As taught at Florida State & UT Tyler
MODULE I – Approaching Religion
Sec 1 • Religion in a Public College
1.1 Religion in a Public College
1.2 The Scholar's Toolkit
1.3 Before Religion
1.4 Sacred: Totem & Taboo
Sec 2 • What is Religion
2.1 Ritual Before Religion
2.2 Gods, Cities, & the Other
2.3 History of “Religion”
2.4 Religion Goes Global
Sec 3 • Diné: The Navajo Tradition
3.1 The People & the Land
3.2 Walking in Beauty
3.3 Medicine & Spoken Text
3.4 The Reservation & Diné Life Today
MODULE II – Asia
Sec 4 • Hinduism & Sikhism
4.1 God in India
4.2 Hindu Cosmology & Practice
4.3 Hindu Epics & Modern History
4.4 The Sikh Tradition
Sec 5 • Buddhism
5.1 The Prince & the Palace
5.2 The Four Noble Truths
5.3 The Dharma Across Asia
5.4 Modern Buddhist Practice
Sec 6 • Chinese Religion
6.1 The Dao & Wuwei
6.2 Confucius: Bond & Virtue
6.3 Heaven, Earth, & the State
6.4 Modern Chinese Practice
MODULE III – Abraham
Sec 7 • The Biblical World
7.1 Before Israel: Mesopotamia & Egypt
7.2 Babylon: Kingdom, Temple, & Exile
7.3 Persia: Temple & Torah
7.4 Greece & Rome in the Holy Land
Sec 8 • Judaism
8.1 From Temple to Talmud
8.2 Peoplehood and the Path
8.3 History & the Holidays
8.4 A Modern Jewish Life
Sec 9 • Christianity, Pt. 1
9.1 Galilee & the Messiah
9.2 The Church in a Roman World
9.3 Constantine & the Creed
9.4 Canon & Schism
Sec 10 • Islam
10.1 Arabia and the Messenger
10.2 The Quran and Its World
10.3 Divisions, Law, & the Golden Age
10.4 The Pillars, the Mosque, & America
(For more, see my 14-week Islam course taught at UT, Tyler)
MODULE IV – Modernity
Sec 11 • Christianity, Pt. 2: Reformed
11.1 How the West Kept the Faith
11.2 Popes, Crusades, & the Sword
11.3 Scholasticism: A Cathedral of the Mind
11.4 Modernity & Reformation
Sec 12 • Religion & Modernity
12.1 The Modern, Observant Jew
12.2 Religion & the New World
12.3 Reform & Revival in the U.S. & Beyond
12.4 Nation: Religion & the Modern State
Sec 13 • Religion in America
13.1 Puritan: England & New England
13.2 Disestablishment & the First Amendment
13.3 The Social Gospel & the Black Church
13.4 The Cold War & the Rise of Nondenominationalism
Sec 14 • Religion Today
14.1 The Decline of Mainline Christianity
14.2 Spiritual but not Religious
14.3 Religion & the Media
14.4 What is Religion? (A Review)
