2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

REL 371 World Religions

An introduction to major world religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and others. Each religion will be studied within its historical context and attention will be given to central concerns of each religion. 

Credits

3

Offered

Every two years

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. To understand the following details about key religions
  2. Origins and development
  3. Key names, concepts, and dates
  4. Key figures and their views
  5. Geographic origins and distribution
  6. Various contexts that shape religion: social, geographical, historical, etc.
  7. To understand the nature of religion as a part of human experience
  8. To see what religions say about reality, nature, society and self
  9. To see how religions respond to our most basic needs and give answers to our most pressing questions
  10. To gain awareness of the widespread and diverse religious experiences of humans around the world and throughout history
  11. To be able to identify and compare common dimensions, patterns, and themes shared by various religious traditions
  12. To learn how to appreciate different religious traditions
  13. Help to enrich understanding of one’s own religion
  14. Learn how to have meaningful dialogue with those of other faiths
  15. Learn method of study of religion which is objective and non-polemical
  16. Learn how to empathize with concerns of other religions
  17. To learn how to read religious scriptures and interact with their central concerns
  18. To learn about the nature of religious literature and its origins
  19. To learn methods for the study of such literature
  20. To learn religious views about scriptures
  21. To learn how believers understand and apply scriptures