REL 101 - Introduction to World Religions
3 Credit(s)
A survey of the major religious traditions of the world. Emphasis is placed upon the theologies, religious practices and ethical teachings of the faiths studied. The course will begin with an inquiry into the nature of religion and religious belief, and then survey ancient religions, primarily those of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece. The course will then turn to the major Eastern (Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism and Confucianism) and Western religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Some time will also be spend on Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism and African religions.

REL 105 - Introduction to Western Religion
3 Credit(s)
A study of the origins and development of religious thought and practice in the Western tradition, beginning with the Old and New Testaments and extending through modern theological developments in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The course explores basic theological themes of the Bible against a backdrop of alternative contemporary beliefs and then surveys the subsequent history of endeavor to define and establish the authority of competing interpretations of Western scriptures. Lectures and readings are designed not only to build familiarity with the varied content of Western faiths but also to provide the religious methods, skills and background essential to a better understanding of Western history, literature, society and culture.

REL 211 - Old Testament History and Literature
3 Credit(s)
A study of the history and theology of the Old Testament. The Mosaic Law, the prophetic tradition and the wisdom literature are studied in the context of the historical development of Israel from the Patriarchal to the Hellenistic era.

REL 212 - New Testament History and Literature
3 Credit(s)
A survey of the history and theology of the New Testament. A brief overview of the political, cultural and religious background of the New Testament is followed by a study of the life and teachings of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels, the history of the early Apostolic Church, the life and thought of St. Paul and the theology of the General Epistles. Modern theories of New Testament composition and hermeneutical methods are also evaluated.

REL 213 - History of Christian Thought I
3 Credit(s)
The development of Christian philosophical and theological thought from the close of the New Testament to 1500 A.D. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of the ecumenical creeds, the philosophy and theology of Augustine and medieval scholasticism. Fall, odd-numbered years.

REL 214 - History of Christian Thought II
3 Credit(s)
A study of Christian intellectual and doctrinal history from 1500 to the present. The Reformation, Counter Reformation, the Age of Orthodoxy, the rise of biblical criticism, 19th-century Liberal theology, 20th-century Neo-orthodoxy and existential theology, the Vatican Councils and important papal encyclicals and current trends of thought will be studied. Spring, even-numbered years.

REL 222 - Introduction to Islam
3 Credit(s)
This course introduces the Muslim religion, its history, doctrine and practice, and sets it into its several contexts among other Western religions, among interpretive traditions of sacred literature, within varying national expressions, and, amid contemporary debates concerning its warrants for militarism, theocratic rule, or suppression of women, and its compatibility with democracy and other aspects of modern, Western culture.

REL 225 - Introduction to Eastern Religion
3 Credit(s)
An introduction to some of the major Chinese, Indian and Japanese religious traditions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Taoism and Shintoism. The class will cover both the origins of these traditions and their development to the present and will include readings from the important primary texts.

REL 307 - Contemporary Religious Thought
3 Credit(s)
A study of the major theological positions developed in the 20th century, including Modernism, Neo-orthodoxy, Fundamentalism and Liberation Theology. Thinkers studied will include, among others, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Rudolf Bultmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg.

REL 318 - Sixteenth-Century Theology: Reformation and Counter Reformation
3 Credit(s)
A study of the theology of the major 16th-century Protestant Reformers and of the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation. Particular attention will be paid to Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, the Anabaptists and the Council of Trent.

REL 319 - Eighteenth-Century Theology: Jonathan Edwards and American Puritanism
3 Credit(s)
An examination of Puritan theology and polity in 18th-century America and their formative influence upon subsequent American life and thought. A leading representative among colonial Puritans and, many argue, the greatest theologian America has yet produced, Jonathan Edwards furnishes the course with its primary case study and point of orientation. Study also encompasses Puritanism from the Mathers through the demise of New England Theology.

REL 320 - Comparative Religion
3 Credit(s)
A study of the contrasting positions taken by some of the leading religious traditions on such topics as the nature of God, man, salvation and morality. The traditions to be examined may include Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism.

