Undergraduate Programs
Comparative Religion – Major
The program in Comparative Religion is known for its unusually large range of course offerings in the religious traditions of both the East and West. The faculty has particular strength in history, anthropology, and sociology. Participants in the program have an opportunity to enroll in small classes and interact with a faculty that puts emphasis on maintaining close contact with students.
The comparative religion major introduces students to broad theoretical issues in the academic study of religion, and encourages them to explore these issues through mastering details of the textual canons, historical traditions, social contexts, and cultural forms of religion. The program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Religion.
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Major in Comparative Religion
| Course # | Title | Credits | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| JSIS 201 | The Making of the Twenty-first Century | 5 | Winter or Spring |
| RELIG 201 | Intro to World Religions: Western Traditions | 5 | Winter |
| RELIG 202 | Intro to World Religions: Eastern Traditions | 5 | Autumn |
| RELIG 380 | Theories In the Study of Religion | 5 | Autumn |
| Textual Canons | Minimum 5 credits in Textual Canons | 5 | Varies |
| Historical Traditions | Minimum 5 credits in Historical Traditions | 5 | Varies |
| Social Contexts & Cultural Forms | Minimum 5 credits in Social Contexts & Cultural Forms | 5 | Varies |
| Additional Rubric Electives | No more than 20 total credits in one rubric applied to major. Full Rubric List | 20 | Varies |
| 3- 400 level coursework | Minimum 15 credits in Rubrics must be 3-400 level | ||
| Total Credits: 55 | |||
Comparative Religion Courses
Quarterly Course Lists
Textual Canons
Historical Traditions
| Course # | Title |
|---|---|
| JSIS A 210 /NEAR E 229 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization |
| JSIS A 404 | Religion in China |
| RELIG 145 | Introduction to Judaism |
| RELIG 211 /NEAR E 230 | Introduction to Muslim Beliefs & Practices |
| RELIG 264/MUSIC 264 | Sacred Music in the European Tradition |
| RELIG 305 | Religious Thought Since the Middle Ages |
| RELIG 306 /NEAR E 306 | The History of Biblical Interpretation |
| JEW ST 317 /NEAR E 307 | From Israelites to Jews: The first six centuries BCE |
| JSIS C 327 | Eastern Christian Traditions – no longer offered |
| JSIS C 328 | The Emergence of Christianity – no longer offered |
| RELIG 352 | Hinduism |
| RELIG 354 | Buddhism |
| JEW ST 358 | Modern Jewish Thought |
| JEW ST 367/HSTAM 367 | Medieval Jewish History |
| JEW ST 368/HSTEU 368 | Modern European Jewish History |
| JSIS C 400 | Jewish Mystical Tradition – no longer offered |
| JSIS C 405 | Scripture in Judaism |
| RELIG 408 | Emerging Christian Religion |
| RELIG 409 | The Age of St. Augustine |
| JSIS C 410 | Law in Judaic Experience – no longer offered |
| RELIG 412 | Creation Myths and Early Christianity |
| RELIG 413 | Modern Christian Theology |
| JSIS C 435 | Life of the Prophet Mohammad – no longer offered |
| RELIG 445 /CLAS 445 | Greek and Roman Religion |
| RELIG 452 /ART H 452 | Art, Religion, & Politics in the Early Christian Per. 300-700 AD |
| RELIG 455 | Seminar in East Asian Religions |
| JSIS C 455 | The Kings of Monarchic Israel – no longer offered |
| RELIG 456 | Perceptions of the Feminine Divine in Hinduism |
| RELIG 459 | Topics in the Buddhism of Tibet |
| RELIG 472 | Seminar: Topics in Early Christianity |
| JEW ST 495 | Seminar in Jewish Studies |
| RELIG 590 | Comparative Religion Special Topics: Graduate Seminar |
| ANTH 315 | Southeast Asian Civilization: Buddhist and Vietnamese |
