Courses and Syllabi
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.
Religious Studies Spring 2027
Undergraduate
RELI 100: The Human Religious Experience (3 Credits)
Examines main forms of religious expression as embodied in several important religious traditions in contemporary world. Investigates religious experience; myth and ritual; teachings and scripture; ethical, social, and artistic aspects of religion; and nature and function of religion in human society. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
RELI 211: Introduction to Religions of the "West" (3 Credits)
Focuses on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other global and local religions of Europe, Asia Minor, north Africa, and the Americas from historical, comparative, and cross-cultural perspectives. May include modern developments of religions like Mormonism, Baha'ism, and Scientology as well as other religions of ancient Asia Minor like Zoroastrianism. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
2 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 211 - DL1: Religions of the West — Mohammad Mahdi M Shahkolahi - Online
- RELI 211 - 002: Religions of the West — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Krug Hall 210
RELI 212: Introduction to Religions of Asia (3 Credits)
Focuses on the traditional religions from Asia, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confusianism from historical, comparative, and cross-cultural perspectives. May also include Jainism, Sihk, Shinto, native shamanism, and others as well as modern developments after European colonialism and these traditions' growth as global religions. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
2 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 212 - 001: Religions of Asia — Andy Thrasher — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Angel Cabrera Global Center 1306B
- RELI 212 - DL1: Religions of Asia — Andy Thrasher - Online
RELI 235: Religion and Literature (3 Credits)
Explores the relationship between religion and literature in different times and cultures, the influence of religion on literary works, and how literature expresses major religious themes such as death and immortality, divine will and justice, suffering and human destiny, and religion and state. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Literature
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
RELI 237: Religion and Art (3 Credits)
The course examines both the way that religious stories, images, ideas, and values have influenced the production and experience of art, and how art has historically been a primary means to express religious thought, feeling, and meaning. Thus, this course will examine the arts across different religions. The course will also examine the extent to which the artistic experience may be thought of as a kind of "religious" experience, and how even civil art projects convey a kind of civic or national "religion." Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Arts
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
2 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 237 - 001: Religion and Art — Ann S. Birkelbach — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Innovation Hall 326
- RELI 237 - DL1: Religion and Art — Andrew W White - Online
RELI 240: Death and the Afterlife in Religion (3 Credits)
Explores how selected world religions address the universal experience of death and express their beliefs in an afterlife. Focuses on the scriptures, beliefs, rituals and customs of selected world religions as they reflect each tradition's response to the most basic question about human destiny - how human beings face death and attempt to transcend it. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 240 - 001: Death/Afterlife in Religion — Michael Gutzler — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Innovation Hall 326
RELI 310: Judaism (3 Credits)
Studies Judaism from origins to present. Includes origins of Judaism B.C.E.; Rabbinic Judaism; Jews in the Middle Ages; Hasidic and Mystical Judaism; Enlightenment; persecution and Holocaust; contemporary American Judaism; and Jewish, Christian, and Muslim relations. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 310 - 001: Judaism — Bruce Aft — 01:30 PM to 02:45 PM TR - Planetary Hall 120
RELI 312: Islam (3 Credits)
Introduces basic religious beliefs and practices of Islam, with view to diverse manifestations of Islamic culture in different ethnic and social contexts. Provides overview of essential rituals of Islamic life, mystical practices of Sufis, certain popular forms of religious practice, sources and application of Islamic law, and distinctive Islamic artistic and literary forms. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 312 - DL1: Islam — David Dakake - Online
RELI 315: Buddhism (3 Credits)
Surveys Buddhist religious traditions. Includes historical development of Buddhism in India, China, and Japan, examining both Theravada and Mahayana traditions; philosophical and religious significance of Buddhism; and social and political implications of Buddhist traditions in South Asian and East Asian countries. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Global Understanding
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 315 - DL1: Buddhism — Prabhavati C. Reddy — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Online
RELI 336: Jesus and the Gospels (3 Credits)
