Religion

• Chair: Melissa M. Wilcox
• Courtney Fitzsimmons
• Jocelyn Hendrickson
• Daniel Kent
• Rogers B. Miles
• Jonathan S. Walters
• Walter E. Wyman Jr.

The goal of the study of religion at a secular college is religious literacy. Religious literacy, an important dimension of cultural literacy, entails both a cognitive component (knowledge of religions and of the religious dimension of culture) and proficiencies (the acquiring of skills relevant to the analysis of religion). Courses in religion have the objective of conveying knowledge in five areas (Asian religions, modern western religious thought, Near Eastern religions, religion in America, and gender or the sociology of religion), and of developing skills of analysis, interpretation, and communication. Courses in the religion department apply to the humanities and cultural pluralism (selected courses) distribution areas.

An individually designed combined major which integrates the study of religion with work in another department can be arranged.

The Religion major: A minimum of 36 credits in religion, including the following: (1) at least one religion course in each of the following five areas: (a) gender or the sociology of religion, (b) Near Eastern religions, (c) Asian religions, (d) religion in America, (e) Western religious thought; (2) at least two 300-level religion courses, which may simultaneously fulfill the area requirements; (3) senior seminar and thesis (Religion 448 and 490 or 498). No more than one 100-level course may be counted for the major; the Comparative Studies in Religion courses (Religion 116 and 117) do not fulfill the area requirements. The study of an appropriate language, as determined in consultation with the student’s major adviser, is also highly recommended although not required. The senior assessment: All religion majors are required to write a senior thesis, and to pass an oral examination on the thesis, which may include questions of a more comprehensive nature. Departmental policy does not allow a P-D-F grade option for courses within the major.

The Religion minor: A minimum of 20 credits in religion. At least one religion course must be taken in three out of the following five areas: (a) gender or the sociology of religion, (b) Near Eastern religions, (c) Asian religions, (d) religion in America, (e) Western religious thought. No more than one 100-level course may be given credit toward the minor; the Comparative Studies in Religion courses (Religion 116 and 117) do not fulfill the area requirements. At least one course in religion at the 300 level must be taken. Departmental policy does not allow a P-D-F grade option for courses within the minor.

100 Introduction to Religion
4; not offered 2012-13

An introduction both to religion as a reality of human history, culture, and experience, and to the study of religion as a field in the humanities and social sciences. Topics include the nature of religion, theological, and social scientific theories of religion; sacred scriptures, East and West; religious thought about the nature of ultimate reality, the human condition, and the path to salvation in several traditions. Not a survey of world religions, but an introduction to religion using cross-cultural materials and a variety of approaches. Three class meetings per week. Open only to first- and second-year students.

103 Death and Afterlife
4; not offered 2012-13

Death and the afterlife have been central concerns of all religious people, whose answers to the questions “why do we die?” and “what happens next?” have shaped their ways of life in general and their funerary practices in particular. But however universal the reality of death, conceptualizations of and responses to it have varied widely among and even within various religions and civilizations. This seminar, based on reading and discussion of primary (scriptural) and secondary (scholarly) texts, explores a range of ideas and practices surrounding death and the afterlife in two of the world’s great civilizations: The Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) and the Indic (Hindu, Buddhist and Jain). In addition to identifying the specific understandings and practices unique to each religion, we will raise and address comparative questions about similarities and differences found among them. Open only to first- and second-year students.

107 Religion and Society
4; not offered 2012-13

Why does the pledge of allegiance include “one nation under God” when we have a separation of church and state? What’s up with images of the Virgin Mary on grilled cheese sandwiches, and people selling their souls on eBay? Do people really get sucked into cults, and can deprogrammers get them out again? Why do so many ethnic groups have their own temples, mosques, or churches? This class invites students to consider religion through the lenses of sociology and cultural studies. It will explore the influence of religion on social institutions, politics, social movements, and popular culture, as well as considering the effects of society and culture on religion. Topics include: civil religions; religion and the social order; religious pluralism; new religious movements and “spirituality”; seekerism and secularization; religion and social change; and religion and violence. Limited to first- and second-year students. May be elected as Sociology 127.

