This course examines some of the religious traditions of the Middle East in terms of their history, worldview, devotional practices, cultural expressions, goals and ideas. We will survey the main themes of each religion in a functional way, to examine how religion has worked to influence the region and sub sequential worldview through means such as ritual, myth, symbolism, individual and institutional meaning. Course topics include: Zoroastrianism, Baha’i, Judaism, Christianity and Islam among others.

This course presents the student with a survey of the principal living religions in the modern world, and provides the necessary intellectual tools to understand their history and relation to world events and contemporary issues. The student will also learn to identify underlying religious patterns throughout a large variety of cultures, ancient and modern, incorporating the study of myth, symbol, ritual, scripture, music, and community.

Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.