A few years ago, I developed an online undergraduate course at Brown University introducing students to the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in comparative perspective. This triad is sometimes called “the Abrahamic traditions” or “Religions of the West,” although many scholars (myself included) are uncomfortable with those terms. Having discovered when I developed my podcast, From Israelite to Jew, that there is public interest in accessible, academic approaches to religion, I decided to share this course, somewhat modified.
In this context, the core of the course will be the videos, which have been produced by the excellent team at Brown University and then slightly edited. However, I encourage you to do as many of the readings below as you can. Unfortunately, for copyright reasons I cannot post these readings here. There are obviously no assignments and I cannot answer specific questions, but I have set up a discussion board for the class that you can use to query, and communicate insights to, each other. The board will be moderated to keep it running cleanly and smoothly, and I might occasionally chime in.
I have always seen the dissemination of knowledge (at least as I understand it) as part of my academic responsibility, as well as being a labor of love. I receive no compensation for doing this and do not take advertising. If you find value in this course, and would like to see more of this kind of work, feel free to support my work with a contribution using the widget on the right. In any case, though, enjoy!
Course Outline
1. Religion Today
The goal of this Module is to introduce you to the “state of religion” today and some language that will help you to think about it. It will also introduce you to the “secularization” thesis, which has played an important role in modern academic study of religion.
Outcomes
By the end of this unit, you should:
- Have a better sense of the demographics of religious communities internationally;
- Have a better sense of what “God” means to most Americans;
- Know the basics of the “secularization thesis”;
- Better understand the complex relationship between secularism, pluralism, and religion;
- Better understand the complex way in which the transitions to modernity and post-modernity have had an impact on how religion is understood and practiced in the U.S.
2. Religion: Theory and Practice
This Module builds on the distinction made in the last Module between academic and theological (sometimes called “confessional” or “faith-based”) approaches to religion. The same person can, as we saw, “switch hats” and do one or the other.
Outcomes
By the end of this Module, you should:
- Know the difference between academic and non-academic approaches to religion
- Have a sense of how and why the academic study of religion developed
- Be aware of some of the pros and cons of academic approaches to religion, including the one used in this class.
3. Judaism
We begin the meat of the course, with an investigation of Judaism.
Outcomes
By the end of this Module you should:
- Know the names of the different modern Jewish movements, when and how they formed, and their major characteristics;
- Know the general trajectory of the historical development of Judaism, along with some key dates, terms and figures;
- Be more sensitive to the role that historical events plays in shaping religion;
- Understand the role the power and powerlessness has played in Jewish history;
- Be able to define and indicate the significance of: the Torah; the Tanak; Midrash; Oral Law; the Mishnah; the Gemara; the Talmud; codes; responsa; and the Zohar;
- Be able to distinguish the Bible, the Torah, the Tanak, and the Old Testament;
- Understand how the Jewish textual tradition builds on earlier layers;
- Understand the role that the study of traditional texts plays in Judaism
- Know why it is problematic to speak of Jewish “beliefs”
- Know the Jewish concepts of God, Torah, Israel, and Redemption;
- Have a better grasp of how halakhah is understood and the role it plays for different Jewish groups
- Have a basic knowledge of some of the major Jewish rituals, particularly kashrut and Shabbat;
- Have a basic knowledge of the Jewish calendar and the other regularly occurring holidays;
- Have a sense of the siddur (Jewish prayer service) and, especially after your site visit, how it is used
4. Christianity
Outcomes
By the end of this Module you should:
- Better understand the historical relationship between Jews and Christians;
- Understand the role that political power has played in the development of Christianity;
- Be able to know the difference between and trace the historical split between Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox churches;
- Have a sense of the diversity of Christianity, especially today, and the political roles that Christians see for themselves;
- Have a basic sense of the New Testament
- Understand the relationship between the New Testament, the Old Testament, and Judaism;
- Understand the differing role that Scripture plays between Protestant denominations and other Christian groups;
- Have a better sense of how “authority” functions in Christian groups;
- Know the different ways in which belief plays a role in different Christian groups;
- Be able to reflect on the nature of religious belief and “secular” thought;
- Have a grasp of the Christian debates over the nature of Jesus, and what is at stake;
- Know what a sacrament is and how different Christian communities understand it;
- Know the major Christian holidays, calendar, and life-cycle rituals;
- Know the different ways (including transubstantiation) that Christians understand “communion”;
- Know the meaning and importance of baptism;
- Be able to compare the historical/mythical structures of the Jewish and Christian ritual calendars
5. Islam
Outcomes
By the end of this Module you should:
- Better understand the historical relationship between Muslims, Jews and Christians;
- Understand the role that political power has played in the development of Islam;
- Be able to know the difference between and trace the historical split between Sunnis, Shi’ites, and Sufis;
- Have a sense of the diversity of Islam, especially today, and the shape of political Islam;
- Know what the Quran, haddith, tafsir, and fatwa are, and the authority that they each play in Islamic communities;
- Have a sense of the Islamic legal system (shariah, fiqh)
- Know the role that belief plays in Islam;
- Know the Islamic understanding of “monotheism”;
- Understand the role that Muhammad plays in Islam;
- Know the basic concepts of Islamic belief, especially eschatology;
- Know the different meanings of the term “jihad”;
- Have a better sense of the role that women play in Islam
- Know the basic structure of the Islamic calendar;
- Know the basic structure of, and rituals around, salat;
- Know the most important Islamic holidays, especially Ramadan and Eid;
- Be familiar with the hajj;
- Know some Islamic life-cycle rituals, particularly circumcision;
- Know the basic rules and practice of zakat;
- Know the most important things that are haram
I hope that this course has been useful! If so, please consider supporting it with a contribution made through the link on this page.