Course Outline:

I. Understanding Religious Study, and the Phenomenon of Religion

A. Definitions of Religion

B. Theories of Religion

C. Component Parts of a Religious System

II. Types of Religious Experience

A. Belief, Faith, and Conversion

B. Religious Rituals/Acts/Expressions

C. Asceticism, Mysticism and Meditation

III. Conceptual Expressions of Religion

A. Conceptualizing the Nature of Reality

B. Conceptualizing Suffering, Sacrifice, & Salvation

IV. Religion in Society

A. Religion and Ethics

B. Fundamentalism, Liberalism, and Between

C. Religion, Power, and Government

D. Religion and Gender

V. Religion in Culture

A. Religion and the Arts

B. Religion and Science

VI. Religion’s Diverse Responses to the Modern and Post-Modern World