Course Description

This course is an introduction to the critical, comparative study of religion. The student is introduced to the responses offered by the major Western and non-Western religions to perennial problems of human existence. Major topics include: characterization of the religious vs the secular point of view; arguments in favor of the religious stance; arguments in opposition to the religious stance; the relationship of religion to science, ethics, and philosophy; the nature and validity of religious knowledge; the beliefs of major world religions and how these beliefs are expressed; how different religious beliefs affect the culture and history of European, Arabic, and Asian peoples. The religions covered include Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.