The religion department offers courses in the study of religious traditions, texts, rituals, and ideas, with a focus on understanding religious life and belief as an enduring concern of the human community. The study of religious texts, practices, and traditions involves recognition of the ways in which religion both shapes and is shaped by changing cultural forms. It involves critical reflection on the role and value of religious communities with respect to contemporary problems and issues. The department is committed to an approach to the study of religion that is critical in the best sense of the word and yet at the same time is empathetic to the claims of the religious traditions and texts under study.

The courses in the department are grouped into three areas: History of Religions, Biblical Literature, and Religious Thought in the Christian Tradition. Specifically recommended for first-year students are RELG 106, 125, 130, and 276.

Requirements for the Major in Religion

Number of Units

Eight units are required, not including the SIP.

Required Courses

Majors must take courses in at least two different religious traditions and at least one course from each of the three defined areas:

• History of Religions
• Biblical Literature
• Religious Thought in the Christian Tradition.

Majors also must take RELG 490 Seminar in Religion.

Electives

Students are expected to include the following courses in the major program of study:

• RELG 220 The Historical Jesus
• RELG 276 Modern Theology or RELG 247 Christian Theology: An Introduction
• RELG 350 Ritual Theories and Practices

Students interested in a major in religion should work out a plan of study with the department.

Number of Units

Six units are required.

Required Courses

One unit from History of Religions
One unit from Biblical Literature
One unit from Religious Thought in the Christian Tradition
Three additional religion electives, which may include RELG 490

RELIGION COURSES

History of Religions

RELG 125 General Introduction to Religion
Study of the forms, functions, and meanings of religion as observed in human cultures. AOS (RELG)

RELG 130 Religions of Asia
Using the categories of doctrine, myth, symbol, ritual, and community, this course examines the historical development, the structural similarities, and the discontinuities between the religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Daoism, Shinto, and several forms of contemporary practices. AOS (RELG); CR (Comparative)

RELG 215 Religion in America
Religion in America examines the history of religions in North America from colonial days to the present. The first half of the course focuses on the role Christianity played in the formation of the U.S., the reasons for guaranteeing freedom of religion, and what makes some traditions more successful than others. The second half explores experiences of various groups outside the “mainstream” Protestant tradition. AOS (RELG); CR (US)

RELG 218 American Jewish Experience
This course will explore the religious, social, political, cultural, and economic history of the Jewish people in America from the first settlement until the present. The major themes of study will focus upon the development of Judaism in America. We will take into account a number of historical factors that shaped that development: the economic, social, and political evolution of American Jewry and its institutions; Jewish immigration to the United States and its consequences; American Jewish self-perception; and the relationship between Jews and non-Jews in American society. Assignments will draw upon a wide range of materials, from secondary historical studies and primary documents to fiction and film. AOS (HIST or RELG); CR (US)

RELG 235 Native American Religions
Survey of the historical encounter between Native and European Americans; examination of the study of Native American religions; and detailed analysis of the rituals, myths, and cosmologies of at least two Native American peoples. AOS (RELG); CR (US)

RELG 255 The Religions of Ancient Greece and Rome
This course examines various forms of polytheistic religion and worship in classical paganism. Topics included are concepts of divinity, varieties of religious space and practices, distinctions between civic and private worship, religious festivals and rituals, attitudes towards death and afterlife, importations of Near-Eastern and African religions, and political and philosophical appropriations of religion. Students will become acquainted with a variety of texts (literary, epigraphical, and papyrological), archaeological sites, and religious art and artifacts. (Also listed as CLAS 255.) CLAS 255 AOS (LIT); RELG 255 AOS (REL)

RELG 260 Women and Religion
This course is designed to introduce students to some fundamental questions about women and religion. The class begins wit feminist critiques of religion and explores the challenge of multiculturalism. It examines tensions between institutionalized religions and spirituality and concludes with an analysis of relationships between power and religion within different cultural contexts. AOS (RELG)

RELG 262 Hinduism
Exploration of the important traditions of Hinduism focusing on morality, philosophy, and ritual, with awareness of the connections between classical and modern practices. Special attention is given to the use of narrative and image. The course will include mainstream and “folk” traditons to cover a sampling of the diversity in this complex religion. AOS (RELG); CR (Asia) Prerequisite: Sophomore standing, one previous religion course, or permission.

RELG 263 Modern Jews in Enlightenment and Revolution
Between 1780 and 1880 enormous changes took place in Jewish religious, political, social, intellectual, and economic life. These changes worked in tandem with developments in general European life to create new forces within Judaism and new ways of looking at the connections between Jews. In this course we will study these developments as they affected the Jews on the European continent. In so doing we will explore their consequences for both Jews and non-Jews, and the issues and questions they raised. AOS (HIST or RELG), CR (Europe)

RELG 264 Modern Jewry: Upheaval and Response
Between 1881 and the period immediately following the Second World War, the world’s Jews experienced momentous demographic, religious, political, economic, and social changes. These changes in turn shaped their relationship to non-Jews with whom they lived. This course will study the context of change across the globe from Europe and America to the Middle East and North Africa. Through primary and secondary documents we will explore the forces that produced these changes and the results they produced for both Jews and non-Jews. AOS (HIST or RELG), CR (Europe)

RELG 266 Culture, Nationality, and Religion
Designed for sophomores leaving for and juniors returning from study abroad, this course focuses on the issue of transnationalism and the role of religion within transnational communities. By participating in service-learning projects with religious communities in the Kalamazoo area, students will learn how to conduct both ethnographic research and research in the history of religions, and will leave the course with an understanding of the ways that the processes of transnationalism and immigration play out in issues of religion and the dynamics of faith communities in the U.S. (Also listed as ANSO 266) AOS (SS or RELG) CR (US)

RELG 271 Buddhism in South Asia
An examination of the historical development of the textual traditions, symbols, doctrines, myths, and communities of Buddhism throughout south Asia. Explores Buddhism’s rise and decline in India and its development in Sri Lanka, Tibet, and other southeast Asian countries through the modern period. AOS (RELG); CR (Asia) Prerequisite: One previous religion course, preferably RELG 125 or 130, or permission.

