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Religions in the United States

RLST 2500-100 | 3.0
Online - Term A
June 2 - July 3
Instructor: Deborah Whitehead

This course will introduce students to the historical and contemporary study of religions in the United States.  It will not seek to give either a comprehensive historical account of the development of all American religions, nor a survey of all religious institutions, movements, and traditions that have made up the vast and diverse U.S. religious landscape.  Rather, the course approaches the topic of religions in the U.S. through a framework of religious literacy and the investigation of primary source texts, which, set in context, will give us snapshots of religion as lived, practiced, and experienced by Americans of all backgrounds during the past 400 years.  Along the way we will encounter many of the key religious traditions, movements, and figures that have shaped American religious belief and practice.  In addition the course will consider such questions as:  What major cultural forces shape and have shaped religions in America?  How have Americans of different faiths and nationalities encountered, interacted, argued, clashed, and cooperated with one another?  Have they seen America as a promised land or place of refuge—or as a place of conflict and suffering?  What are some ways that religious Americans think about faith, spirituality, religious diversity and church and state?  Ultimately, how does the academic study of religion shed light on what it means to be an “American” or a religious American?

A&S Core: United States Context
A&S Core: Ideals & Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Education General Education: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-US Perspective
Arts & Hum: Lit & Humanities

Christian Traditions

RLST 3000-100 | 3.0
Online - Term A
June 2 - July 3
Instructor: Brian Catlos

Serves as an introduction to the academic study of Christianity, understood in its historical context, beginning with its most remote Mesopotamian origins and through to beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Coverage is global, but "Western" Christian tradition are emphasized, as is the evolution of doctrine, ritual and institutions in relation to social, cultural and political factors.

A&S Core: Historical Context
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Upper
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities

The Muslim World, 600–1250

RLST/ARAB 2320-200 | 3.0
Online - Term B
July 8 - August 8
Instructor: Brian Catlos

Focusing on the history of the Muslim World in the age of the caliphates (650-ca1200 CE), this course takes an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to the development, tracing the evolution of Islamic religion, society and culture from the era of pre-Islamic Arabia through the “Golden Age of Islam.”

Asia Content
A&S Core: Human Diversity
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
CMCI Core: Diversity & Global Cult-NonCMCI
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Music General Education: Diversity-Global Perspective

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Abrahamic Religions

RLST/JWST 2600-200 | 3.0
Online - Term B
July 8 - August 8
Instructor: Samuel Boyd

In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Abraham is described as a founding figure. In recent times, the label “Abrahamic Religions” has become increasingly important both as a way to describe the origins and beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and as a means for finding common ground in political and religious discourse. Yet in each religion Abraham is also used in strikingly different ways and for distinct purposes. In this course, we will look at these three religious traditions and how each one imagines Abraham. In particular, the focus will be on how each religion uses Abraham to construct foundational stories of a special relationship to God, stories that ultimately serve to promote religious identity over time. 

Asia Content
A&S Core: Ideals & Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution-Arts & Humanities
Business General Education: Arts & Humanities
CMCI Core: Humanities and the Arts
Education General Education: Arts and Humanities
Engineering & Applied Science General Education: Humanities & Social Science
Environmental Design General Education: Humanities-Lower
Music General Education: Arts & Humanities
Arts & Hum: Ways of Thinking