UW Bothell Course Descriptions
UW Tacoma Course Descriptions
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Detailed course offerings (Time Schedule) are available for
RELIG 101 A Life Worth Living: Meaning, Morals and Money (5) SSc
Investigates how to create meaning in religious and humanistic traditions, how to develop ethical traditions that enable trust and a thriving social order, and the relationship between money and meaning. Students ask what makes life worth living and discover sources of meaning and ethical maxims, as well as tools to navigate decision-making and fashion a flourishing life.
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RELIG 104 International Baccalaureate (IB) World Religions (5) SSc
Course awarded based on International Baccalaureate (IB) score. Consult the Admissions Exams for Credit website for more information.
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RELIG 120 Yoga: Past and Present (5) A&H/SSc, DIV
Studies yoga and its history, practice, literature, and politics. From the ancient past to modern yoga, studies essential texts and ideas, as well as the effects of class, religion, gender, nationalism, development, Marxism, colonialism, and physical culture on yoga. Offered: jointly with CHID 120; A.
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RELIG 145 Introduction to Judaism (5) SSc
Explores Judaism's sacred texts, holidays, and beliefs. Addresses Judaism's impact on society, culture, and politics. Through the lens of the Jewish experience, grapples with fundamental questions about the role of individuals and members of larger communities in an increasingly multicultural, religious, and interconnected world. Offered: jointly with JEW ST 145.
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RELIG 155 Heroes, Heretics, and Radicals: The Origins of Judaism and Christianity (5) SSc
Investigates the heroes, heretics, and radical pioneers of religious movements around the beginning of the Common Era (150 BCE-150 CE). Students learn to analyze primary sources, engage critically with secondary sources, and author their own historical narrative. Offered: W.
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RELIG 199 Study Abroad: Comparative Religion (1-5, max. 15) SSc
For participants in study abroad program. Specific course content varies. Courses do not automatically apply to major/minor requirements.
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RELIG 201 Introduction to World Religions: Western Traditions (5) SSc
History of religions, concentrating on religious traditions that have developed west of the Indus. Primary attention to the Semitic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and to their ancient world background with emphasis on basic conceptual and symbolic structures.
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RELIG 202 Introduction to World Religions: Eastern Traditions (5) SSc
History of religions, concentrating on religions that have developed in South Asia and East Asia. Primary attention to Hinduism and Buddhism; other important Asian religions are discussed in relation to them, with emphasis on basic conceptual and symbolic structures.
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RELIG 205 Religion, Violence, and Peace: Patterns Across Time and Tradition (5) SSc
Investigates the complex relationship between violence and peace in a variety of religious traditions. Examines case studies from the ancient Near East, medieval East Asia, and the contemporary West from the standpoint of lived experiences and contemporary theories derived from several academic disciplines. Offered: jointly with HUM 205/MELC 285; W.
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RELIG 209 Ancient Christianity: From Jesus to Muhammad (5) SSc
Offers a survey of ancient Christianity as it grew from a small Jewish sect into a large, predominantly gentile movement. Focuses on the broader religious landscape of the ancient Mediterranean basin and the variety of beliefs and practices attested by diverse groups of Jesus followers in the years before the rise of Islam. Offered: jointly with HSTAM 209.
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RELIG 211 Introduction to Muslim Beliefs and Practices (5) SSc/A&H
Examines the origins and development of central beliefs in various Muslim traditions; such as monotheism, prophecy, divine judgment, and predestination. Looks at ritual and socio-cultural practices in Muslim societies in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Offered: jointly with MELC 230.
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RELIG 212 Introduction to the Quran (5) A&H/SSc
A literary, historical, and theological introduction to the Quran. Looks at the historical circumstances of the text's compilation; its collection and redaction; its narrative structure; its rhetorical strategies; its major themes; it connections to and departures from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; commentary and exegesis; translation; and its impact on political and religious thought. Offered: jointly with MELC 231.
