Religious Studies - Undergraduate Study
Religious studies gives students the opportunity to investigate and reflect on the world's religions in an objective, critical, and appreciative manner. Though there is emphasis in religious studies on the wide variety of religious phenomena as well as on the various methods in the study of religion, the aim is to help students develop their own integrated understanding of the nature of religion and its role in individual and social life.
Graduates of the religious studies program have knowledge of the religious diversity in the United States and the world. They have the ability to interpret religion empathetically and critically and to compare and contrast historical and contemporary differences and similarities of religious systems. They understand ways in which religion influences and is influenced by the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which religious systems function. Graduates often pursue careers in non-profit, community organizations; apply to professional schools or graduate programs; or enter seminaries to prepare for ministry.
The major in religious studies seeks to provide both breadth and depth. Breadth is provided through the exploration of the world's various religious traditions and through exposure to a variety of theoretical approaches and methodologies in the academic study of religion. Depth is achieved through specialized courses in particular religious traditions and particular issues in the study of religions, culminating in research seminars. The objective is to expose the student to various components of the discipline of Religious Studies and by doing so develop skills that are valuable in a number of careers and that provide the necessary foundation for pursuing graduate studies.
Students pursuing a major in religious studies must complete a minimum of 33 credits, including the following requirements:
| 6 |
| Introduction to World Religions | |
| Religion in America | |
| 6 |
| Introduction to the Bible | |
| History of Christianity: Beginnings to the Reformation | |
| History of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present | |
| Introduction to Catholicism | |
| Old Testament | |
| New Testament | |
| Introduction to Judaism | |
| Introduction to Islam | |
| 3 |
| Religious Traditions of India | |
| Buddhism | |
| 3 |
| Christianity and Science | |
| African American Religious Experience | |
| Women and Religion | |
| Religion and U.S. Latino/a Literature | |
| Religious Ethics | |
| Catholic Social Thought | |
| Religion and Ecology | |
| Goddess Religions | |
| Seminar: Issues in the Study of Religion | |
| 3 |
| Theory and Method in Religious Studies | |
| 12 |
| Total Credits | 33 |
The program offers a minor that may be earned by completing a total of 15 credits in religious studies including either RELIG 205 Introduction to World Religions or RELIG 210 Religion in America. Nine hours must be in courses at the 300 level or above (no more than 3 hours of seminar and no more than 3 hours of independent study). The minor must include at least 9 credits that are not used to meet any other department, college or university requirement.
Students may choose to do a senior thesis under the supervision of a religious studies faculty adviser. This option may earn 3-6 credits toward the completion of the major.
Religious Studies - Graduate Study
Religious studies may be one of the three areas used for the interdisciplinary graduate studies master's degree.
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Courses
Courses primarily for undergraduates:
(Cross-listed with WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3.
F.S.SS.
An introduction to the academic study of religions, including myths, beliefs, rituals, values, social forms. Examples chosen from oral cultures and major religions of the world.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
F.S.SS.
Introductory study of the major beliefs, practices, and institutions of American Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam with emphasis on the diversity of religion in America, and attention to issues of gender, race, and class.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(3-0) Cr. 3.
F.S.
Basic overview of the contents of the Old and New Testament in light of their ancient socio-historical background, and with attention to a variety of interpretations and relevance to modern American society.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
F.S.SS.
A survey of the major historical developments in Christian thought and practice that shaped Christianity from the time of Jesus through the late medieval period. Attention given to significant persons and major events, including those involving relations with Judaism and Islam.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
F.S.SS.
A survey of the major events, issues, and persons that contributed to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the proliferation of Christian denominations. Attention to selected responses of churches to major sixteenth-early twenty-first century developments.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
F.
An explanation of the beliefs, spirit, and practices of Roman Catholicism, including its understanding of God, sacramentality, the human person, and community, and its relationship to other forms of Christianity and other world religions.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
F.
An in-depth study of the literature and religion of ancient Israel in light of recent archaeological discoveries, research about the ancient Near East, and a variety of interpretations.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
A detailed survey of the sacred scriptures of Christianity in light of recent archaeological discoveries and historical research about their Greco-Roman and Jewish background.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
Prereq: BIOL 101, or another science course taught at ISU
Examines major challenges to Christianity's understandings of creation posed by the sciences; attention given to the relations of Christianity and science, and to Christianity’s responses to ecological issues.
(Cross-listed with AM IN). Cr. 3.
An introduction to the beliefs and rituals of Native American religious traditions, with attention to cultural and historical contexts and implications.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(3-0) Cr. 3.
An introduction to basic Judaism. Special attention is given to Jewish sacred texts, rituals, social practices, and modern forms.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with AF AM). (3-0) Cr. 3.
F.
Prereq: Prior course work in Religious Studies or African American Studies recommended
Examination of African-American experience from the perspective of black religion with attention to political, economic, social, theological and artistic expressions, including music, that serve the life of African-American communities.”.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(Cross-listed with WGS). (3-0) Cr. 3.
F.
Prereq: RELIG 205, RELIG 210 or WGS 201 recommended
Examines the status of women in various religions, feminist critiques of religious structures and belief systems, and contemporary women's spirituality movements.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(Dual-listed with RELIG 540). (Cross-listed with ANTHR). (3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
Prereq: ANTHR 201 or ANTHR 306
Survey of global religious belief and practice from an anthropological perspective. Emphasis on myth and ritual, shamanism, magic, witchcraft, beliefs in spirits, conceptions of the soul, mind and body relationships, and healing and therapeutic practices. Discussion of religious response to dramatic political and social change; effects of globalization on religious practice.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with US LS). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Alt. S., offered odd-numbered years.
A study of the religious behavior and attitudes expressed in the literature of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans and other groups of people living in the U.S. who trace their ancestry to the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(Cross-listed with PSYCH). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Nine credits in psychology
Survey of psychological theory and research investigating religious and spiritual attitudes, beliefs and practices.
(Cross-listed with PHIL). (3-0) Cr. 3.
F.
Prereq: 6 credits in philosophy
The value and truth of religious life and belief. Mystical experience; religious faith and language; arguments for God's existence; the problem of evil; miracles; and religion and morality. Historical and contemporary readings.
(Cross-listed with WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Credit in RELIG 205 or equivalent.
Study of texts, practices, beliefs, historical development, and mutual influence of a variety of the religious traditions of India. Emphasis on Vedic religion and the diversity of traditions of Classical Hinduism; survey of Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and South Asian Islamic traditions. Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with PHIL, WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
Prereq: PHIL 201 or PHIL 230
Central Buddhist positions and arguments on topics such as personal and social ethics, moral psychology, metaphysics, and the relationship between Buddhist thought and the sciences. Differences between Buddhist and Western approaches to philosophy.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3.
An introduction to Islamic religion, culture, and society from 700 to the present.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Investigates different religious ethical theories and traditions of reasoning about practical moral issues (e.g., abortion, the just distribution of wealth, environmental ethics). Explores in detail the relationship between religious beliefs and moral practice.
(Cross-listed with CL ST). (3-0) Cr. 3.
An historical introduction to the rise of Christianity in the Roman empire, with special attention to the impact of Greco-Roman culture on the thought and practice of Christians and the interaction of early Christians with their contemporaries.
(Cross-listed with CL ST). Cr. 3.
Nature, origins and development of religious beliefs and practices in ancient Greece and Rome from earliest times up to the rise of Christianity. Roles of divinities and rituals in lives of individuals and families and the governing of city-states and empires. Emphasis on historical contexts of the Graeco-Roman world and influences of neighboring cultures in Africa and Asia.
None.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with POL S). (3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
Prereq: Sophomore classification.
The interaction of religion and politics in the U.S. from both an historical and contemporary perspective, as well as the role of religion in politics internationally.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
Examines biblical roots of and major developments in Catholic social thought. Contemporary issues such as human rights, economic justice, the environment, and war and peace will be treated using principles of Catholic ethics, social analysis, official church documents, and contributions of notable theologians and activists.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(Cross-listed with ENV S). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Introduction to concepts of religion and ecology as they appear in different religious traditions, from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Special attention to religious response to contemporary environmental issues.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with WGS). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: RELIG 205 recommended
Exploration of the foundational myths of Goddess spirituality, including historical and cross-cultural female images of the divine and their modern usage by American women.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Repeatable, maximum of 6 times.
Prereq: 6 credits in religious studies
Topic changes each time offered. Closed to freshmen. Sophomores must have approval of instructor.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: 6 credits in Religious Studies or permission of instructor
Examines the variety of theories and methods employed in the study of religion. Application of these methods to various religions of the world.
Cr. 1-3.
Repeatable, maximum of 9 credits.
Prereq: 6 credits in religious studies and permission of instructor, approval of chairman.
Guided reading and research on special topics selected to meet the needs of advanced students.
No more than 9 credits of Relig 490 may be counted toward graduation.
Cr. 1-3.
Repeatable, maximum of 9 credits.
Prereq: 6 credits in religious studies and permission of instructor, approval of chairman.
Guided reading and research on special topics selected to meet the needs of advanced students.
No more than 9 credits of Relig 490 may be counted toward graduation.
Cr. 3.
Written under the supervision of a Religious Studies faculty advisor.
Cr. 2-3.
Repeatable.
Prereq: 6 credits in Religious Studies and permission of instructor
Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduates:
(Dual-listed with RELIG 340). (Cross-listed with ANTHR). (3-0) Cr. 3.
S.
Prereq: ANTHR 201 or ANTHR 306
Survey of global religious belief and practice from an anthropological perspective. Emphasis on myth and ritual, shamanism, magic, witchcraft, beliefs in spirits, conceptions of the soul, mind and body relationships, and healing and therapeutic practices. Discussion of religious response to dramatic political and social change; effects of globalization on religious practice.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
Cr. 1-3.
Repeatable.
Prereq: Permission of instructor, 9 credits in religious studies
