ANTH& 234: Religion & Culture

Credits 5
Quarter Offered
Winter (even year)
Distribution List
Academic Elective

A global introduction to the religions of the world from a broad comparative perspective. Students examine the development and aspects of various religions (indigenous, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and others). The relationship between religion and the social and cultural context are explored, especially in relation to nationalism, politics and globalization. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Elective)

  1. Evaluate religion using academic methods, such as those used in anthropology, comparative religion, and/or religious studies.
  2. Describe and compare the doctrines, institutional structures, and ethical systems of a sample of the major world religions (e.g., primal religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Chinese Religions, and/or others) while emphasizing the development of world religions and their subdivisions.
  3. Analyze the various media (e.g., texts, music, ritual, symbolism and myth, architecture, etc.) through which religious knowledge and belief are expressed.
  4. Explore the interplay between religious belief systems and religious practice.
  5. Evaluate relationships between religion and the social/cultural context, especially in relation to nationalism, politics, and globalization.
  6. Students will demonstrate through oral and written communications between their peers and professor, tolerance, appreciation, and open-mindedness towards religious traditions that are not their own.
  7. Students will be able to contrast (1) orthopraxy with orthodoxy, (2) substance ontology with a process ontology, and (3) theistic with non-theistic conceptions of ultimate reality and then illustrate each with a few relevant examples.