Resources

A 2016 course by Ken Derry at the University of Toronto provides a "basic introduction to the academic study of religion, using examples from contemporary popular culture as well as Indigenous and other religious traditions."

A 2008 course by Mary Suydam at Kenyon College introduces "some of the basic concepts and categories that are used by scholars in the academic study of religion. The major categories that we will study this semester are: IDENTITY, MYTH, MORALITY (or ethics), in terms of both INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY, RITUAL, and the SACRED."

A course by Ehud Ben Zvi and Steven Engler at the University of Calgary surveys the "historical aspects of these traditions . . .[however] emphasis will be on the way in which these traditions are 'at work' today."

A 2009 course by Randolph Lumpp at Regis University "introduces the academic study of religion and develops an awareness of the nature of religion, the way it functions and its role in human existence."

A 2007 course by Jonathan D. Lawrence at Canisius College seeks to define religion and "identify and analyze examples of the ways religious traditions have affected history, culture, and current events, in particular the Jesuit and broader Catholic traditions."

A 2000 course by Alan Altany at Marshall University "is an introduction to the major religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam."

A 1998 course by Michael Barnes at the University of Dayton on "the range of beliefs about the religious dimension of life, and to theories about the origin and functions of those beliefs."

A 1998 course by Dale Cannon at Western Oregon University introduces students "to the discipline of acquiring an understanding of, and communicating to others, the meaning of specific expressions of religious life in a manner that does them justice, a manner that is empathetically sensitive to the viewpoints of participants as well as appropriately objective."

A course by Jeffrey Bjerken at the College of Charleston "is an introduction to the academic study of religion in general and a survey of different understandings of sacred place and pilgrimage found in America and India."

A 2010 course by Bruce Janz at the University of Central Florida for Humanities & Religious Studies majors; course theme is globalization.