109 Conceptions of Ultimate Reality
x, 4 Wyman

What is ultimately real? Matter and energy? Fate? God or gods? Nirvana? The Impersonal One? This introductory course in the academic study of religion explores differing conceptions of ultimate reality in a variety of traditions. It considers the question of ultimate reality both phenomenologically (analyzing sacred texts) and philosophically (considering several treatments of the problem of the pluralism of conceptions). Open only to first- and second-year students.

116, 117 Comparative Studies in Religion
4

This course is an introduction to the academic study of religion. Topics for the sections vary from semester to semester and year to year, depending on the particular interests of the instructors, but every course will consider some aspect of the phenomenon of religion and study it in a comparative perspective. Open only to first- and second-year students.

134 Buddhist Ethics: Karma and Its Consequences
4, x Kent

Karma is defined by Buddhist texts as “intention.” More specifically, karma is any intentional action that has a positive or negative consequence. How do Buddhists understand karma and its consequences? This course will explore this question as it is asked and answered by Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Tibetan and Sri Lankan Buddhists. We will examine Buddhist approaches to ethical problems such as warfare, caste discrimination, and abortion through a combination of Buddhist literature and ethnographic studies. Through this approach, we will compare how Buddhists living at different times and places approach difficult ethical problems and attempt to deal with the consequences of their actions. Open only to first and second year students.

180 Church and State in American History
4; not offered 2012-13

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution inaugurated a radical experiment to separate church and state in order to guarantee the religious liberty of every citizen. Why did the Founding Fathers undertake this experiment? How did they conceive of the separation, and how have others thereafter construed their intent in the face of America’s increasing religious pluralism? Among the questions this seminar will examine: Can government legitimately support faith-based social initiatives? Do prayer in public schools, displays of religious symbols in public spaces, and school vouchers undermine the First Amendment? Can government remain strictly neutral toward religion without placing itself on the side of irreligion? To what degree should the state support religiously sanctioned cultural practices regarding marriage, contraception, and sexual behavior? Open only to first- and second-year students.

201 The Hebrew Bible
4; not offered 2012-13

As a source of legislation, history, and literature, the Hebrew Bible is a fundamental text of Judaism. However, the religious tradition which the Hebrew Bible chronicles differs markedly from Judaism. Through a study of translations of selected passages from the Hebrew Bible, we will follow the history and religion of ancient Israel from Abraham to the Hellenistic period. Although ancient Israelite history and religion will be presented in the context of ancient Near Eastern mythology, this course will nevertheless lay a foundation for further work in Judaism.

202 The New Testament and Early Christianity
4; not offered 2012-13

An introduction to the beginnings of Christianity by a study of the New Testament and other early Christian writings. Attention will be given to both historical questions and religious ideas. The focal points of the course will be the Gospels, the problem of the historical Jesus (including the contemporary work on this problem by the “Jesus Seminar”), and the theology of Paul.

207 Introduction to Islam
4; not offered 2012-13

This course introduces the beliefs and practices of Islam, as well as the diverse peoples and cultures that have made up the broader phenomenon of Islamic civilization, from the rise of Islam to the present. Topics to be covered include the Qur’an and the life of Muhammad, the spread of Islam, major sects, philosophy and mysticism, gender roles, Islamic law, political institutions, fundamentalism, and Islam in the West.

209 Introduction to Judaism
4, x Fitzsimmons

A survey of Jewish texts, traditions, and beliefs from the end of the Hellenistic period to the origins of the Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox movements in Europe and America. With an emphasis throughout on historical consciousness, special attention will be paid to the formation of Rabbinic Judaism, medieval Jewish literature and thought, and the responses of Jews to the Enlightenment. Prerequisite: General Studies 145 or consent of instructor.

217 The Qur’an
4; not offered 2012-13

An introduction to the Qu’ran, the sacred text of Islam. This course will present a variety of approaches to and interpretations of the Qur’an. Major themes will include the Qur’an’s relationship to the Biblical tradition and to pre-Islamic Arabian religion, classical and contemporary exegetical traditions, the Qur’an as a source of Islamic law, and the role of the Qur’an in Muslim life and worship. We will read the Qur’an and other primary texts in translation.

221 South Asian Religions I: The Formative Period
x, 4 Kent

This course introduces the foundations of South Asian (Indian) religiosity through close readings of formative religious texts from an historical perspective. After a discussion of the sacrificial culture embodied in the earliest document of Indo-European history, the Rig Veda (ca. 1500-1000, B.C.E.), we will trace the development of Theist (Upanishadic), Buddhist and Jaina speculative and liturgical traditions (after the eighth century, B.C.E.) and conclude with the emergence of the first classical Indian empire under Asoka Maurya, third century, B.C.E. Two class meetings per week. Open to all students. Offered in alternate years.

