Description
[cross-listed with PHL 3606; G/C; Asian Studies minor] This course is a study of major religions around the world regarding sacred texts, beliefs, rituals, ways of life, ethical teachings, and communal structures. Religious traditions studied will include indigenous religious traditions, the Abrahamic Faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as Asian religious traditions: Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The course will also study “new religious movements” originating in the last three hundred years. The purpose of the course is to help students to compare similarities and differences between traditions and to learn from local practitioners and insiders of the traditions covered who reside in the Kansas City area. Topics discussed will include interpretation of sacred texts, religion and gender, religion and sexuality, art and ritual in spiritual practice, and the role of religion in contemporary political and social issues.