REL 321 - Roman Catholic Theology
3 Credit(s)
A study of the major doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The Councils, Creeds and Papal Decrees of the Church are studied in order to give students a general introduction to the theology governing the beliefs and practices of traditional and contemporary Roman Catholicism.

REL 322 - Medieval Theology
3 Credit(s)
This course traces the development of Scholasticism as a distinct movement in theology in the medieval period. There will be a parallel focus on some distinctive Scholastic themes, but also on the diversity within that tradition.

REL 335 - The American Religious Landscape
3 Credit(s)
A survey of patterns of religious thought, practice and social organization in the United States over the last few decades, as seen from a broadly sociological perspective. Attention to denominationalism and ecumenism; the interplay of liberalism, fundamentalism and evangelicalism; “new religious movements,” parachurch organization and interest groups, contemporary forms of spirituality, church and state, religion in "the public square," etc. Students will be given opportunity to focus individually on particular issues or religious groups that are of interest.

REL 336 - Religion, Society and Culture
3 Credit(s)
Readings in the study of religion from the perspectives of social theory and social science. Specific topics may vary. Possible foci: sociology of religion, anthropology of religion, religion in modern and post-modern thought, phenomenology of religious experience, or classical (19th and early 20th century) theories of religion.

REL 340 - Studies in Biblical Interpretation
3 Credit(s)
An in-depth, exegetical study of a particular case or problem in the interpretation of biblical texts. Topics, to vary from year to year, include Jesus and the Gospel Tradition, Luke and Other Ancient Historians, Paul and his Churches, Romans—History of Interpretation, and Literature of the Johannine Community. May be repeated for credit.

REL 341 - Studies in Biblical Theology
3 Credit(s)
A literary and historical study of a selected, classical focus of theological debate. Topics, to vary from year to year, include Gospel and Law, The Unity of the Bible, The Old Testament in the New Testament, Biblical Theologians Since 1850, and Lives of Jesus. May be repeated for credit.

REL 342 - Studies in the World of Ancient Christianity
3 Credit(s)
A close study of a particular social and textual slice of the first- and second-century Hellenistic world with which the early Church interacted. Topics, to vary from year to year, include Gnostics, Pagans, and Heretics; Judaism in the Greco-Roman World; Ancient Mediterranean Mystery Religions; The Social Context of Early Christianity; and History of Ancient Christianity. May be repeated for credit.

REL 361 - Readings in New Testament Greek
3 Credit(s)
An introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of Koine Greek with emphasis upon building proficiency in reading the Greek New Testament. Prerequisites: CLS 103, 104.

REL 362 - Readings in the Septuagint
3 Credit(s)
An introduction to the special grammar and vocabulary of the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) in Greek, with an emphasis upon acquiring proficiency in reading selected texts. Prerequisites: CLS 103, 104.

REL 363 - Introductory Biblical Hebrew
3 Credit(s)
A beginning course introducing the elementary grammar and vocabulary of the Hebrew Bible with a view towards reading and translation.

REL 422 - Christianity and Competing Worldviews
3 Credit(s)
This course examines the incongruities and distinctions between the Christian faith and its contemporary rivals: Marxism, Atheism, Humanism and Post-Modernism. The aim is to develop students’ abilities to engage in dialectic encounter with all worldviews which press modern humanity for consideration. Fall.

REL 493 - Seminar in Religious Studies
3 Credit(s)
A seminar on special topics or problems in the study of religion, biblical studies and Christian studies. The seminar may cover such topics as Christian ethics, individual biblical books or authors, prominent thinkers in the Judeo-Christian tradition and specific non-Christian religions or religious thinkers. May be repeated for credit.

REL 575 - Religion Senior Thesis
1-3 Credit(s)
Students wishing to graduate with honors in religion must write a substantial thesis under the direction of one of the members of the Department or another qualified faculty member. Upon completion, the student must defend the thesis before a committee of three faculty members.

REL 597 - Special Problems
1-3 Credit(s)
Investigation of special problems, under direction. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Offered on demand.