HUMN4121 - 01 - Religion & Culture

Why are people religious? What does it mean to be religious? How do the world’s religions bind us together? How – and why – do they divide us? These are some of the essential questions this course will investigate. Through an interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion and spirituality, this course will expose students to various religious schools of thought and cultural traditions so as to broaden their appreciation of the human condition. It will investigate the role of religion in shaping historical and contemporary culture, with a primary focus on the United States. It will treat major world religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism – and multiple forms of spirituality – feminist, nature, African-American, Native American, New Age – as they are manifest throughout history and in our lives today, in both public institutions and private devotional life.