Religious Worlds:

Making Meaning

For humans, a "world" is more than just a physical place.  Humans are always interpreting and even constructing the reality within which they live, whether they do so consciously or not.  This course looks at religion from this perspective -- as an important way that humans make sense of their experience.  It examines some constituent elements of religion, such as myth, ritual, gods and goddesses, and systems of purity.  The course will also consider some of the many different ways in which observers of religion have explained it.  Concrete examples and comparative perspective will be drawn from specific religions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.