RELG 273 Buddhism in East Asia
An examination of the historical development of the textual traditions, symbols, doctrines, myths, and communities of Buddhism throughout east Asia. Explores the introduction and establishment of Buddhism in China, Korea, and Japan, and compares the different schools of Buddhism that developed in dialogue with Daoism and Shinto. AOS (RELG); CR (Asia) Prerequisite: One previous religion course, preferably RELG 125 or 130, or permission.

RELG 290 Islam in Africa
This course explores the spread of Islam from the Arab peninsula to the African continent in the seventh century through the ninteenth century and limns the factors that facilitated this advance. It examines the methods and principles of Islam and how the religion affected the lifestyles of its African neophytes. As a result of the interaction between Muslim and African civilizations, the advance of Islam has profoundly influenced religious beliefs and practices of African societies, while local traditions have also influenced Islamic practices. Muslims were important in the process of state-building and in the creation of commercial networks that brought together large parts of the continent. Muslim clerics served as registers of state records and played a role in developing interstate diplomacy inside Africa and beyond. AOS (HIST or RELG), CR (Africa)

RELG 350 Ritual Theories and Practices
Comparative study of how rituals and rites of passage function in different cultures. This course examines the theoretical approaches to the study of ritual in order to understand how rituals function within religions and in human life. This course is designed to teach students how to conduct advanced research in the study of religion preparation for their Senior Individualized Projects. Recommended for junior Religion majors and minors. AOS (RELG) Prerequisite: Sophomore standing, one previous religion course, or permission.

Biblical Literature

RELG 106 Introduction to the New Testament
Study of this literature in its historical, political, and cultural contexts and its religious and theological claims; examination of critical methods and results. AOS (RELG)

RELG 110 Introduction to the Old Testament
Study of ancient Israel’s sacred literature in its historical and religious development; examination of critical methods and results. AOS (RELG)

RELG 220 The Historical Jesus
Examination of the gospels as primary sources of knowledge about Jesus of Nazareth, the Jesus of history, and the Christ of the Christian religion. AOS (RELG)

RELG 225 Classical Judaism
Study of Judaism in the period of the Second Temple, from about the time of Ezra to the codification of the Mishnah. Examination of its history in Palestine, Egypt, and Mesopotamia; its institutions, sects, and parties; its literature (canonical, apocryphal, historic, apocalyptic, popular, and Rabbinic); and its principal ideas. AOS (RELG) CR (Comparative)

RELG 305 Studies in Paul
Examination of the role of Paul in his understanding of Jesus and as a creative force in Western civilization; tensions in his thought and the multiple influences it integrated (Stoicism, Judaism, Gnosticism, and the mystery religions). AOS (RELG)

RELG 310 Studies in the Old Testament
Detailed examination of some aspect of the Old Testament; for example, the Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastics, etc. and their relationship to the wisdom heritage of the ancient Near East and to the sacred traditions of Israel. AOS (RELG)

Religious Thought in the Christian Tradition

RELG 115 Christianity and Modern Culture
Study of the relationships between religion and culture with special attention to differing interpretations of culture and religious authority. AOS (RELG); CR (US)

RELG 135 Liberation Theology
Intensive study of the history and theory of modern liberation theologies, focusing on Latin American, African-American, and feminist theologies. AOS (RELG); CR (Comparative)

RELG 240 Contemporary Catholicism
A study of Roman Catholicism following Vatican II. The focus will be on critical issues in Catholic faith raised by contemporary life. Substantive and institutional issues will be analyzed. AOS (RELG)

RELG 247 Christian Theology: An Introduction
This course introduces students to the main topics of Christian thought: the understanding of God, the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the concepts of revelation, grace, justification, and similar notions. It will also introduce students to the conception and practices of the church: Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the forms of ministry. At the same time, it will provide a basic outline of the history of that thought throughout its formative periods from its apostolic beginnings, the Middle Ages, the Reformation to the present.

RELG 270 Theological Ethics
Study of theological perspectives on central issues in personal and social ethics including the ethics of war and violence, sexuality, truthfulness, and social policy. AOS (RELG)

RELG 275 Classical Christian Thought
Study of the major architects of the Christian theological tradition during its classical phase: Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin. AOS (RELG)

RELG 276 Modern Theology
Study of major theological works from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries including works of Kant, Schleiermacher, Harnack, Barth, and Tillich. AOS (RELG)

RELG 277 Religion and the Common Good
Examination of recent literature in theological ethics and social theory, focusing on the problems of inequality, authority, community, and ideology. AOS (RELG); CR (US)

RELG 390 Seminar in Religion
Systematic study of a major thinker, methodology, issue, or series of questions in the field of religion.

RELG 490 Seminar in Religion
Systematic study of a major thinker, methodology, issue, or series of questions in the field of religion.