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RELIG 220 Introduction to the New Testament (5) A&H/SSc
Introduction to the writings in the New Testament, their nature and origins as explored in modern scholarly research, and the first decades of the Christian religion.
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RELIG 240 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Old Testament (5) SSc/A&H
Examines the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in translation and its relationship with literatures of ancient Near East. Comparisons drawn between Biblical text and literary works of Canaan, Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia. Emphasis on the sophisticated literary techniques employed by Biblical writers. Offered: jointly with MELC 202.
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RELIG 242 Christianity in Asia (5) SSc
Christianity in East Asia, sixteenth century to present. Shared experiences that transcended national boundaries. Also traces divergent paths Christianity took in China, Korea, and Japan. What propelled missionary expansion? Why did people convert? What are lasting legacies of Christianity? Attention to shifting meanings of faith, identity, and religious community across the region. Offered: jointly with HSTAS 242.
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RELIG 254 American Religions (5) SSc, DIV
Seeks to understand religious diversity in the American context and the varieties of religions in the American historical horizon including religious minorities, American Protestants, public religious expressions, and new American religions.
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RELIG 264 Sacred Music in the European Tradition (5) A&H
Surveys European and American sacred music from the twelvth to twentieth centuries, examining the important role of music in religious worship. Considers the means composers used to make musical works sound the way they do to convey the messages of the texts through music. Offered: jointly with MUSIC 264.
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RELIG 305 Religious Thought Since the Middle Ages (5) SSc
Development of religious thought in the West from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. History of focal ideas: God, man, knowledge, and authority during this period and the relation of changes in these ideas to the ways in which basic issues in religious thought have been conceived.
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RELIG 306 The History of Biblical Interpretation (3) SSc/A&H
Traces Biblical interpretation and translation technique from the earliest translations of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) to the various historical literary, deconstructionist, and holistic strategies of more recent times. Adopts a "hands-on" approach to the material and explores various hermeneutics by applying them in class. Offered: jointly with MELC 306.
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RELIG 307 Religion and World Politics (5) SSc, DIV
Explores the intersection of religion and politics in various world regions, including the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Latin America, and China. Focuses on the role religious diversity plays in affecting government policy, including how state power structures privilege certain faith traditions and how political actors can be captured by religious interest groups. Includes discussion of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Offered: jointly with POL S 307.
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RELIG 315 The Biblical Prophets (3) A&H/SSc
Explores the Biblical prophets (in translation) within their Near Eastern contexts. Historicity, literary and rhetorical sophistication, and ideological agendas. Seeks to uncover the meaning and distinctiveness of Israelite prophecy within the context of the larger Near East. No knowledge of the Bible required. Offered: jointly with MELC 305.
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RELIG 320 Comparative Study of Death (5) SSc
Death analyzed from a cross-cultural perspective. Topics include funerary practices, concepts of the soul and afterlife, cultural variations in grief, cemeteries as folk art, and medical and ethical issues in comparative context. American death practices compared to those of other cultures. Offered: jointly with ANTH 322.
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RELIG 321 Comparative Religion (3/5) SSc
Anthropological approaches to religious experience and belief with emphasis on conceptual issues such as ritual, symbolism, identity, ecstatic experience, and revitalization movements in the context of globalization. Also addresses the diversity of religious expression in American culture and how that compares with other societies. Offered: jointly with ANTH 321.
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RELIG 322 The Gospels and Jesus of Nazareth (5) SSc
Modern scholarly approaches to gospels included within and outside the Christian Bible. Surveys issues and methods in modern 'historical Jesus' research.
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RELIG 329 Religion, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism (5) SSc, DIV
The role of religion in shaping personal and communal identity in a pluralistic society. Themes include current dimensions of American pluralism, effects of ethnicity, immigration, and electronic communication on building religious communities, and issues of conflict, violence, and reconciliation. Offered: jointly with ANTH 330.
