Religious Studies

Some understanding of theoretical, ethical, and practical aspects of field work is essential for students engaging in research with people. This course teaches students, especially but not only from religious studies and practical theology, the necessary competence and confidence in this field. This methodology course  investigates how fieldwork plays an important role in the study of religion. The course combines strong theoretical and practical discussion ranging from insider/outsider issues in the study of religion, alongside detailed classwork on participant observation, interview techniques, and writing up fieldwork notes. 

This course introduces students to the world of magic in the Islamic world. Dismissed as anti-rational by European colonialism and Islamic reformism, magic and other occult pursuits often played an important role in the religious, political, and intellectual lives of Muslims. Making extensive use of both literary and visual sources, this course examines how past and present scholars have attempted to define the occult and esoteric. It outlines several themes such as the role of sorcery in everyday life, politics, and the investigation of science. Surveyed topics include astrology, geomancy, treasure hunting, demonology, alchemy, and necromancy.

This course examines the East Asian philosophical and religious traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism both from an internal perspective – how did each tradition represent its own values, goals, practices and methods of devotion – and external perspectives – how did the traditions spread across the East Asian subcontinent, assimilate with traditional cultural norms, and influence art and architecture. In addition to these so-called “three teachings,” we also discuss popular religion in South-east Asia, new combinatory religions such as Aum Shinrikyo and Cao Đài, and the impact of East Asian religious ideas on the West. We will also address religion in modern times, understanding how traditions continue to carve out roles for themselves in a secular world.

This course introduces students to the relations between philosophy and theology in thought about God, with particular attention to the Western tradition from Plato to the present, including themes in metaphysics and epistemology. It examines traditional and revisionary approaches to thinking about the reality of God, and the interplay of claims that God is both knowable and ultimately beyond comprehension.

The New Testament Book of Revelation has exerted an exceptional theological and cultural influence. Students study this important text in its historical context, but also to explore its later reception in theology, art, politics, and film. The course begins with a close reading of the text, locating it within its ancient Jewish and Roman imperial context, and drawing on ancient literary and archaeological evidence to explore questions of genre, identity, and response to colonialism. Recent scholarship, including historical-critical, postcolonial, rhetorical, and feminist interpretations, enable students to engage critically with a variety of approaches to the text. Students then draw on reception studies to explore some of the many ways Revelation has been interpreted in later theology, politics, and culture.

This course offers an introduction to the religion of Islam. It explores the key texts, central beliefs, and rituals, as well as the main branches and traditions of religious thought and practice, which developed over the centuries following the rise of Islam up to the modern period. It covers central elements and concepts of the religion of Islam. These include the central texts of Islam, the Qur'an and Hadith, as well as the role and significance of the prophet Muhammad, the central beliefs and the major ritual duties. The course also explores the main divisions of Islam and various aspects of Islamic thought, such as law, theology, Sufism, and political thought.

This is a beginners' course in the Sanskrit language. It introduces the most important Sanskrit grammar in one year by using M. Deshpande's Samskrta-Subodhini's A Sanskrit Primer as the textbook. The course also begins by reading Sanskrit verses from the story of Nala and Damayant in Charles Lanman's A Sanskrit Reader. The course then reviews major Indian religions and philosophical texts in Chinese translations to know the basics about Indian culture. Students are expected to memorize basic Sanskrit grammar, to start reading sentences from primary texts, and to know the basics about classical Indian religions and culture. 

This course introduces students to the history and theology of Christian worship. It provides an understanding of the development of current forms of Christian worship, the nature of sacramental distinctions, and new sources and ecumenical confluences in 20th- and 21st-century worship. It provides perspectives which will underpin future study of worship practice and the development of advanced worship leading skills.

This course focuses on a selection of readings from the Greek Old Testament, Greek New Testament, and other Greek writings of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, along with some elements of advanced grammar and vocabulary. The syllabus changes from session to session but incorporates a range of koine Greek texts. These typically involve a selection from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek New Testament, the Apostolic Fathers, the Apologists, and other early Christian writers, with a focus on the New Testament Apocryphal Gospels and other non-canonical texts.

This course examines an introduction to Buddhist ritual practice in Chinese Buddhism from the perspectives of their psychological, religious and spiritual significance. It begins by exploring several theories and research methods of ritual adopted in anthropology and religious studies and proceeds to studies of the doctrinal, mythic and other dimensions of Buddhist practice, examining the structural patterns of various rituals, surveying the different categories of ceremonies, and analyzing the most important types of rituals, including the recitation of sutras (scriptures) and mantras, funeral ritual, ritual of liberation of living animals, and the ritual of saving all sentient beings from water and land (shuilu fahui) are examined in some detail. The focus of concerns will be the effort of ritual experiences on individual enlightenment, effect of ritual, and the expression of participants’ understanding of Buddhist teaching.