Religious Studies

This course examines Buddhist moral teachings and practices and their meaning and significance for contemporary living. It begins with a brief sketch of the Buddhist doctrines which can be easily identified as ethical teachings, and continues with the application of such teachings in some social and ethical issues such as war and terrorism, abortion, suicide, etc

This course examines Japanese culture and thought from the Buddhist perspectives, making constant references to both common and different features in the ways of thinking between Chinese and Japanese peoples, and also to how Japanese Buddhism and culture including Zen Buddhism, tea ceremony, Japanese cuisine, and other cultural activities became a global phenomenon after the 19th century. T

This course explores the relation of Korean Christianity and Yonsei spirit, and their growing process in history. It provides students with the background of Korean Protestantism in relation to Yonsei history, and helps them to have a comprehensive understanding of religious, cultural and social aspects of Korea. Topics include key values of Christianity, world Christianity and its history, Christianities in our global communities, Korean history and religions, sustainable development goals and Yonsei spirit, the beginning of Korean Christianity and Yonsei, the development of Korean Christianity and Yonsei (Korean War-two Koreas, military dictatorship, industrialization, church growth, student movement), and democratization process and Yonsei spirit. 

This course examines a general introduction to six of the world’s major religions with a special focus on the way in which their specific laws and customs impact upon the behavior of their adherents. The religions studied are Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Each week a specific practical theme will be traced across the six religions. The themes include sacred images; scriptural texts; ethics; the three life-cycle rituals of birth, death and marriage; food and clothing customs; the calendar; religious architecture and popular places of pilgrimage.

This course explores the application of psychological principles, theories, and methods of research in studying religious behavior, cognition, and motivation, as well as the role of religion in human life. The course draws on the contributions of other fields of psychology and focuses on the attitudes, values, and experiences of people and their relationship with the supernatural. Topics covered include: the emergence of psychology of religion; approaches to the study of psychology of religion; religious experience; morality; coping and adjustment; and functions of religion in adult life.

This course is meant mainly for students with basic Tibetan language skills (phonetics, grammar). Students strengthen those skills through intensive reading of Tibetan Buddhist Literature.

Among the handed-down literature in China, Tibetan literature is no less impressive than the Chinese literature due to its great variety and quantity. Tibetan literature is very deep and extensive, which not only provides an inexhaustible basis for the study of Tibetology, but also constructs a strict knowledge barrier for later generations. As an academic tool, Tibetan language plays an indispensable and irreplaceable role in the study of Buddhist philosophy. The advancement and promotion of Indo-Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan Buddhism as well as related research can be said to depend on the researcher’s language ability. Today, Tibetan Buddhism and related philosophical studies are increasingly dependent on the ability of researchers to study, interpret and interpret Tibetan texts, as well as to examine and collate multilingual materials.