RELI 235: Religion and Literature

RELI 235-DL7: Religion and Literature
(Fall 2026)

Online

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Section Information for Fall 2026

Course Overview
Course Description and Purpose
In simplest terms, this course is an introduction to both Religious Studies and
to the critical study of Literature. There are lots of different ways of approaching
these two worthy projects. The tack that we’re going to take this semester is to see
how different authors, writing from wonderfully different perspectives, work
religious themes into their writing to help come to grips with the “big questions”
that we all seem to ask ourselves.
But there’s a lot more to it than that!
The study of religions and the ways that they are practiced has fascinated
students in all walks of life for as far back as you might care to look — people
who are interested in people tend also to be interested in how they think, and in
what ways they express their beliefs. If it sounds like religion, society, and culture
are closely intertwined, then you’re hearing me correctly.
We’ll be focusing on six relatively modern novels, including Pulitzer Prizewinners
and novels typically found on lists of “100 Best Novels.” All of them
were written with a popular audience in mind, and these are books you would find
in a typical bookstore or library; they’re hardly esoteric scholarly tomes. Along
the way, we’ll be looking at a few essays and minor poems, but our emphasis will
be on the six novels.


The point of all of this is to make us careful readers and critical thinkers. We’ll
be enjoying the stories, certainly, and we’ll be challenged by them. Online
discussions will give us a chance to explore our own ideas as we read. Lectures,
assignments, discussions and exams are designed to help us all make connections,
investigate other ways of thinking, and explore the human condition.
So, we've got an exciting semester in front of us. I am certain that we'll all learn something new, and, when we have finished in early December, we will
consider our semester together to have been time well spent.


a. Course Objectives
By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
i. Analyze a literary author’s intent an effectiveness in telling a story
ii. Identify religious themes used in popular literature and explain their
purpose
iii. Describe the complex relationship between religion and culture in various
historical and contemporary contexts
b. Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this class. There is no presupposition that a
student has a background in either Religious Studies or in the academic study of
literature.

This is an online asynchronous section.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

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.

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.