222 South Asian Religions II: The Classical Period
4; not offered 2012-13

A continuation of South Asian Religions I, which examines the development of classical Theist India. We will begin with the emergence of Vaishnava and Shaiva identities, and the displacement of Buddhism and Jainism in Indian culture, during the first centuries, C.E. This will be followed by readings in the great works of Indian Theist literature, philosophy, mythology, devotion, and politics. The course will conclude with the coming of Western (Muslim then Christian) imperialists, their understandings of “Hinduism,” local responses in the Subcontinent, and an analysis of the legacy of this meeting of Indian and Western religions within contemporary Indian society. Open to all students. Religion 221 recommended but not required. Offered in alternate years.

227 Christian Ethics
x, 4 Fitzsimmons

This is both a theoretical and an “issues” course. The theoretical part explores the nature of Christian ethical judgment: ethical norms, the nature of ethical reasoning and argument. The second part of the course explores a number of contemporary ethical issues, such as medical ethics (including abortion and genetic research), war and pacifism. Three class meetings per week. Not open to first-year students.

228 Modern Western Religious Thought I: Crisis and Renewal
4; not offered 2012-13

This is a course in Christian theology which begins with the Reformation of the 16th century. What were the religious ideas of the Protestant Reformers that lead to the break with Roman Catholicism? Next the course will turn to the rise of religious skepticism in the Enlightenment: How did modern science in the 17th century, and modern philosophy in the 18th, lead to a crisis in religious belief? The course will conclude with 19th century attempts to respond to atheism and skepticism, and to reconstruct theology on a modern basis: “What is it reasonable to believe in the modern world?” Not open to first-year students. May be elected as German 228. Offered in alternate years.

229 Modern Western Religious Thought II: The Twentieth Century
4, x Wyman

This course is a continuation of Religion 228, focusing on how 20th century religious thinkers have answered the question, “What is it reasonable to believe in the modern world?” How have 20th century religious thinkers, both conservative and liberal, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, responded to the challenges to the religious traditions of the West presented by the modern world? Topics vary, but may include: responses to skepticism and atheism; the pluralism of religions and the problem of religious truth; God and the problem of evil; liberation and feminist theologies; contemporary interpretations of Jesus of Nazareth; Jewish responses to the Holocaust. May be taken independently of Religion 228. Not open to first-year students. May be elected as German 229. Offered in alternate years.

230 American Religious Thought
4; not offered 2012-13

A historical survey of the development of American religious thought from the Puritans to the present. Topics will include the thought of selected thinkers (e.g., Edwards, Emerson, James), movements (e.g., Transcendentalism, Liberalism, Neo-orthodoxy), and issues (e.g., free will and determinism, science and religion, historicism and skepticism) in American religious thought.

240 Modern Jewish Thought
x, 4 Fitzsimmons

This course explores the philosophy of modern Judaism from the 17^th century to the 20^th century in Europe and America. Students will read primary philosophical texts to give students an overview of the major themes and thinkers of this important period in religious thought and Jewish history. Thinkers/movements to be covered include: Spinoza, Buber, Zionism, Jewish Feminism, Heschel and Levinas. May also be elected as Philosophy 338B. Distribution area: humanities or cultural pluralism.

250 Buddhist Civilizations in Asia I: South and Southeast Asia
4; not offered 2012-13

From the time of the Buddha (ca. fifth century, B.C.; first century, B.E.) to the present, his religion has been foundational to the historical, political, economic, artistic, medical and literary cultures of South and Southeast Asia. This course explores the rise and spread of Buddhist institutions in the Buddha’s homeland, India, and their further spread through southern India and Sri Lanka to the southeast edges of the Indic world, the kingdoms of Indonesia and mainland Southeast Asia. Careful reading of key primary texts from this so-called “Southern Tradition” (especially Theravada) will be supplemented with readings in secondary scholarship, lectures, and contemporary audio-visual materials. Offered every other year.

