Religion
Overview
In light of the pivotal role religion has played in shaping selves, societies, and cultures from ancient times to the present, the Religion program provides students with an understanding of the complexity of religious phenomena and offers the advanced student a variety of methods appropriate to such study.
The mission of the Religion program is to encourage critical thinking about religious traditions, ideals, rituals, and practices; to develop empathetic insight into the fundamental ideas and values of peoples from different times and places; and to foster critical self-consciousness about the values and commitments of one’s own age and society. Through these studies, students reflect upon the historically developed content of their own culture as well as that of others.
Faculty in Religion
Manuel Lopez, Associate Professor of Religion and Buddhist Studies
Nassima Neggaz, Associate Professor of History and Religion
Douglas Estes, Associate Professor of American Religion
Daniel Herskowitz, Assitant Professor of Judaic Studies
Susan Marks, Professor Emeritus of Religion
Requirements for the AOC in Religion
A minimum of ten (10) academic units.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| Introductory Courses in the Study of Religion | |
| Two courses are required: | |
| Introduction to the Study of Religion * | |
| Introduction to World Religions | |
| Conceptual Approach to the Study of Religion | |
| Select one from the following examples: | |
| Religion and Popular Culture* | |
| Ritual Theory* | |
| God(s) | |
| Scriptures Course | |
| Select one from the following examples: | |
| Introduction to the Qur'an* | |
| Jewish Scriptures* | |
| Christian Scriptures | |
| Religion and Society Course | |
| Select two from the following examples: | |
| Religion and Politics in America | |
| Growing Up Amish in Sarasota | |
| Cults, Sects, Communes: Religion on the Margins | |
| Islam and Medicine* | |
| American Christianities* | |
| Righteous Discontent: Authority, Inclusion, and Exclusion in American Religion | |
| Race/Gender in Amer Religion* | |
| Resisting, Recreating, Reclaiming: LGBTQ+ People and Religion* | |
| Islamic History (570-1500): Politics, Society, and Culture* | |
| Islamic Movements, Past and Present* | |
| Judaism and Ecology* | |
| Religion and Activism: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X | |
| Religious Traditions Courses | |
| Select three courses focusing on a primary religious tradition and one course from a different tradition: | |
| Buddhism for Beginners: The Buddha, his Quest for Enlightenment, and the Rise of a Global Religion* | |
| Buddhist Meditation | |
| Monks, Oracles, and Lamas: Buddhism in the Himalayas* | |
| Topics in Buddhist Studies | |
| Introduction to Islam* | |
| Islam 101: Beyond Western Media* | |
| Islamic Movements: From Early to Modern Religious Militancy* | |
| Introduction to Black Religions* | |
| The Black Church* | |
| Black Liberation Theologies* | |
| African American Religions | |
| Chinese Religions: From Confucius To Mao | |
| Varieties of Judaism in the Modern World* | |
| The Many Gods of Hinduism: Ritual, Faith, and Representation in India* | |
| Contemporary Catholicism* | |
| Strongly Recommended | |
| Religion Capstone: Getting Ready for Your Senior Thesis | |
| Additional Requirements | |
| One Independent Study Project (ISP) in Religion | |
| Senior Thesis in Religion and Baccalaureate Exam | |
Requirements for the Joint AOC in Religion
A minimum of seven (7) academic units.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| Introductory Courses in the Study of Religion | |
| Two courses are required: | |
| Introduction to the Study of Religion * | |
| Introduction to World Religions | |
| Conceptual Approach to the Study of Religion | |
| Select one from the following examples: | |
| Religion and Popular Culture* | |
| Ritual Theory* | |
| God(s) | |
| Scriptures Course | |
| Select one from the following examples: | |
| Introduction to the Qur'an* | |
| Jewish Scriptures* | |
| Christian Scriptures | |
| Religion and Society Course | |
| Select one from the following examples: | |
| Religion and Politics in America | |
| Growing Up Amish in Sarasota | |
| Cults, Sects, Communes: Religion on the Margins | |
| Islam and Medicine* | |
| American Christianities* | |
| Righteous Discontent: Authority, Inclusion, and Exclusion in American Religion | |
| Race/Gender in Amer Religion* | |
| Resisting, Recreating, Reclaiming: LGBTQ+ People and Religion* | |
| Islamic History (570-1500): Politics, Society, and Culture* | |
| Islamic Movements, Past and Present* | |
| Judaism and Ecology* | |
| Religion and Activism: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X | |
| Religious Traditions Courses | |
| Select two courses focusing on one religious tradition and one course focusing on another tradition: | |
| Buddhism for Beginners: The Buddha, his Quest for Enlightenment, and the Rise of a Global Religion* | |
| Buddhist Meditation | |
| Monks, Oracles, and Lamas: Buddhism in the Himalayas* | |
| Topics in Buddhist Studies | |
| Introduction to Islam* | |
| Islam 101: Beyond Western Media* | |
| Islamic Movements: From Early to Modern Religious Militancy* | |
| Introduction to Black Religions* | |
| The Black Church* | |
| Black Liberation Theologies* | |
| African American Religions | |
| Chinese Religions: From Confucius To Mao | |
| Varieties of Judaism in the Modern World* | |
| The Many Gods of Hinduism: Ritual, Faith, and Representation in India* | |
| Contemporary Catholicism* | |
Representative Senior Theses in Religion
- Memory: Abstracted Manifestations of the Void of Jewish Life within the Jewish Museum of Berlin
- Dancing Out of Bounds: The Disruptive Image of the Tavern Dancer in the Babylonian Talmud
- Catholic Empire: Austria-Hungary and the Nationalities Question
- A Tillichian Analysis of Hip Hop as an Instrument for Communal Courage and Religious Expression
- Collective Action: The Social Dimension of Buddhist Karma Doctrine
- Pursuing Harmony with Life's Flux: The Pragmatic Value of Experience for Modern Life in William James
- Feminist Methodologies and Qumran Ideologies: Rhetorical Criticism of 1QS, The Community Rule Scroll
- Ascending the Heavens on Conjured Dragons: Differentiating Between Magic and Religion in Chinese Daoist Practice
- What about the Agape?: Understanding the Communal Love-Feast of Early Christianity
- Learning to Live and to Lead: How Post-Secondary Religious Education Helps Women to Shape Modern Orthodox Judaism in Israel
- Religious Responses to the Problem of Evil
- Dissent in Modern Catholicism
- Acting Womanish: Black Slave Women's Religion
- Creativity in Crisis: The Theology and Fiction of Flannery O'Connor and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Lilith: Mother of Demons or Feminist Ideal?