| ANTH 317 | Anthropology of Tibetan Civilization |
| CHID 498A | Shadowing Nietzsche: Of Gods, Suffering and Redemption |
| CLAS 320 | Greek and Roman Private and Public Life |
| CLAS 322 | Intellectual History of Classical Greece |
| CLAS 430 | Greek and Roman Mythology |
| C LIT 518 | Colloquium in Medieval Studies (when topic has religion focus) |
| ENGL 311 | Modern Jewish Literature in Translation |
| HEBR 428 | Inscriptions from Biblical Times |
| HSTCMP 209 | History of Christianity |
| HSTAFM 370 | History of the Expansion of Islam |
| HSTEU 368 | Modern European Jewish History |
| HSTAA 336 | American Jewish History Since 1885 |
| HSTAM 276 | Celtic Civilization |
| HSTAM 360 | Medieval Christianity |
| HSTAM 367/JSIS C 367 | Medieval Jewish History |
| HSTAM 370 | The Vikings |
| HSTAM 472 | Intellectual & Religious History of the Later Middle Ages |
| HSTAS 201 | Ancient Indian Civilization |
| HSTEU 402 | The Reformation |
| HSTEU 464 / JSIS C 468 | The Jews in Spanish History |
| HSTEU 465 | Jews of Eastern Europe |
| HSTCMP 466 | The Sephardic Diaspora: 1492-Present |
| NEAR E 429 | Islamic Mystical Literature |
| NEAR E 305/RELIG 315 | The Biblical Prophets |
| NEAR E/JSIS C 451 | The Biblical Song of Songs |
| NEAR E/JEW ST 454 | Israel: the First Six Centuries BCE |
| NEAR E/JSIS C 455 | Kings of Monarchic Israel (no longer offered) |
| SNKRT 495 | Studies in Indian Thought |
Social Contexts & Cultural Forms
| Course # | Title |
|---|---|
| JSIS 484 | Special Topics in East Asian Studies (when topic is on religion & culture e.g. Lay Buddhism) |
| JSIS 485 | Special Topics in South Asian Studies (when topic is on religion & culture) |
| JSIS 486 | Special Topics in Southeast Asian Studies (when topic is religion & culture) |
| JSIS A 314/NEAR E 315 | Israel: Dynamic Society and Global Flashpoint |
| JSIS A 241/HSTAS 241 | Japanese Civilization |
| JSIS A 315/ ANTH 315 |
Southeast Asian Civilization |
| JSIS A 461/ ASIAN 494 |
Ramayana in Comparative Perspective |
| JSIS A 462 / HSTAS 466 |
Islam, Mysticism, Politics & Performance in Indonesian Culture |
| JSIS B 320 | Yoga: History, Health and Practice |
| JSIS B 404 | Political Economy of Religious Institutions |
| JSIS B 406 / POL S 432 |
Political Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism |
| JSIS B 407 | Political Islam and Contemporary Islamist Movements |
| RELIG 155 | Heretics, Heroes, and Radicals: Early Judaism and Christianity |
| RELIG 205/ NEAR E 285 |
Religion, Violence and Peace: Patterns Across Time & Tradition |
| JSIS C / HSTCMP 250 | Introduction to Jewish Cultural History |
| RELIG 254 | American Religions |
| RELIG 264 / MUSIC 264 |
Sacred Music in the European Tradition |
| JEW ST / HSTCMP 269 | The Holocaust: History and Memory |
| RELIG / POL S 307 | Religion and World Politics |
| JEW ST / ENGL 312 | Jewish Literature: Biblical to Modern |
| RELIG 315 / NEAR E 305 |
The Biblical Prophets |
| RELIG 320 / ANTH 322 |
Comparative Study of Death |
| RELIG 321/ ANTH 321 |
Anthropology of Religion |
| RELIG 329/ ANTH 330 |
Religion, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism |
| RELIG 334/ GWSS 334 |
Gender, Sex, and Religion |
| RELIG 356/ ANTH 352 |
Buddhism and Society |
| JSIS C 360 / CLAS 360 | Jews, Greeks & Romans in the Ancient World |
| JSIS C / GEOG 403 | Modern European-Islamic Migration, Integration, and Citizenship |
| RELIG 409 | The Age of St. Augustine |
| JSIS C 435 | Life of the Prophet Muhammad (no longer offered) |
| RELIG/ ART H 452 | Art, Religion & Politics in Early Christianity |
| JSIS D / ART H 453 | Art, Religion & Politics in Byzantium |
| JSIS C 462 | Antisemitism as a Cultural System (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 490 | Special Topics in Comparative Religion |