Examines Gospel accounts of Jesus in context of first-century Christianity. Applies variety of historical and literary methods to gain understanding of Jesus and history and theology of early church. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 336 - 001: Jesus and the Gospels — Ryan Austin Fitzgerald — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Horizon Hall 2017
RELI 338: Qur'an and Hadith (3 Credits)
Explores two primary sources of Islamic belief and practice: Qur'an and Hadith. Discusses thematic structure and literary quality, and examines theological and moral issues. Also introduces various methods of interpretation and critical analysis applied to texts in both Islamic and Western scholarship. Lecture and discussion. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Literature
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Recommended Prerequisite: 3 credits in philosophy and religious studies, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
2 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 338 - 002: Qur'an and Hadith — Maria M Dakake — 03:00 PM to 04:15 PM MW - Horizon Hall 3012
- RELI 338 - DL1: Qur'an and Hadith - Online
RELI 339: The Bible as Literature (3 Credits)
Analyzes the Bible as a collection of literary texts. Course readings will include selections from the Jewish Tanakh and from the Christian New Testament. Students will become familiar with contemporary scholarship on the Bible and sample the Bible's impact on the art and literature of the last millennia. Students will become conversant with concepts such as scripture, canon, source criticism, historical criticism, genre, and reception history. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Literature
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
3 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 339 - 002: The Bible as Literature — Bruce Aft — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Planetary Hall 224
- RELI 339 - DL1: The Bible as Literature — Neil Tow - Online
- RELI 339 - 003: The Bible as Literature — Ryan Austin Fitzgerald — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW - Planetary Hall 127
RELI 352: Judaism from Exile to Talmud (3 Credits)
Examines Jewish religion, history, and literature from the Babylonian Exile to third century C.E. Special attention to development of Hebrew Bible, Apocalyptic and Apocryphal literature, belief in resurrection and final judgment, Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish sects, and emergence of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 352 - 001: Judaism from Exile to Talmud — Alexandria Frisch — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW - East Building 201
RELI 364: Religion and Law in the United States (3 Credits)
Explores issues relating to law and religion. Focuses on the legal doctrines that have arisen in cases under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. Topics include religion and public schools, government aid to religious institutions, including school vouchers, government endorsement of religious symbols, freedom of religious expression, and freedom of religious practice. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 364 - 001: Religion and Law in the U.S. — John Farina — 03:00 PM to 04:15 PM TR - Horizon Hall 3010
RELI 367: Islamic Law, Society, and Ethics (3 Credits)
Introduces foundational sources and principles of Islamic Law or shariah. Examines the historical development and application of Islamic law, its role in Muslim societies, and its relationship to Islamic social ideals and ethical discourse. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 367 - 001: Islamic Law Society Ethics — Sarwar Alam — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M - Planetary Hall 124
RELI 373: Religion and American Politics (3 Credits)
Examines the relationship between religion and politics in the United States since 1900, with attention to diverse religious, racial, ethnic, and political movements. Students analyze theological traditions within Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity, from the Social Gospel to the impulses of the Second Vatican Council to the African American Civil Rights Movement. Students also examine the ways that Jews, Muslims, a variety of new religious movements, and unaffiliated Americans approach the relationship between religion and the state. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 373 - 001: Religion and American Politics — John Farina — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Horizon Hall 1007
RELI 399: Special Topics in Religious Studies (3 Credits)
Selected topics on either the comparative study of religion, study of a particular kind of religion or aspect of religion, or engagement of religion and other topic (e.g., art, history, culture, politics, etc.). Offered by Religious Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: 3 hours of Religious Studies or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 399 - 002: Modern Israeli Music — Tal Vaizman — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - East Building 201
Graduate
RELI 644: Islamic Texts and Contexts (3 Credits)
Introduces foundational Islamic texts; scholarly traditions of commentary, criticism and analysis on these texts; and application and significance of these texts in contemporary Islamic discourses. Offered by Religious Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.
Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 644 - 001: Islamic Texts and Contexts — Maria M Dakake — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M - Planetary Hall 212