Religious Studies

This course examines the evolution of Buddhist meditation: from its origination to its latest manifestation as psychosocial interventions spanning more than 2000 years. Through the study of Buddhist meditation texts and experiential learning, the theories and practices of several important Buddhist meditation methods will be introduced, such as mindful-breathing, compassionate meditation, samādhi and vipassanā. 

Buddhism has been repeatedly highlighted as being a “science of mind” rather than a religion. Puzzled by surprising research results (such as the superposition of quantum states or entanglement), physicists with philosophical questions have turned to Buddhism in search of new models of reality finding striking parallels between a “quantum interconnectedness” and Nāgārjuna’s dependent arising and emptiness. Common ground was also discovered through the constant corrective of repeatable experiments (physics) and first person experience of standardized meditation techniques (Buddhism). Physical and Buddhist models of reality thus share the principle of being valid only until refuted through valid cognition. Neuroscientists also struggle with the problem of correlating the “third-person” data of an experiment to the respective “first-person” experiences, and have also taken an interest in Buddhism. A significant result of the dialogue between Buddhists and neuroscientists are popular applications such as “Healthy Minds,” which largely make use of experiments conducted on meditation practitioners in laboratories. What has eventually been labelled “the Mindful Revolution,” brings meditation beyond traditional Buddhist contexts to benefit people from all walks of life.

Through lectures/seminars, students will explore the ways in which philosophers have sought to understood and respond to the demands of Christian faith from both within and without that faith.Students will explore the social and psychological context of such faith, and the ways in which one might understand Christian notions of love, purity, devotion and sainthood, amongst others. Students will explore the ways in which some thinkers have seen Christianity as deepening our sense of the human condition whilst others have seen Christianity as degrading of our condition. The course is text based as, in this context, this is one of the best ways in which students can come to a deepened intellectual understanding of the matters under consideration.

This course gives an overview of the key arguments in the sociology of religion, including the social, cultural, and political significance of religion to the individual, social groups, and society at a national and global level. The course begins by covering the classical sociological theorists on religion (Durkheim, Weber & Marx) and examines the key debates around secularization and post-secularization. It then considers the social and cultural significance of new religious movements and the rise of spirituality and New Age movements in the West. Finally students consider the growth of fundamentalism around the world and how religion is becoming globalized.

This course highlights the development of Buddhist thought in Japan. Founded in India in the fifth century BCE, Buddhism was brought to Japan via China and Korea in the sixth century CE. Due to the influence of local structures and beliefs, Buddhism in Japan acquired some features which make it distinct from other forms of Buddhism in East and Southeast Asia. Concretely, this course examines the Buddhist teachings that had been influential in Japan at one time in the past; trace the interaction of Buddhism with other religions such as Shinto during the premodern period and shed light on the process of its development and transformation into the modern age.

This course investigates the development of the Egyptian understanding of the Afterlife and the Gods. It discusses the role of the temple both as a religious and economic institution, and the creating of an industry based around the creation of funerary objects and tombs. It covers topics such as mummification, the development of private tomb architecture, the role of the Offering Cult and focus on sites of particular significance such as Abydos. The course as a whole provides the students with a comprehensive overview of how the Egyptians – both elite and non-elite – interacted with their Gods, understood their mythology and prepared themselves for Eternity.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. After completing the course, students are familiar with the main theoretical, methodological and technical tools of the historical-religious disciplines of the social sciences, which address the study of the history of religions of the ancient world with mastery of interdisciplinary methods and contents. They are able to evaluate religious phenomena and dynamics in local and global sociocultural contexts, to identify connections, developments, persistence and transformations of religious phenomena and appreciate interaction between groups in complex societies. They understand the relevance of cultural-historical studies for historical enquiry and can identify the specific contribution that the historical sciences can make in addressing issues and problems of interest to the community, such as the critical promotion of the value of religious differences and religious pluralism. Also, through direct involvement in seminar-type activities on some monographic topics (personal reading and analysis of ancient texts and modern studies), they have knowledge of the sources and problems linked to the study of religions of the classical world and the general characteristics of polytheism. They know how to use the language and tools specific to the discipline. They are able to update their knowledge and elaborate autonomous analytical perspectives, applying the methodologies of investigation to specific problems and documents and considering the scientific and international debate related to the discipline. The 2023 course topic is: Religions as communication systems. Semiotics and semantics of the veil in the Ancient Mediterranean religious systems: a comparative overview of an element of clothing.

This semester-long course introduces the Zen culture of Kyoto to Japanese and foreign students of Doshisha University.  It especially focuses on the main teachings, philosophical values, aesthetics, practices, and applications for daily life. By doing specific activities, writing assignments and oral presentations, students increase their knowledge and the meaning of what they have learned from their interactions and shared experiences.  The course compares between the different branches of Japanese Zen, and the Zen manifestations in other countries to strengthen final debates and discussions as well as to aid in the formation of group research projects for final evaluation.

The subtitle to Søren Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death captures both the tone and the overall project for this seminar as: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening. From this point of orientation, an exploration of the Kierkegaardian oeuvre will unfold that focuses on what he believes to be the earnest need of attending to the dual existential tasks of self-examination and the strengthening of the inner being through spiritual upbuilding. In “building up” from his spiritual diagnosis on the various forms of existential despair – and by way of his cycle of discourses on the “lilies of the field and the birds of the air” – this course will ultimately arrive at Kierkegaard’s proclamation of “how glorious it is to be a human being.”

In the year 600, Christianity was the dominant religion of both the Middle East and Europe. By the year 750, this had all changed. Instead, Islam was the main religion in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of southern Europe. So began relations and interactions between the two religions that would last throughout the medieval period, and up to today, see periods of both intense, fanatical, violence and close scientific and political collaboration. This course explores the history of relations between members of the two religions over the period of 900 years, from the rise of Islam in the early seventh century to the final defeat of the Muslims of Spain in 1492. It examines perceptions between the two sides in writings produced in a variety of languages, cultures, times and places. In so doing, the course will instruct not only the relations during the medieval period but will also uncover the roots of many of the tensions in the world today.