| RELIG/ASIAN 580 | Seminar in Hinduism Studies |
| JSIS D 443 / ANTH 446 | Class and Culture in East Asia |
| JSIS D 477 | The Catholic Church in World Politics |
| AIS 475 | Special Topics in Indian Studies (when topic is on religion) |
| AIS 435 | Spiritual Encounters: Native Spirituality in the Contact Era |
| ANTH 310 | Native North American Society |
| ANTH 313 | Peoples of Africa |
| ANTH 314 | Island Civilization of SE Asia |
| ANTH/JSIS C 321 | Anthropology of Religion |
| ANTH 322 / RELIG 320 | Comparative Study of Death |
| ANTH 330 / RELIG 329 | Religion, Identity and Cultural Pluralism |
| ANTH 352 | Buddhism and Society |
| ANTH 375 | Comparative Systems of Healing |
| ANTH 402 | Societies of Eastern and Southern Africa |
| ANTH 412 | South Asian Social Structure |
| ANTH 418 | Indian Heritage of Mexico and C. America |
| ANTH 421 | Belief, Ritual and the Structure of Religion |
| ANTH 424 | Hunter-Gatherer Societies |
| ANTH 447 | Religion in China |
| ANTH 527 | Anthropological Perspectives on Ethnicity (when religion focus) |
| ARAB 456 | Islamic Political Theorists |
| ART H 202 | Survey of Western Art, Medieval/Renaissance |
| ART H 204 | Survey of Asian Art |
| ART H 309 | Special Topics: Art History (when topic is religious art & culture) |
| ART H 311 | Chinese Art |
| ART H 315 | Buddhist Art of East Asia |
| ART H 306 | Indian Art of South Asia |
| ART H 316 | Japanese painting |
| ART H 317 | Chado: Japanese Esthetics |
| ART H 321 | Arts of Japan |
| ART H 330 | Tribal Art and Philosophy |
| ART H 337 | African Art and Society |
| ART H 351 | Early Medieval & Byzantine Art |
| ART H 352 | High and Late Medieval Art |
| ART H 400 | Art History and Criticism (when topic is religious art & culture) |
| ART H 413 | Selected Topics in Chinese Art: “Arts of the Song (960-1279)” |
| ART H 419 | Chinese and Japanese Architecture |
| ART H 438 | Sub-Saharan Art |
| ART H 451 | Topics: Early Christian & Byzantine Art/Arch. |
| ART H 452 | Art, Religion and Politics in Christ. 300-700 |
| ART H 453 | Art, Religion and Politics in Byzantium 700-1453 |
| ART H 454 | Romanesque Art |
| ART H 455 | Special Studies in Gothic Art and Architecture |
| ART H 509 | Seminar in Art History (when topic is religious art & culture) |
| ART H 511 | Seminar in Chinese Art (when topic is religious art & culture) |
| ART H 515 | Japanese Esoteric Buddhist art and ritual contexts |
| ART H 551 | Early Christian/Medieval Art |
| ASIAN 206 | Literature & Culture of South Asia from Tradition to Modernity |
| CHID 498 | Special Topics in Comparative History of Ideas (if on religion) |
| CLAS 324 | Greek And Roman Athletics |
| C LIT 280, 281 | The Medieval World |
| ENGL 210 | Literature of the Ancient World |
| ENGL 211 | Medieval and Renaissance Literature |
| ENGL 326 | Milton |
| HSTAFM 161 | Survey of the Muslim Near East |
| HSTAFM 162 | History of the Islamic Middle East, 600-1800 |
| HSTAFM 261 | The Crusades: Middle Eastern Perspectives |
| HSTCMP 310 | Science and Religion in Historical Perspective |
| HSTAFM 461 | History of the Middle East: 622-1300 |
| HSTAFM 462 | History of the Middle East: 1258-1798 |
| HSTAFM 463 | History of the Middle East: Since 1789 |
| HSTAM 314 | The World of Late Antiquity |
| HSTAM 331 | Early Middle Ages |
| HSTAM 332 | Central Middle Ages |
| HSTAM 333 | Late Middle Ages |
| HSTAM 403 | Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age |
| HSTAM 315 | The Byzantine Empire |
| HSTAS 211 | History of Chinese Civilization |
| HSTAS 212 | History of Korean Civilization |
| HSTAS 401 | History of Ancient India |
| HSTAS 402 | History of Medieval and Mughal India |
