonial/orientalist perceptions of these traditions; and the intertwined roles of consumer culture, scientism, and “spirituality” in modern yoga. The course is anchored in an investigation of larger theoretical questions regarding the (ritual) use of the body and altered forms of consciousness in religious-spiritual practices of disciplining and transforming the self. Additional topics may include: traditional Buddhist and modern-day secular practices of mindfulness; sexuality and transgression in yogic-tantric practice; the role of the guru in South Asian yogic and tantric traditions; the influence of Yoga and Tantra in modern occultism and the Human Potential Movement; psychedelic drugs and mystical experience; and the links between yoga and Hindu nationalism in modern-day India.

This course critically engages these notions of feminine power and agency as it is conceived in Hindu metaphysics and theologies while simultaneously engaging the voices of empowered Hindu women across time—from the ancient Upanishads to the medieval poet-saints, to contemporary female gurus.

This course examines the variety of religious orientations in Tibet and the histories and signature practices of Tibet’s four Buddhist orders. It investigates the religious-political rule of the Dalai Lamas historically and in current-day China, India, and the west.

An intensive study of selected significant writings from the Hindu traditions, focusing on the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. This course will explore key philosophical concepts and their impact in both India and the West.

This course examines Indian and Tibetan Buddhist analyses of personal identity, the nature of the world, and how we come to have knowledge of both. It additionally explores Buddhist ethical responses to selfless persons and an empty world.

This course will examine modern Buddhists’ claims on cosmology, the individual, and the nature of consciousness, investigating the strategies Buddhists utilize to construct and negotiate the boundaries between Religion and Science. We will draw material from across the Asian Buddhist world, analyzing debates between Śri Lankan monks and Christian missionaries on the structure of the universe, Tibetan and western efforts to demonstrate the compatibility between the Buddhist doctrine of emptiness and quantum physics, and the contemporary attempt to map Buddhist meditators’ brains. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Buddhism; we will study classical Buddhist perspectives at every turn.

This course surveys the dominant methods of studying religion and the theories on which they are based. The perspectives may include the anthropological, feminist, historical, literary, philosophical, phenomenological, political, psychological and sociological.

A program of extensive reading, writing and discussion in a special area of religion for the advanced student. Students accepted for either course will arrange their program of study with appropriate members of the department.

A program of extensive reading, writing and discussion in a special area of religion for the advanced student. Students accepted for either course will arrange their program of study with appropriate members of the department.

Students admitted to senior Honors in Religion will be responsible for (a) reading and research supervised by a faculty member designated by the chair, (b) presentation of an Honors essay acceptable to the examining committee and submitted two weeks before the last day of classes of the student’s graduating semester, and (c) satisfactory performance in an oral examination based on the Honors essay and related background. Consult the chair for eligibility, admission and continuance requirements.

Students admitted to senior Honors in Religion will be responsible for (a) reading and research supervised by a faculty member designated by the chair, (b) presentation of an Honors essay acceptable to the examining committee and submitted two weeks before the last day of classes of the student’s graduating semester, and (c) satisfactory performance in an oral examination based on the Honors essay and related background. Consult the chair for eligibility, admission and continuance requirements.

Students receive academic credit for internships by working with a faculty member to complete an accompanying academic project. Projects will vary, but must be pre-approved by the faculty member delivering the course. Students must complete the “Internship for Academic Credit Form” (available at https://www.wm.edu/as/undergraduate/explore-create-connect/internships/index.php) before the start of the internship. Can be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.