Religion

Courses

*REL 150 EARLHAM SEMINAR (4 credits)
Offered for first-year students. Topics vary. (ES)

*REL 155 HEBREW SCRIPTURES (4 credits)
An examination of the religion of Israel expressed in selected portions of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) in light of the results of scholarship and within the context of ancient Near Eastern culture and history. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as JWST 155. (CP, D-I)

REL 160 FRIENDS COLLOQUIUM (1 credit)
Once a week hour-long discussion of a Quaker text, past or present.

*REL 165 NEW TESTAMENT (4 credits)
A study of the New Testament, first to recover what its original first-century writers meant to say, and then to discover how their insights might apply to the modern world. Major emphasis is given to the narratives about Jesus (the Gospels), the writings of Paul and the culture out of which the New Testament arose. (D-I)

*REL 171 HINDU TRADITIONS OF INDIA (4 credits)
An encounter with the poets, pilgrims, gurus, gods, goddesses and ordinary devotees of "Hinduism." Explores the sacred texts of the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita; the epic Ramayana; everyday worship practices at home, the temple and on the road; contemporary sages; and Hindu nationalism. Attention to the emergence of Buddhism. Includes viewing several films, including Gandhi and episodes of Peter Brook's Mahabharata. Also listed as JPNS 171. (D-I) (AY)

*REL 172 BUDDHIST TRADITIONS OF THE WORLD (4 credits)
An introduction through texts and videos to the history, scriptures and practices of the three Buddhist "turnings of the wheel": Theravadan Buddhism in India, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia; Tantric Buddhism in India and Tibet; and the Mahayana, through zen in Japan. Examines the Buddha's earliest teachings in the Pali Canon; the Jataka Tales of the Buddha's life; the forest tradition of Southeast Asia; key Tantric texts like The Life of Milarepa and The Words of My Perfect Teacher; and the contemporary classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Among films to be viewed: Kundun and Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer. Also listed as JPNS 172. (D-I) (AY)

*REL 210 QUAKERISM (4 credits)
The Quaker movements and the religious and ethical witness of Friends in the world, including writings from the early days to the present. Each instructor selects a focus, such as spirituality, the contributions of women and the Quaker testimonies. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. (CP)

*REL 230 HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE (4 credits)
An introductory survey of the central historical events, people and faith perspectives that have shaped African American (or Black) religious experience in the United States. Includes the Middle Passage and "New World" Slavery, The Great Awakening and later Revival(s), Reconstruction, Jim/Jane Crow, Civil Rights, Black Power and Black Humanism. Also listed as AAAS 230. (D-D) (AY)

*REL 285 JUDAISM (4 credits)
An introduction to the evolution of Jewish values from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE until the present. In addition to offering a historical overview of Jewish thought and practice, particular attention to Jewish responses to modernity and to challenge and change in contemporary Judaism. Also listed as JWST 285. (CP, D-I) (AY)

REL 305 SEMINAR (4 credits)
Sophomore and junior level. Topics determined by the instructor. Recent topics have included: Ethics of Jesus; Quakers and the Mystical Traditions; Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz); Black and Womanist Theology; Topics in Islam; Religions of the African Diaspora.

*REL 305 310 IS RELIGION "T(t)RUE?" (4 credits)
A comparative study of religious theories, which undergird and inspire human self-understandings and social-political arrangements related to ultimate convictions of faith. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course, and consent of the instructor for non-majors. (D-I)

REL 315 BIBLICAL SEMINAR (4 credits)
An advanced textual study and exegesis in one or more biblical books, or study in biblical theology. Biblical courses at Earlham School of Religion may be credited under this listing.

REL 320 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION (4 credits)
A philosophical investigation into the phenomenon of religion, including an examination of the problems of meaning and truth in religious language and praxis. Also listed as PHIL 320.

