Courses and Syllabi
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Religious Studies Spring 2026
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 - 001: Religions of the West — John Turner — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Horizon Hall 3008
- RELI 211 - DL1: Religions of the West — Mohammad Mahdi M Shahkolahi - Online
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 — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Lecture Hall 2
- 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 — 03:00 PM to 04:15 PM TR - Thompson Hall 2021
- 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 — 09:00 AM to 10:15 AM TR - East Building 201
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 — Alexandria Frisch — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW - Innovation Hall 209
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 - 001: Islam — Maria M Dakake — 03:00 PM to 04:15 PM MW - Horizon Hall 1008
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 - 001: Buddhism — Prabhavati C. Reddy — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM T - West Building 1001
RELI 318: Korean Philosophy and Religions (3 Credits)
Survey of the religious traditions and philosophical systems of Korea including Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity. The course will explore the Korean development of the religious traditions and philosophical ideas introduced to Korea in relationship to native Korean spirituality and thought pattern. 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 318 - 001: Korean Philosophy and Religion — Paul S. Cha — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Planetary Hall 224
RELI 334: American Scriptures (3 Credits)
In this course, students will analyze texts that Americans have treated as “scripture.” Students will read texts that present themselves as scripture, such as selections from the Book of Mormon and a Holy Sacred and Divine Roll and Book (a Shaker text). They will also read texts that have attained a sort of canonicity within American culture, such as the Declaration of Independence and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Students will thus gain more than a valuable familiarity with a variety of American religious traditions. They will also reflect on the way that, even in a digital age, texts continue to shape American identity. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to HIST 334.
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.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 334 - 001: American Scriptures — Lincoln A. Mullen — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Planetary Hall 124
RELI 335: Paul and His Letters (3 Credits)
This course will focus on the oldest known Christian literature, the letters by Saint Paul. The course will explore these letters in their first-century historical and literary contexts, while also surveying some of the most relevant contemporary theoretical approaches to the letters (e.g., feminist, queer, affective, African American, and economic approaches). Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: RELI 311, RELI 336, RELI 339
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 335 - 001: Paul and His Letters — Ryan Austin Fitzgerald — 01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW - Krug Hall 242
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.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 338 - 002: Qur'an and Hadith — Maria M Dakake — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M - Peterson Hall 2413
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.
2 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 339 - 001: The Bible as Literature — Neil Tow — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM W - Horizon Hall 4012
- RELI 339 - 002: The Bible as Literature — Bruce Aft — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Thompson Hall 1018
RELI 341: Spirituality and Healing (3 Credits)
Cross-cultural investigation of human understandings of relationship between spirituality and health. Beliefs about spiritual causes of sickness and health and spiritual techniques of healing in variety of world cultures placed in context of religious beliefs of those cultures. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: 30 credits 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 341 - 001: Spirituality and Healing — Gil Gilbert — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM 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 — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Lecture Hall 2
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 — 03:00 PM to 04:15 PM MW - Lecture Hall 2
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.
2 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 399 - 001: Islam in South Asia — Sarwar Alam — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M - Krug Hall 210
- RELI 399 - 002: Modern Israeli Music — Tal Vaizman — 01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW - East Building 201
Graduate
RELI 591: Special Topics in Religious Studies (3 Credits)
Topics in religious studies selected by importance in the field and pertinent to the role of religion in society and culture. Emphasis on historical, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural issues. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. Offered by Religious Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
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: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 591 - 001: Critical Issues/Debates MEIS — 07:20 PM to 10:00 PM M - Innovation Hall 333
RELI 591: Special Topics in Religious Studies (3 Credits)
Topics in religious studies selected by importance in the field and pertinent to the role of religion in society and culture. Emphasis on historical, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural issues. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. Offered by Religious Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
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: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
1 Section Currently Scheduled
- RELI 591 - 001: Critical Issues/Debates MEIS — 07:20 PM to 10:00 PM M - Innovation Hall 333