An introduction to the study of Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious traditions. Readings come from primary religious sources, including the Bhagavad Gita, Shantideva’s guide to Buddhist awakening, the Passover Haggadah, Christian gospel narratives, the Quran, and diverse works of poetry, philosophy, and art. Group projects, films and stories, and virtual visits to religious sites online provide ways to begin seeing what the world looks like through the eyes of religious adherents. Lectures and background readings provide historical context, and recurring themes such as sacrifice, community, liberation, devotion, worship, and salvation are considered throughout the semester.

The number of Americans who identify as spiritual, but who are not affiliated with any traditional religion, has doubled in the last twenty years. More than 20% of Americans now identify as "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), and the number is growing. In this course, students will try to make sense of this phenomenon by studying what these Americans practice, such as mindful meditation, ethical eating, and forms of political activism. What is their lived experience? What counts as spirituality? Students will engage with primary and secondary sources on American SBNRs, and conduct original ethnographic research about spirituality at Smith.

Offered as REL 108 and PHI 108. This course asks the big question, "What is the Meaning of Life?" and explores a range of answers offered by philosophers and religious thinkers from a host of different traditions in different eras of human history. We explore a variety of forms of philosophical and religious thinking and consider the ways in which philosophical and religious thinking can be directly relevant to our own lives.

Offered as REL 125 and JUD 125. Who are the Jews? What is Judaism? How have Jews understood core ideas and texts, and put their values into practice, from biblical times until today? An interdisciplinary introduction to the dramatic story of Jewish civilization and its conversation with different cultures from religious, historical, political, philosophical, literary, and cultural perspectives, organized around different themes.

Theme: Food and Foodways.

Offered as REL 140 and RES 140. Often portrayed as hostile to the West, Vladimir Putin and the Russia he rules remain little known. Going beyond the headlines, this course examines contemporary Russia, and historical events and figures that have shaped Putin-era Russia. We will trace the culture wars that have ensued in this post-communist and post-atheist state, across historical documents, art, film, literature, and journalism. Topics include state power and political opposition; the resurgence of religion, and tensions between religion and the secular in the public sphere; debates over the Soviet past, including revolution, war and political terror; human rights and "traditional values."

The Islamic religious tradition from its beginnings in seventh century Arabia through the present day, with particular emphasis on the formative period (A.D. 600–1000) and on modern efforts at reinterpretation. Topics include Muhammad and the Qur’an, prophetic tradition, sacred Law, ritual, sectarianism, mysticism, dogmatic theology and popular practices. Emphasis on the ways Muslims in different times and places have constructed and reconstructed the tradition for themselves. The course concludes with examples of modern Islamic thought (modernism, feminism, and militancy).

This course is an introduction to various approaches that have characterized the modern and postmodern critical study of religion. The course explores the development of the field, addressing fundamental theoretical and methodological issues as well as their implications. The first part of the course focuses on the interdisciplinary nature of religious studies, examining approaches found in disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology and phenomenology. The second part examines the application of these approaches to the study of particular religious phenomena.

Commonly associated with pre-modern societies, the term "blasphemy" has taken on new life in today’s technologically-connected world. This course examines the notion of blasphemy--its meanings, the invisible boundaries it presupposes both in some of the world’s major religious traditions and in secular contexts, and the different ways of seeing it often signifies. Based on case studies, it explores contemporary public uses of the term, the competing understandings of the "sacred" it often assumes, and the cultural and political challenges the term presents in a globalized society. The course considers the implications of the public charge of blasphemy in light of issues such as: the religious and the secular; humor and satire; commodification and consumerism; "insiders," "outsiders," and cultural appropriation; art, film, and the sacred; museum conservation and display; free speech and human rights._x000D_

This course introduces the history of philosophy of religion and enters into its major debates: Is there a God? Can religious belief be squared with the existence of suffering and evil? What is the relationship between faith and reason, between faith and doubt? Can religious or mystical experience be trusted? Is there reason to hope for life after death? Lectures, discussion, short papers, and group projects focus on classic and contemporary responses to these questions, with readings drawn from Plato, Buddhist philosophical texts, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Anselm, Maimonides, Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, William James, Linda Zagzebski, and others.

An exploration of biblical prophecy with a focus on how the prophets called for social and religious reform in language that continues toresonate today.

The Qur’an, according to the majority of Muslims, is God’s word revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of 22 years (610-632 C.E.). This course introduces students to Islam’s scriptural text: its content, form, structure and history. It also situates the Qur’an in the larger frame of the genre of Scripture: What does it mean for a text to be revealed? Study of the Qur’an as a seventh-century product, as well as the history of reception of this text. Analysis of its varying impact on the formulation of Islamic salvation history, law and legal theory, theology, ritual, intellectual trends, and art and popular culture.