*REL 325 RELIGION AND PSYCHOLOGY (4 credits)
An exploration of intersections between religion and psychology with attention to multiple traditions, "West" and "East," and transpersonal models of self and wholeness. Examines how Western paradigms of mind in Freudian, Jungian, Gestalt and Self Psychology coalesce (or not) with Indian understandings of Soul and the Buddhist theory of the eight levels of consciousness. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course, one Religion course and one Psychology course, or consent of the instructor. (CP) (AY)

*REL 330 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND MORAL VISION (4 credits)
A critical examination of theories and social functions of contemporary criminal punishment in the United States. Special attention to the social consequences of the "prison industrial complex," paramilitary policing and the death penalty. Also listed as AAAS 330 and LGST 330. (D-D)

*REL 340 HISTORICAL CHRISTIANITY (4 credits)
Examines the sweep of the history of Christianity prior to the European Enlightenment. Focuses on ways of being religious through the centuries. Topics include early martyrs, early thinkers such as Augustine, medieval monasticism and mysticism, scholasticism and the various reforms of the 16th century. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course, REL 130 or 240. (CP)

*REL 350 U.S.A. CHURCH HISTORY (4 credits)
Considers the history of the religious life of people in the U.S.A. from before it was a nation to the present. Traces the transplantation and growth of Protestant denominations, with some attention to Catholicism and Judaism. Also investigates "home-grown" religious sects and reform and liberation movements with religious roots. Prerequisite: Two 100- or 200-level courses, or consent of the instructor. (D-D)

REL 360 CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS (4 credits)
A study of contemporary religious movements in global context. Topics include religion and popular culture, religious fundamentalism, sectarianism, apocalypticism, religion and postmodern critiques, and religion and prophetic political movements. Prerequisites: Two Religion courses.

*REL 380 RELIGIONS OF EAST ASIA (4 credits)
An exploration of the religious and philosophical thought and practice of East Asia, including Popular, Shinto, Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist traditions as manifested in the classical periods of cultural development as well as contemporary society. Prerequisite: One course in Religion (preferably in World Religions), one course in Japanese Studies or consent of the instructor. Also listed as JPNS 380. (D-I)

REL 410 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION (4 credits)
Focuses on theories of sociological origin and basis of religion, evolution of religious forms of organization, and religion as a force for social change or control. Prerequisites: One course in both Religion and Sociology/Anthropology, or consent of the instructor. Also listed as SOAN 410. (AY)

*REL 420 NATURAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION (4 credits)
Attention to specific accounts of the nature and scope of scientific knowledge, and the relation of theory, fact, experiment and scientific laws. This is compared with the nature and scope of the cognitive claims of religious belief: the relation of reason, experience and historical testimony to belief. Students investigate selected topics where scientific theory and religious claims may seem to conflict, such as human origins and the origin and nature of the physical universe, and examine various attempts to specify the relations between religion and natural science. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course, one Religion course, one Natural Science course or consent of the instructor. (CP) (AY)

*REL 425 RELIGIOUS RESPONSES TO WAR AND VIOLENCE (4 credits)
Considers the impact of Asian religions and Jewish and Christian teachings on social conflict, and the history of teachings on war, social violence and nonviolent resistance, with case histories from the Quakers, Gandhi and other figures. Prerequisites: One course in both Religion and History, Sociology/Anthropology or Psychology. (D-I) (AY)

REL 480 TEXT SEMINAR (4 credits)
Enhances skills in the close comparative reading of representative texts in the study of religion. Students required to critically reflect, both orally and in writing, on the points of view in the assigned texts. Prerequisite: an Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course and permission of the instructor for non-majors.

REL 481 INTERNSHIPS, FIELD STUDIES AND OTHER FIELD EXPERIENCES

REL 482 SPECIAL TOPICS (4 credits)
Selected topics determined by the instructor for upper-level study.

REL 483 TEACHING ASSISTANTS (1-3 credits)

REL 484 FORD/KNIGHT RESEARCH PROJECT (1-4 credits)
Collaborative research with faculty funded by the Ford/Knight Program.

REL 485 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3 credits)
Investigation of a specific topic conceived and planned by the student in consultation with a faculty supervisor. Culminates in a comprehensive report prepared in the style of a thesis or research paper.

REL 486 RESEARCH SEMINAR (2 credits)
Sustained research and writing on a topic of special interest. Class time devoted to identifying, developing and accomplishing this project in conversation with one another and faculty.

REL 488 SENIOR CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE (4 credits)
Provides an informative, structured and supportive group environment for the oral defense of a capstone major research project in the study of religion. Prerequisite: PHIL 486, Senior standing or consent of the instructor.

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This page last updated: August 12, 2007