251 Buddhist Civilizations in Asia II: Central and East Asia
4; not offered 2012-13

Although in India proper the significance of specifically Buddhist cultures gradually gave way to other religious orientations, becoming virtually extinct there by the 15th century, A.D. (20th century, B.E.), from the fifth century, B.E. to the present ever-new interpretations of the Buddha’s life and significance have maintained an important presence in kingdoms and cultures located to the north and to the east of the Buddha’s Indian homeland. This course tracks philosophical, liturgical, political, artistic and soteriological developments in the so-called “Northern Tradition,” identified especially with the Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantrayana) divisions of the Buddhist world. Beginning with the rise of the Mahayana sutras in India (ca. fifth century, B.E.), the course traces the development of the Northern Buddhist tradition from ancient times to the present in Tibet, China, Japan and, through them, in the modern United States. Careful reading of primary texts will be supplemented with readings in secondary scholarship, lectures, and audio-visual materials. Offered every other year.

259 Religion in America From Columbus to the Civil War
4; not offered 2012-13

An historical survey of the impact of religion upon American society and culture from the colonial period to the Civil War. Topics will include the religion of the first Americans before the arrival of Columbus, the adaptation of Old World religions to the realities of the New World, the Puritan experiment in New England and the religious mosaic of the Middle and Southern colonies, the First Great Awakening and the American Revolution, millennial Protestantism and utopianism in the early Republic, the roots of slave religion and the growth of black churches, and the fracturing of American religion on the eve of the Civil War.

260 Religion in America From the Civil War to the Present
x, 4 Miles

An historical survey of the impact of religion on American society and culture from the Civil War until the present. Topics will include the religious roots of westward expansion and the response of Native Americans to the threatened extinction of their culture, the persistence of ethnicity and the pull of assimilation in the religious experience of Asian and East European immigrants, urbanization and industrialization and the impulse toward social reform, the emergence of Fundamentalism and its rejection of biblical criticism and Darwinian evolution, the religious roots of the civil rights movement and the changing role of women in religious life and thought. Open to all students.

287 Queer Religiosities
4, x Wilcox

This course examines religion from queer perspectives, exploring the ways in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer people have created religious spaces for themselves in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Course readings include historical, autobiographical, sociological, and theological discussions of religion and spirituality in the lives of LGBTQ people. Students will consider the diversity of religious beliefs and practices in queer communities, the ways in which people grapple with religious challenges to their identities, the formation of “identity-focused” religious organizations, and the ways in which queer perspectives on religion challenge accepted understandings of the relationship between sexuality, gender, and religion.

315 Islamic Law and Society
4; not offered 2012-13

This course examines the theory and practice of Islamic law from the rise of Islam to the present. We will begin with an introduction to the foundational sources of Islamic law (the Qur’an and Hadith) and will explore the methods by which Muslim scholars have derived law from these sources, paying close attention to the relationship between law and theology and to the diversity of opinion among jurists. We also will explore the major fields of Islamic law, including worship, family law, crime and punishment, constitutional, and international law. Alongside core legal texts in translation, we will read ethnographic accounts of the law in practice. Near the end of the course we will engage modern reform movements, the role of Islamic law in nation-states and political opposition movements, and the tensions between Islamic law and human rights, with a focus on gender equality.

328 Ethnography of Buddhism
x, 4 Kent

This course is about Buddhists and those who have written about Buddhists. Beginning with the 5th century C.E. Chinese pilgrim Faxian, who travelled to India in search of Buddhist texts, and ending with 21st century scholars seeking knowledge of contemporary Buddhist culture, we will investigate how Buddhists have been observed, questioned and represented by travelers and ethnographers throughout history. We not only will consider the ways in which Buddhists have practiced and understood themselves, but also we will delve into the assumptions and questions of those who have encountered and written about them. Course goals will include a greater understanding of Buddhist practices and self-representation, as well as the refining of our own theoretical assumptions and methodological approaches to the ethnographic study of Buddhism. Not open to first-year students. Prerequisite: at least one course in religion or anthropology, or consent of instructor. Distribution area: humanities or cultural pluralism.