| HSTAS 431 | Tibetan History |
| HSTAS 451 | Chinese History: Earliest Times to 221 B.C. |
| HSTAS 452 | Chinese History: 221 B.C. to A.D. 907 |
| HSTAS 453 | Chinese History: A.D. 905 to 1840 |
| HSTAS 462 | Southeast Asian History to 1800 |
| GWSS 435 | Gender and Spirituality |
| HSTEU 305 | European Witch Trials |
| HSTEU 401 | The Italian Renaissance |
| HSTEU 409 | The Catholic Church in Europe, 1914-Present |
| MUSAP 389 | Non-Western Music Performance (when genre is religious music) |
| MUSIC 445 | Special Topics in Ethnomusicology (when topic is religion & culture, e.g. Spirit Possession, Shamanism, Tibetan music, African Religion) |
| MUSIC 512 | Seminar in Ethnomusicology(when topic is religion focus, e.g. Spirit Possession) |
| NEAR E 285/RELIG 205 | Religion, Violence and Peace: Patterns Across Time and Tradition |
| NEAR E 229/JSIS A 210 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization |
| NEAR E 230/JSIS C 211 | Introduction to Muslim Beliefs and Practices |
| NEAR E 317 | Jewish Life in Literature and Film |
| NEAR E 306 /RELIG 306 | History of Biblical Interpretation |
| NEAR E 309 | Death and Afterlife in the Ancient World |
| NEAR E 320 | Prayer and Poetry in the Jewish and Islamic Traditions |
| NEAR E 330 | Prophesy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |
| NEAR E 336 | Islam in Jewish Contexts, and Judaism in Muslim Contexts |
| NEAR E 358 | Islam and Muslims in China |
| PHIL 240 | Introduction to Ethics |
| PHIL 267 | Introduction to Philosophy Religion |
| PHIL 345 | Moral Issues of Life and Death |
| PHIL 346 | Personal Values and Human Good |
| PHIL 356 | Introduction to Metaphysics |
| PHIL 440 | Ethics |
| PHIL 467 | Philosophy of Religion |
| PRSAN 401 | Introduction to Persian Literature |
| PRSAN 402 | Classical Persian Literature: A Survey |
| PRSAN 455 | The Persian Ghazal |
| RUSS 321 | Russian Literature and Culture to 1800 |
| SCAND 330 | Scandinavian Mythology |
| SCAND 332 | Folk Belief and World View |
| SCAND/HSTAM 370 | The Vikings |
| SOC 357 | Sociology of Religion |
| SOC 445 | Religious Movements |
| SOC 554 | Seminar in the Sociology of Religion |
Comparative Religion Course List (Jackson School)
| Course # | Title |
|---|---|
| RELIG 120 | Yoga: Past and Present (VLPA/I&S, DIV) |
| RELIG 145 | Introduction to Judaism |
| RELIG 155 | Heroes, Heretics, and Radicals: The Origins of Judaism and Christianity |
| RELIG 199 | Study Abroad – Comparative Religion |
| RELIG 201 | Introduction to World Religion: Western |
| RELIG 202 | Introduction to World Religion: Eastern |
| RELIG 205/NEAR E 285 | Religion, Violence and Peace: Patterns Across Time & Tradition |
| RELIG 211/NEAR E 230 | Introduction to Muslim Beliefs and Practices |
| RELIG 212/NEAR E 231 | Introduction to the Quran |
| RELIG 220 | Bible: New Testament (Intro to New Testament) |
| RELIG 240/NEAR E 202 | Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Old Testament |
| RELIG 254 | American Religions |
| RELIG 264/MUSIC 264 | Sacred Music in the European Tradition |
| RELIG 305 | Religious Thought Since the Middle Ages |
| RELIG 306/NEAR E 306 | The History of Biblical Interpretation |
| RELIG 307/POL S 307 | Religion and World Politics |
| JEW ST 312/ENGL312 | Jewish Literature: Biblical to Modern |
| RELIG 315/NEAR E 305 | The Biblical Prophets |
| JEW ST 317 /NEAR E 307 | From Israelites to Jews: the First Six Centuries BCE |
| RELIG 320/ANTH 322 | Comparative Study of Death |
| RELIG 321/ANTH 321 | Comparative Religion |
| RELIG 322 | Gospels and Jesus of Nazareth |
| JEW ST 325 | Contemporary Judaism in a Global Context |
| RELIG 327 | Eastern Christian Traditions |
| JSIS D 328 | The Emergence of Christianity |