This course explores various Buddhist approaches to social justice, and engages a multicultural dialogue on specific social justice issues. We will discuss basic Buddhist metaphysics and ethics, looking at primary texts such as the Dhammapada and The Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. We will then investigate the concept of justice, and dive in to Buddhist approaches to moral anger, non- violence, gender, and other applied topics. Enrollment limited to 18. (E)

This seminar surveys modern pilgrimage practices in traditional religions, new religious movements, and religion-like assemblages, such as fan scenes. In studies ranging from an ethnography of Jim Morrison’s Paris grave to a history of Birthright trips to Israel, we will examine the diverse ways that humans engage travel, shrines, and constructions of the sacred. In doing so, we will also analyze how pilgrimage intersects with issues of national identity, racialized hierarchies, gender and sexuality, religious orthodoxy and heterodoxy, migration, memory, and nostalgia.  Finally, we will reflect on the limits and generative possibilities offered by pilgrimage as an academic category. Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12.

What can anthropologists teach us about religion as a social phenomenon? This course traces significant anthropological approaches to the study of religion, asking what these approaches contribute to our understanding of religion in the contemporary world. Topics include religious experience and rationality; myth, ritual and magic; rites of passage; function and meaning; power and alienation; religion and politics. Readings are drawn from important texts in the history of anthropology and from contemporary ethnographies of religion.

This course introduces students to the academic study of Buddhism through readings, lectures by Smith faculty and guests, and trips to local Buddhist centers. We critically examine the history of Buddhist studies within the context of numerous disciplines, including anthropology, art, cultural studies, gender studies, government, literature, philosophy and religion, with a focus on regional, sectarian and historical differences. Materials to be considered include poetry, painting, philosophy, political tracts and more. This course meets during the first half of the semester only. S/U only.

First half of semester course.

We examine what the Bible (and to some extent the broader Jewish and Christian traditions) have to say about controversial issues that have divided Americans in the past (e.g., slavery) and present (e.g., abortion). The aim is to give students the skills to assess critically various arguments that invoke the Bible or religious tradition and authority, wherever they come from on the political spectrum. Students are introduced to the Bible and biblical scholarship, as well as learn about different understandings of biblical authority and views of applying the Bible to contemporary political and ethical debates. This course counts toward the Jewish studies and religion majors. Enrollment limited to 16 first years.

Offered as REL 125 and JUD 125. Who are the Jews? What is Judaism? How have Jews understood core ideas and texts, and put their values into practice, from biblical times until today? An interdisciplinary introduction to the dramatic story of Jewish civilization and its conversation with different cultures from religious, historical, political, philosophical, literary, and cultural perspectives, organized around different themes.

Theme: Food and Foodways.

How did early Jewish communities imagine mothers, and what does this reveal about communal ideas of gender, family, and identity in early Judaism? This course considers various manifestations of mothers in early Judaism through exploration of such literary sources as the Bible, rabbinic literature, and the pseudepigrapha, as well as artifacts from material culture such as Aramaic incantation bowls, synagogue wall paintings, and other archeological evidence. No prior knowledge of Judaism is expected (E).

Offered as REL 108 and PHI 108. This course asks the big question, "What is the Meaning of Life?" and explores a range of answers offered by philosophers and religious thinkers from a host of different traditions in different eras of human history. We explore a variety of forms of philosophical and religious thinking and consider the ways in which philosophical and religious thinking can be directly relevant to our own lives.

Offered as REL 108 and PHI 108. This course asks the big question, "What is the Meaning of Life?" and explores a range of answers offered by philosophers and religious thinkers from a host of different traditions in different eras of human history. We explore a variety of forms of philosophical and religious thinking and consider the ways in which philosophical and religious thinking can be directly relevant to our own lives.

Offered as REL 125 and JUD 125. Who are the Jews? What is Judaism? How have Jews understood core ideas and texts, and put their values into practice, from biblical times until today? An interdisciplinary introduction to the dramatic story of Jewish civilization and its conversation with different cultures from religious, historical, political, philosophical, literary, and cultural perspectives, organized around different themes.

Theme: Food and Foodways.

Offered as REL 140 and RES 140. Often portrayed as hostile to the West, Vladimir Putin and the Russia he rules remain little known. Going beyond the headlines, this course examines contemporary Russia, and historical events and figures that have shaped Putin-era Russia. We will trace the culture wars that have ensued in this post-communist and post-atheist state, across historical documents, art, film, literature, and journalism. Topics include state power and political opposition; the resurgence of religion, and tensions between religion and the secular in the public sphere; debates over the Soviet past, including revolution, war and political terror; human rights and "traditional values."

Offered as REL 140 and RES 140. Often portrayed as hostile to the West, Vladimir Putin and the Russia he rules remain little known. Going beyond the headlines, this course examines contemporary Russia, and historical events and figures that have shaped Putin-era Russia. We will trace the culture wars that have ensued in this post-communist and post-atheist state, across historical documents, art, film, literature, and journalism. Topics include state power and political opposition; the resurgence of religion, and tensions between religion and the secular in the public sphere; debates over the Soviet past, including revolution, war and political terror; human rights and "traditional values."