A critical survey of the history, sources and chief characteristics of major world religions, including, in particular, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Particular attention will be given to an investigation of the phenomenon called religion, and to the relationships between religion and culture.
All 200-level courses have as a prerequisite RELST 110 or 24 credit units at the university.
An introduction to the philosophical thought of India with special reference to early speculations on the nature of human reality, God, world, and human destiny.
An examination of Buddhist religious history with emphasis on its socio-cultural dimensions. Topics include early Buddhism and its Indian evolution; culture contact and the spread of Buddhism to South East Asia, China, Japan and Tibet; Buddhism and change in modern Asia and the West.
An introduction to Buddhist philosophy and the development of its major schools of religious thought – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Buddhist views of the interdependence of morality, knowledge and liberation will be studied in their historical and contemporary contexts.
Study of women in major Western Religious Traditions: influence of conceptual systems and language; women's embodiment and religion, feminine spirituality, women's contributions to Western faiths, and feminine aspects of divinity.
Note: Students with credit for RELST 325 may not take this course for credit.
A systematic examination of the foundations of belief in the major divisions of Christianity - Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and Catholicism - with emphasis on various theories of revelation, of religious authority, and of public worship.
RELST 222.3
Registration Info — 2004-2005 Regular Session»Introduction to the Christian Contemplative Tradition 1/2(3L) Prerequisite(s): RELST 110 or completion of 30 credit units at the university.
Introduces Christianity from the perspective of the contemplative tradition. Commencing with the pre-Christian Greek heritage the course examines the early Christian period of the Desert contemplative life in various mystical writings and contemporary expressions of Christian contemplation.
A study of the fundamental teachings of Christianity - the Trinity, creation, redemption, and sanctification - with an examination of the forms of worship and theories about morality, both individual and social, as these are found in the various sectors of contemporary Christianity.
Examines Christian ritual and worship through historical and comparative approaches. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of the rites of initiation and Eucharist. Students will examine the contemporary practices of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches.