Any experimental courses offered by RELIG can be found at: registrar.iastate.edu/faculty-staff/courses/explistings/
Courses
Courses primarily for undergraduates:
(Cross-listed with WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.SS.
An introduction to religious studies – the academic study of religion. Religions from around the world will be discussed, including their myths, rituals, beliefs, values, and social forms.
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. S.
Utilize the theories, skills, and methods of the academic study of religion to learn about religion in popular culture and how popular culture functions as a religion in modern society. Analysis of select films.
(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 figures, events, and issues that shaped the historical development of Christianity from the Reformation era to the present. Explores the diverse social, political, and cultural movements within Christianity as a global religion.
(Cross-listed with SOC). (3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: SOC 134
Religion as a human construction, institution, activity, and identity. Connections between religion and other social institutions and processes.
Meets U.S. Diversity Requirement
(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.
(Cross-listed with C J, POL S). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.
A study of the role of religion in law and justice with a focus on the United States. Examines the history of religious freedom, key contemporary legal cases, and how religious-oriented justice movements engage ethics and the law.
Cr. 3.
An introduction to the beliefs and practices of Native American religious traditions, with attention to cultural, historical, and political contexts.
(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.
(Cross-listed with AF AM). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.
A focused study of the religious histories and cultures of West Africans and their descendants in the Americas. Topics include West African traditions, Christianity, Islam, and indigenous Afro-Caribbean religions, with attention to their gendered, theological, and cultural dimensions. Prior course work in Religious Studies or African American Studies recommended.
(Cross-listed with WGS). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.
Prereq: (3 credits in RELIG or WGS) or Permission of Instructor
Gender and sexuality in the historical and contemporary contexts of various religious traditions.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with WGS). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Focal study of selected global Goddess traditions in context, including American Goddess spirituality. Historical and cross-cultural images, identities, and discourses of female divinity.
(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 PSYCH). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: 9 credits in PSYCH
Survey of psychological theory and research investigating religious and spiritual attitudes, beliefs and practices.
(3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: ENGL 250 or Permission of Instructor
Using case studies from the world’s religions, this course examines cross-culturally occurring forms of religious expression in light of humanistic and scientific researches in the cognitive science of religion (CSR). Topics may include beliefs in god and other supernatural beings, afterlife beliefs, morality, rituals, and religious experiences, among others. Prior coursework in Religious Studies or Psychology recommended.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with PHIL). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.
Prereq: 6 credits in PHIL or Permission of Instructor
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: ENGL 250 or Permission of Instructor
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.
(Cross-listed with WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: ENGL 250 or Permission of Instructor
An introduction to Islamic religion, culture, and society from its origins to the present. Topics include the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad, Islamic theology and philosophy, Islamic history, and Islam in America.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(Cross-listed with WLC). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: ENGL 250 or Permission of Instructor
A study of the Quran, the sacred text of Islam, with attention to its history, its major themes, and the diverse ways it is interpreted and applied.
Meets International Perspectives Requirement.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Investigation of comparative religious ethical theories and approaches to contemporary moral issues. Exploration of the connections between religious belief, identity, 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. F.
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.
(Cross-listed with ANTHR). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Display of religion in museums, fairs, and exhibitions. History and ethics of museum collecting, storage, display, public engagement, and repatriation. Visit local museums and explore digital galleries.
(3-0) Cr. 3. Repeatable, maximum of 6 times.
Prereq: 6 credits in RELIG or Permission of Instructor
Topic changes each time offered. Closed to freshmen. Sophomores must have approval of instructor.
Cr. 1-3. Repeatable, maximum of 9 credits.
Prereq: 6 credits in RELIG; Permission of Instructor
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 RELIG; Permission of Instructor
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.
Prereq: Permission of Instructor
Written under the supervision of a Religious Studies faculty advisor.
Cr. 2-3. Repeatable.
Prereq: 6 credits in RELIG; 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