History of Religions Course

Lesson 1 • Religion, Culture, and Society

Explores how religion shapes and is shaped by cultural and social forces. Connects theoretical frameworks to real-world religious phenomena.

Lesson 2 • Key Concepts and Terminology

Introduces essential terms used across religious traditions and scholarly literature. Provides shared language for comparative analysis throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Methods in Religious Studies

Surveys historical, phenomenological, and social-scientific methods used to study religion. Students learn to select appropriate methodologies for different research questions.

Lesson 1 • Prehistoric Religious Evidence

Analyzes archaeological evidence for early human religious behavior. Establishes the deep historical roots of ritual, burial, and symbolic thought.

Lesson 2 • Ancient Egyptian Religion

Covers Egyptian theology, funerary religion, and the relationship between pharaoh and the divine. Illustrates how religion legitimized political power.

Lesson 3 • Other Ancient Religious Traditions

Introduces ancient Iranian, Canaanite, and Indus Valley religious systems. Broadens the geographic scope of early religious history.

Lesson 4 • Mesopotamian Religious Systems

Examines the polytheistic cosmologies and temple cults of ancient Mesopotamia. Shows how urban civilization shaped organized religious institutions.

Lesson 1 • Epic and Puranic Traditions

Analyzes the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas as vehicles of popular Hindu theology. Shows how narrative literature shaped devotional practice.

Lesson 2 • Hindu Practice, Ritual, and Modern Forms

Covers puja, pilgrimage, life-cycle rites, and contemporary Hindu movements. Connects classical doctrine to lived religious experience.

Lesson 3 • Devotional Movements and Bhakti

Traces the bhakti movement across South and North India from the medieval period. Demonstrates how devotional religion democratized Hindu practice.

Lesson 4 • Upanishads and Philosophical Hinduism

Covers the Upanishadic shift from ritual to philosophical inquiry. Introduces Brahman, Atman, and the concepts central to Hindu metaphysics.

Lesson 1 • Theravada Buddhism

Covers the Pali Canon, monastic discipline, and the Theravada ideal of the arahant. Traces Theravada's spread across South and Southeast Asia.

Lesson 2 • Mahayana Buddhism

Examines the bodhisattva ideal, Mahayana sutras, and major philosophical schools. Shows how Mahayana expanded Buddhist soteriology and cosmology.

Lesson 3 • Vajrayana and Contemporary Buddhism

Introduces Tibetan Buddhist tantra, Zen practice, and modern global Buddhism. Connects historical traditions to contemporary Buddhist movements.

Lesson 4 • Life of the Buddha and Early Sangha

Reconstructs the historical and legendary life of Siddhartha Gautama. Establishes the founding narrative and institutional origins of Buddhism.

Lesson 1 • Modern Jewish Movements

Surveys Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist Judaism. Connects historical developments to contemporary Jewish identity.

Lesson 2 • Rabbinic Judaism and the Talmud

Analyzes the rabbinic response to the Temple's destruction and the creation of the Talmud. Shows how oral tradition became the backbone of Jewish life.

Lesson 3 • Second Temple Judaism

Covers the diverse Jewish sects and apocalyptic movements of the Second Temple period. Contextualizes the emergence of both Christianity and rabbinic Judaism.

Lesson 4 • Biblical Israel and the Hebrew Bible

Examines the religious history of ancient Israel and the formation of the Hebrew Bible. Establishes the textual and theological foundation of Judaism.

Lesson 1 • Jesus of Nazareth and Early Christianity

Examines the historical Jesus, the New Testament, and the formation of early Christian communities. Establishes the foundational narrative and theological claims of Christianity.

Lesson 2 • Councils, Creeds, and Orthodoxy

Covers the ecumenical councils that defined Christian doctrine and resolved theological disputes. Shows how institutional Christianity shaped orthodox belief.

Lesson 3 • Global Christianity and Modern Movements

Surveys missionary expansion, Pentecostalism, and liberation theology. Connects historical Christianity to its contemporary global diversity.

Lesson 4 • The Reformation and Its Aftermath

Examines Luther, Calvin, and the fragmentation of Western Christianity. Traces the theological and political consequences of the Protestant Reformation.

Lesson 1 • Islamic Law and Theology

Covers the development of Sharia, the four Sunni legal schools, and kalam theology. Shows how Islamic jurisprudence structured Muslim societies.

Lesson 2 • Core Islamic Beliefs and Practices

Analyzes the Five Pillars, the Six Articles of Faith, and Islamic ethics. Provides the doctrinal core for understanding all Islamic traditions.

Lesson 3 • Modern Islam and Global Movements

Surveys Islamic modernism, Salafism, political Islam, and Muslim diaspora communities. Connects classical Islam to contemporary debates and movements.

Lesson 4 • Muhammad and the Origins of Islam

Covers the life of Muhammad, the revelation of the Quran, and the early Muslim community. Establishes the foundational events and texts of the Islamic tradition.

Lesson 1 • Sikhism and the Guru Tradition

Covers the ten Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib, and Sikh theology and practice. Situates Sikhism within the broader South Asian religious landscape.

Lesson 2 • Zoroastrianism and Iranian Religions

Examines Zoroastrian theology, dualism, and its influence on Abrahamic religions. Demonstrates how a minority tradition shaped world religious history.

Lesson 3 • Indigenous and Primal Religions

Examines animism, shamanism, and indigenous religious systems across continents. Challenges Western-centric definitions of religion and sacred knowledge.

Lesson 4 • East Asian Religions: Confucianism and Taoism

Analyzes Confucian ethics, Taoist philosophy, and their interplay in Chinese civilization. Shows how these traditions shaped East Asian social and spiritual life.