| RELIG 329/ANTH 330 | Religion, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism |
| RELIG 356/ANTH 352 | Buddhism/Society: Theravada Buddhism South Asia |
| RELIG 352 | Hinduism |
| RELIG 354 | Buddhism |
| RELIG 356 /ANTH 352 | Buddhism and Society: The Theravada Buddhist Tradition in South and Southeast Asia |
| JEW ST 358 | Modern Jewish Thought (RELIG 415) |
| JEW ST 360/CLAS 360 | Jews, Greeks, & Romans in the Ancient World |
| JEW ST 367/HSTAM 367 | Medieval Jewish History |
| RELIG 380/CHID 380 | Theories In the Study of Religion |
| RELIG 399 | Study Abroad – Comparative Religion |
| RELIG 400 | The Jewish Mystical Tradition (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 403 /GEOG 403 | Modern European-Islamic Migration, Integration, and Citizenship |
| JSIS D 405 | Scripture in Judaism (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 408 | Emerging Christian Religion (The World of the Early Church) |
| RELIG 409 | The Age of St. Augustine |
| RELIG 410 | Law in Judaic Experience (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 412 | Creation Myths and Early Christianity (Gnosticism and Early Christianity) |
| RELIG 413 | Modern Christian Theology |
| RELIG 430 /NEAR E 430 | Muslim Scripture, Historiography, and Exegesis |
| RELIG 432 | Ritual and Territory in Islam (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 433 | Life of Prophet Muhammad (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 445 | Greek and Roman Religion |
| JSIS C 449 | Religious Movements: Sociology of Cults and Sects (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 452 | Art, Religion and Politics in the Early Christian Period, 300-700 |
| RELIG 456 | Perceptions of the Feminine Divine in Hinduism |
| RELIG 457 | The History of Biblical Interpretation (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 459 | Topics in the Buddhism of Tibet |
| JSIS C 462 | Anti-Semitism As a Cultural System (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 472 | Topics in Early Christianity |
| RELIG 490 | Special Topics in Comparative Religion |
| RELIG 493 | Honors Thesis |
| RELIG 495 | Seminar: Topics and Issues in Judaism |
| RELIG 497 | Field Archaeology |
| RELIG 501 | Approaches to the Study of Religion |
| RELIG 502 | Religion in Comparative Perspective |
| RELIG 504 | Religion and Culture |
| RELIG 520 | Seminar On Early Christianity |
| RELIG 528 | Christian Theology |
| RELIG 530 | Religion and Literature (no longer offered) |
| RELIG 580 | Seminar in Hinduism Studies |
| RELIG 590 | Special Topics |
| RELIG 598 | Colloquium in Comparative Religion |
| JSIS 499 | Undergraduate Research |
| JSIS 600 | Independent Study or Research |
| JSIS 700 | Master’s Thesis |
| Revised 12/9/2015 |
Comparative Religion Minor Other Approved Electives (non-Jackson School)
| HSTAS 201 | Ancient Indian Civilization (5) I&S |
| HSTAS 211 | History of Chinese Civilization (5) |
| HSTAS/JSIS A 212 | History of Korean Civilization (5) I&S |
| ANTH/JSIS A 315 | Southeast Asian Civilization: Buddhist and Vietnamese (5) |
| ANTH 421 | Belief, Ritual, and the Structure of Religion (5) |
| ANTH 447 | Anthropology of Chinese Religion (5) |
| ASIAN 203 | Literature & Culture of Ancient & Classical India (5) |
| HSTCMP 209 | History of Christianity (5) |
| HSTCMP/JSIS C 250 | Introduction to Jewish Cultural History (5) |
| HSTCMP 310 | Science and Religion in Historical Perspective (5) |
| JSIS A/HSTAS 241 | Japanese Civilization (5) |
| NEAR E/JSIS A 210 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization (5) |
| PHIL 267 | Introduction to Philosophy of Religion (5) |
| JSIS A 404 | Religion in China (5) |
| SOC 357 | Sociology of Religion (5) [replaced SOC 457] |