Courses and Syllabi
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Religious Studies Fall 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 — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW - Buchanan Hall D023
- 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 — Andy Thrasher — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - 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.
3 Sections Currently Scheduled
- RELI 237 - 001: Religion and Art — Ann S. Birkelbach — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Thompson Hall 2022
- RELI 237 - DL1: Religion and Art — Andrew W White - Online
- RELI 237 - 003: Religion and Art — Ann S. Birkelbach — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M - Peterson Hall 1111
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 - Exploratory Hall (formerly Science and Tech II) L102
RELI 300: Theories and Methods in Religious Studies (3 Credits)
Basic introduction to interdisciplinary methods, theories, definitions, and thinkers in the academic study of religion. Provides foundation for further comparative studies of religions, concentrated studies of a particular religion, and the understanding of engagement between religion and wider culture. Prerequisite for upper-level courses on religious studies theory and method, such as the writing intensive and synthesis courses in Religious Studies. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Writing Intensive in Major
Recommended Corequisite: RELI 100, 211, and/or 212
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 300 - 001: Religious Studies Methods — John Turner — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Innovation Hall 316
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 — David Dakake — 01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW - Peterson Hall 1111
RELI 313: Hinduism (3 Credits)
Introduces Hindu religion and thought, beliefs, rituals, ethics and religious practices. Emphasis on classical Hinduism, but also covers Hinduism and modernity, modern Hindu movements, and Hinduism as a global religion. 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 313 - DL2: Hinduism — Prabhavati C. Reddy — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Online
RELI 327: Sex and the Bible (3 Credits)
This course explores topics related to gender, sex, and sexuality in selected texts from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament in both their ancient contexts and their usages in the contemporary world. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to two 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 327 - 002: Sex and the Bible — Ryan Austin Fitzgerald — 04:30 PM to 05:45 PM TR - Horizon Hall 5018
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 - 001: The Bible as Literature — Bruce Aft — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Planetary Hall 206
- RELI 339 - 003: The Bible as Literature — Ryan Austin Fitzgerald — 03:00 PM to 04:15 PM MW - Lecture Hall 2
- RELI 339 - DL1: The Bible as Literature — Neil Tow - Online
RELI 344: Muhammad: Life and Legacy (3 Credits)
Examines life and character of the founder of Islam, as remembered and understood by Muslims, as well as explores influence of his paradigmatic life and teachings on Islamic religious discourse and culture. Addresses Western critical studies of the accounts of Muhammad's life and contemporary controversies regarding Muhammad. 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 344 - 001: Muhammad: Life and Legacy — Maria M Dakake — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW - Planetary Hall 206
RELI 350: Religion and History of Ancient Israel (3 Credits)
Examines religion and history of ancient Israel from origins around 1250 BCE to Babylonian Exile in 587 BCE. Topics include debate on historical value of biblical narratives, extra-biblical texts mentioning Israel, move from polytheism to monotheism, archaeology and artifacts, and development of Israel's unique religious and historical self-understanding. 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 350 - 001: Reli/History Ancient Israel — Alexandria Frisch — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW - Planetary Hall 206
RELI 360: Religion and Politics: Foundations (3 Credits)
Examines the role of religion in the political community from antiquity until 1900. It encompasses questions of church and state, and religion in society. Students analyze texts by Plato, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Tocqueville, and Marx. 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 360 - 002: Religion and Politics: Found — John Farina — 01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW - Horizon Hall 1011
RELI 368: Islam, Democracy, and Human Rights (3 Credits)
Evaluates the political and religious goals of Muslim societies and governments, and whether these goals are conducive to the development of democratic institutions to promote democratic cultures and explicit support for human rights, as well as to these societies' full integration in an international order founded upon secularism and modernism. 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 368 - 001: Islam Democracy/Human Rights — Sarwar Alam — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM T - Planetary Hall 206
RELI 383: Holocaust: History and Meaning (3 Credits)
Students examine the Holocaust – the term commonly used to denote the destruction of European Jewry during World War II – within the contexts of twentieth-century
European, Jewish, and global history. The first part of the course, “History,” analyzes the
steps leading to the genocide of the Jews in Europe as well as the factors that enabled its
implementation, focusing on the on the interaction of victims, perpetrators, and
witnesses/bystanders. The second half of the course, “Meaning,” deals thematically
with contemporary interpretations and literary and visual representations of the Holocaust
and its meaning, looking at issues of testimony and how the tension between history and
memory affects how we can learn about the violence and mass murder. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Global Contexts
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 383 - 002: Holocaust: History and Meaning — Bruce Aft — 01:30 PM to 02:45 PM TR - Planetary Hall 206
RELI 384: Global History of Christianity (3 Credits)
Explores the history of Christianity around the world in the context of political and social structures as well as religious beliefs and practices. 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 384 - 001: Global History of Christianity — Lincoln A. Mullen — 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM TR - Enterprise Hall 274
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 - 003: Hist & Reli of Modern Israel — Tal Vaizman — 12:00 PM to 01:15 PM TR - Krug Hall 242
- RELI 399 - 004: Jewish-Christian Relations — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM T - West Building 1008
RELI 490: Comparative Study of Religions (3 Credits)
Cross-cultural examination of comparative aspects of religious phenomena. Examines significance of religious phenomena from diverse religious and cultural perspectives, and investigates patterns of religious phenomena that have appeared in world cultures and civilizations. Offered by Religious Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Mason Apex
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies, Non-Western Culture
Recommended Prerequisite: 9 credits in religious studies including RELI 211 and RELI 212, 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 490 - 001: Religion and the Environment — Maria M Dakake — 04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M - Krug Hall 19