The World’s Religions: A Comparative Introduction

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge required.

Content of Course

1. Introducing Religion and Religious Studies. The history, aims and methods of the study of religion, as well as debates around the definition and modelling of ‘religion’.
2. Ancient Religions from Mystery Cults to Monotheism. An overview of the characteristics and developments of the religions of the ancient world, their similarities and differences with contemporary religions as well as their contemporary representations.
3. Historic Ethnic Religions – Judaism and Zoroastrianism. The relationship between religion, ethnicity, kinship and political power as represented by the histories of these two influential religions and their contemporary status.
4. Constantine, Colonialism and Contemporary Christianity. The development and transformations of Christianity from a small persecuted sect to the world’s most dominant religion.
5. Islam from Mecca to Manchester. The development of Islam from the life of the Prophet Muhammad to the establishment of the Islamic state and the contemporary Muslim world.
6. Dharmas: Hinduism and the religious traditions of South Asia. The world’s oldest religion and its transformation from the sacrificial cult of the Aryans to the diversity of schools, sects, beliefs and practices. The creation of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and contemporary Hinduisms.
7. Companions and Competitors: Buddhism and the religions of East Asia. The entry of disparate Buddhisms into East Asia and their competition, cooperation and fusions with Daoism, Confucianism, Shinto and more.
8. Indigenous Religions – Animism, Shamanism, Colonialism and Cargo. The religions of the world’s indigenous peoples, common themes and case studies as well as their relationships with the ‘major’ religions.
9. Alternative Religions in the West. A history of alternative forms of spirituality and religion in the West. How have movements such as Wicca, New Age and Theosophy sought to legitimise themselves, and what can they tell us about religion in modern society?
10. Pushing the boundaries of Religious Studies: Atheism and ‘Non-Religion’. The history of atheism and agnosticism – areas which might be considered to fall outside the discipline of religious studies.

Teaching method(s)

Each two-hour class will combine lecture and tutor-guided discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of some of the major fields of religious studies;
• Explain similarities and differences in a range of religious traditions;
• Give an account of religious studies methodology;
• Identify the major theoretical debates in the study of religion.

 

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

Smart, N., 1998. The World’s Religions. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Recommended:

Barker, E., 1989. New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction. London: HMSO.
Bowker, J. ed., 1997. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hinnels, J.R. ed., 2000. The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions. 2nd ed. London: Penguin.
Pals, D.L., 2006. Eight Theories of Religion. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press USA.
Woodhead, L. Kawanaki, H. and Partridge, C. eds., 2009. Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations. 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge.

Web Sources

The Religious Studies Project: http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/
Inform – the information network on religious movements: http://www.inform.ac/
Beliefnet: http://www.beliefnet.com/

Class Handouts

A course reader will be made available and lecture notes, etc. will be provided

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.