330 Multireligious South Asia
4; not offered 2012-13

South Asia is home to well-established and highly diverse Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Zoroastrian, Christian and tribal religious communities, whose, members have been interacting with each other in both constructive and contentious ways for three millennia. This course examines historical and contemporary examples of South Asian multireligious encounter in order to raise and address more general questions relevant to the study of “multireligion” in any context: just how have religious people engaged their religious “others” through the ages? What strategies exist within the different religious traditions for making sense of and responding to the universal fact of religious diversity? How do these strategies relate to social, political, economic and other cultural concerns of the people who employ them? What factors cause them to fluctuate over time or in different circumstances? How does the academic study of religions – itself an attempt at making sense of religious diversity – relate to the multireligious strategies of the lived traditions it analyses? Open to all students, but at least one prior course in religion is strongly recommended.

345 Judaism and Islam in the United States
4; not offered 2012-13

This course traces the history, growth, and diversity of Jewish and Muslim populations in the United States. We will explore the development of religious and secular institutions serving each community, the practice of Jewish and Islamic law, religious education, political participation, “denominational” organization, and patterns of emigration and conversion. Major themes will include the ways in which these traditions have been shaped by Jews’ and Muslims’ experiences as members of minority religious communities in America, and the complex relationships between American Jews and Muslims and their coreligionists in Israel and Muslim-majority countries.

347 The Buddha
4; not offered 2012-13

The life of the Buddha has captivated religious imaginations for 2,500 years, but the biography of the Buddha is not singular: in its traverse of millennia and continents Buddhism has generated many Buddhas, each appropriate to the time and place in which he was imagined. This course examines select biographies of the Buddha from Asia and Europe, modern as well as ancient, in order to investigate the impact of historical and intellectual circumstances upon the composition of each. It serves both as a case study in religious biography and as a broad overview of the origin and development of Buddhism. Prerequisites: Religion 221, 250, 251, or 257 or consent of instructor.

348 The Secularization of Whitman College
4; not offered 2012-13

When Whitman became a college in 1882, it very much functioned as a cog in the engine of an informal Protestant establishment that claimed that without the inculcation of a Christian (i.e., Protestant) morality, students would lack the necessary self-restraint that citizens in a self-governing republic required. After a survey of the social, intellectual, and institutional reasons that prompted universities and eventually colleges to buck the Protestant establishment and its hold upon the curriculum, students will explore with the help of materials in the Whitman College Archives the forces propelling Whitman to become the secular institution it is today. Open to all students, but at least one prior course in religion is strongly recommended.

349 Field Studies in the Religions of the Pacific Northwest
4, x Miles

The Pacific Northwest is a microcosm of the diversity that characterizes religion in America today. In addition to mainline Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish denominations, there exists on either side of the Cascade Range a number of religious groups of particular interest: Bahais, Buddhist congregations of various ethnic stripes, Hindus, Hutterites, Indian Shakers, Islamic communities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, members of the Native American Church, Russian Old Believers, Pentecostals, native practitioners of the Pom Pom Religion, Scientologists, Sikhs, and devotees of Wicca. After a brief historical survey of the regional religious landscape and the forces that produced it, this course will examine some of the techniques (theological, historical, phenomenological, sociological, psychological, and anthropological) used for interpreting religious movements. In the second half of the course, teams of students under the guidance of the instructor will initiate research projects for in-depth study of selected religious communities and traditions. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

350 The Problem of God
4; not offered 2012-13

This course focuses on the existence and nature of God as an intellectual problem. The course will explore conceptions of God in the Western religious traditions and how God came to be a problem with the emergence of skepticism and atheism in the modern world. Historical and literary approaches, as well as philosophical and theological perspectives, will be included. Contemporary attempts to rethink the nature of God and to argue for the reality of God will be considered. Two class meetings per week. Not open to first-year students.

353 The Historical Jesus
4, x Wyman

This seminar is an exploration of recent scholarship on the problem of the historical Jesus — the attempt to distinguish the historical figure of Jesus from the theological portraits of him in early Christian literature. Attention will be given to the conclusions of the Jesus Seminar regarding the authenticity of the reported sayings and deeds of Jesus, as well as to recent books on Jesus of Nazareth by scholars representing a variety of methodological perspectives. Each student will report to the class on a recent work on Jesus. Religion 202 is a useful prior course, but not a prerequisite.

355 Religious Intolerance in the Contemporary United States
4; not offered 2012-13

This course explores several important facets of religious tolerance and intolerance in the United States today. It begins with the development of religious pluralism and the separation of church and state, but then questions the limits of this separation through examining the evidence for “public Protestantism” in the United States The rest of the course examines instances of religious intolerance in the United States — both intolerance of specific religions and religiously based intolerance of specific groups — in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Students will explore the contours of religious intolerance, from hate crimes and violent protest to more subtle events and attitudes in our own communities and our own lives, as well as ways to combat such intolerance.

