WHAT IS RELIGION?
REL 205-Winter 2003

Instructor: Dr. Robert B. Smith

Religion is as old as humankind and functions within society in a variety of ways. One way to study religion is at the level of the beliefs espoused by adherents. Another way would be to see how the actions of believers establish and shape a social order. A third way is to observe how religious language expresses self-understanding and cultural values. In very broad strokes, this introduction to religion will survey work that has been done in all these areas of study. In addition to drawing from the world’s great wisdom traditions, this course will also examine social theory, civil religion, and the modern phenomenon of "non-belief". At the heart of the class discussion will be the search for the relationship between universal religious themes and the current crises presented by technology and globalization.

Texts:__Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion (translated by Ephraim Fischoff)

______Huston Smith, The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions