Religious Studies

This course is considered a continuation of the course, "Special Topic in Japanese Culture A" and aims to deepen understanding of Shinto and Zen Buddhist traditional Japanese culture through three cultural experiences. The course provides an overview of Japanese religious culture and consider the religious consciousness of the Japanese people as seen in Oni and Mononoke, etc, in Japanese anime.
 

The course instructs on the origins of Shinto, as well as Shinto thought; the period of shrine establishment; histories of the shrine maiden; rituals; music; history, and development of Dance in Japan. This section also covers Shintoism and Kotodama (the philosophy of words and spirits) and Kodaimoji (ancient scripts.), as well as the philosophy of Budo (Martial arts). Then, the course provides a general overview of the development of Buddhism in Japan, including the development of Japanese Zen Buddhism and its wide range of cultural influence. It covers the history and thought of Zen Buddhism; its words; the relationship between Zen and Martial arts; Zen painting, as well as a Zazen experience. Through these studies and experiences, students will learn the characteristics of Japanese culture.

This course provides an overview of the basic approaches to the study of religion as a human phenomenon. As an introductory course it covers classical positions on religion; sociological, psychological, phenomenological, and anthropological approaches; and contemporary debates in the academic study of religion. On successful completion of this course, students are able to identify key approaches in the development of the academic study of religion; distinguish the methodologies of the disciplines investigating religion; characterize classical positions and their foundational concepts; relate theories to their historical, social, and philosophical context; and discuss the changing relationship of religion to society in different eras.

This course analyzes the role that religious forces play in international society today. It provides an overview of major world religions then discusses the role of religions in conflicts and peace.

This course provides a study of the basic characteristics of Chinese religions including etiquette, architecture, art, music, clothing, incense, worship and other methods. It examines China's religious issues, while integrating Chinese culture and beliefs. It also looks at religious research, covering field research theory, survey, judgment, comparison, and literature reviews.

The class explores various ideas from humanities and social sciences and engages scholars around the world. Topics include public religion, economics, and politics; religion and state; religion and political parties; religion and democratization; religion and civil society; religion, peace and politics; religion, politics, and conflict; the interplay between science, philosophy, and the world religions and implications for the flourishing of life in the post-covid19 era; and religion and foreign policy.     

This course introduces Buddhist philosophy by directly reading the original texts, by selecting the classics from the “Madhyamika” school and late stages of Indian Buddhist philosophy, in particular, the three modules of Indian Buddhist philosophy in the middle and late periods —— Madhyamika, Mind-Only and Logic schools.

This course is different from the general selection of Buddhist Sutras. The Buddhist scriptures are divided into three parts: Sutra, Vinaya and Abhidharma. The Abhidharma part is the most important medium of Indian Buddhist philosophy. In the middle and late period of Buddhist philosophy, there are many theories which have not been translated into Chinese, or the Chinese translation is not perfect. We will use the combination of English translation and the original to teach. The problems discussed in these theories are closely related to the general problems of philosophy, so this course is also suitable for philosophy majors to take.