358 Feminist and Liberation Theologies
x, 4 Wyman

Since the 1960s Western religious thinkers have been giving explicit attention to the relevance of gender, race, and class for religious thought. This course is a comparative exploration of Latin American liberation theologies, African American theologies, and feminist theologies (Jewish, Christian, and Post-Christian). Format: readings in primary sources, class discussions, oral reports, and papers. Not open to first-year students.

359 Gender, Body, and Religion
4; not offered 2012-13

Gender and the human body are nearly ubiquitous in religion. They are evident in one religion’s images of the divine and in another’s refusal to image the divine; in the control and maintenance of the body through asceticism, sexual regulations, dietary restrictions, and other practices; in debates over human nature and reality; in questions of clothing, leadership, and rites of passage; and in many other areas. Over the past 15 years, studies of gender and the body have multiplied within the field of religious studies, but much more remains to be done. This class has two goals: to explore some of the work that has been done to date, and to consider new ways in which theories on gender and the body can be applied to religion. This is a highly theoretical class and is recommended for juniors and seniors.

368 From Muslim to Christian Spain
4; not offered 2012-13

This course examines the history of Muslim rule in Spain and follows the fates of Jews and Muslims under Christian rule from the “Reconquest” to the Inquisition. Al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain, has in recent years been heralded as a golden age of inter-religious tolerance. We will critically explore the nature and limits of this convivencia, or “coexistence,” in the Iberian peninsula through Jewish, Christian, and Muslim primary texts as well as a variety of scholarly and popular sources. Major themes will include the legal and political positions of Jews and Christians under Muslim rule, the shared intellectual and artistic culture produced through inter-religious encounters, the transmission of knowledge from the Arab-Islamic world to the Latin West, concepts of tolerance, coexistence, religious violence, and orthodoxy and heresy, and the political uses of history and memory.

369 Religion and Conflict
4; not offered 2012-13

In what way are religious conflicts religious? Are violent expressions of religion less authentic than peaceful ones? How does the role of religion in conflict and conflict resolution compare to the roles played by other types of identities, or to the political and economic aspects of conflicts? These are some of the questions we will explore in this course, which examines the role of religion both as a source of violence and as a resource for conflict resolution and peace-building. We will engage theoretical materials on the causes of war and the conditions for peace in a variety of contexts, and apply these insights to specific case studies of modern-day violent conflicts. The primary religious traditions involved in these conflicts include Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism. We will address the beliefs, actions, and motivations of adherents primarily in the context of these conflicts; this is not a survey of what each religion ‘says’ about violence and peace.

370 New Religious Movements
x, 4 Wilcox

Often called “cults” by those unfamiliar with them, new religious movements (NRMs) are exactly what the name implies: newly formed religions that develop either within established world religions or as offshoots of more obscure social or religious movements. The Jehovah’s Witnesses were a new religious movement in the nineteenth century; contemporary NRMs range from the Unification Church (popularly known as the Moonies) to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as the Hare Krishnas) to the Church of Satan. This class will cover theoretical work on new religious movements as well as sociological studies of specific groups, with the goal of increasing students’ familiarity with and theoretical understanding of NRMs as well as exploring the relationship of NRMs to their social contexts.

387-390 Special Topics in Religious History, Literature, and Thought
2-4

Intensive studies of particular authors, literatures, issues, or eras. The topics will vary year to year. Any current offerings follow.

401, 402 Independent Study
1-4, 1-4 Staff

An opportunity for advanced students to pursue a specific interest after consultation with the instructor. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

448 Seminar in the Academic Study of Religion
4, x Wyman

What is religion, and how is it studied? The seminar will explore different methods employed in the academic study of religion. As the culmination of the semester’s work, students will formulate their thesis topic and articulate the method (or methods) to be used in their project. Required of, and open only to senior religion majors.

490 Thesis in Religion
x, 4 Staff

Research and writing of the senior thesis. Open only to and required of senior religion majors. Prerequisite: Religion 448.

498 Honors Thesis in Religion
x, 4 Staff

Research and writing of the senior honors thesis. Open to and required of senior religion majors. Prerequisite: Religion 448, and admission to honors candidacy.