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RELIG 334 Gender, Sex, and Religion (5) SSc, DIV
The Bible and its interpreters invented the gender categories and hierarchies that readers take for granted. Employs academic approaches that illuminate the construction of those categories and explores the debates within Judaism and Christianity as well as within academia today about gender, sex, sexuality, and religion. Offered: jointly with GWSS 334; Sp.
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RELIG 352 Hinduism (5) SSc
Varieties of Hindu religious practice; the diverse patterns of religious thought and action among contemporary Hindus. Includes ritual behavior, village Hinduism, tantrism, sadhus, yoga, sects, the major gods and their mythologies, religious art, and the adjustments of Hinduism to modernity.
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RELIG 354 Buddhism (5) SSc
Buddhism as a religious way and as a way of thinking; the forms of Buddhism known in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka) and those introduced from there to Tibet and other parts of Central Asia. Includes the "Three Jewels" (i.e., the Buddha or Awakened Person, the Teaching [Dharma], and Community [Sangha]) around which Buddhism is traditionally articulated.
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RELIG 356 Buddhism and Society: The Theravada Buddhist Tradition in South and Southeast Asia (5) SSc
Religious tradition of Theravada Buddhism (as practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia). Variations in ethical orientations developed through Theravada Buddhist ideas. Offered: jointly with ANTH 352.
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RELIG 380 Theories In the Study of Religion (5) SSc
Provides a variety of approaches to the study of religion centered on examining the relationship between religion and modernity in the tradition of post-enlightenment, Euro-American scholarship. Examines theories of religion across disciplines: history, anthropology, sociology, Marxism, feminism, postmodernism, political theology, and Freudian psycho-analytical theory. Offered: jointly with CHID 380.
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RELIG 399 Study Abroad - Comparative Religion (1-5, max. 15) SSc
For participants in study abroad program. Specific course content varies. Courses do not automatically apply to major/minor requirements.
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RELIG 408 Emerging Christian Religion (5) SSc
Focus on the formative period of what would become the 'Christian religion', 100-300 CE. Exploration of diversity in doctrines and practices including those viewed as 'orthodox' and those viewed as 'heretical'
View course details in MyPlan: RELIG 408
RELIG 409 The Age of St. Augustine (5) SSc
Christian church in the fourth and fifth centuries as a major institution in the Roman Empire. Great figures of patristic theology, such as Athanasius, Gregory Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine.
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RELIG 412 Creation Myths and Early Christianity (5) SSc
Study of alternative views, from early centuries of the Christian religion, regarding the origin of the cosmos and its implications for human behavior and ultimate values. Examination of documents often classified as 'gnostic' and their significance for the development of Christianity.
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RELIG 413 Modern Christian Theology (5) SSc
Modern Protestant and Catholic thought since the nineteenth century: Kierkegaard, Barth, Bultmann, Rahner, Lonergan, and other major figures.
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RELIG 430 Muslim Scripture, Historiography, and Exegesis (3) SSc/A&H
Examines the origins and development of early and classical Muslim thought. Provides an in-depth survey of the three key genres of early and classical Muslim writing: scripture (Quran), historiography (Maghazi, Sira, and Tabaqat), and exegesis (Tafsir and Ta'wil). Offered: jointly with MELC 430.
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RELIG 440 Angels: From the Bible to American Spirituality (5) SSc
Surveys conceptions of angels in foundational texts from the Bible through the Quran and explores the significance of angels in contemporary American spirituality. Though often neglected in the study of religion, angels are integral to the faith and practice of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, transcending religious boundaries in their popularity.
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RELIG 445 Greek and Roman Religion (5) SSc/A&H
Religion in the social life of the Greeks and Romans, with emphasis placed on their public rituals and festivals. Attention is given to the priesthoods, personal piety, rituals of purification and healing, and the conflict of religions in the early Roman Empire. Many lectures illustrated by slides. Offered: jointly with CLAS 445.
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RELIG 452 Art, Religion, and Politics in the Early Christian Period, 300-700 AD (3) A&H/SSc
Evolution of the art of the early Christian period (300-700 AD) in the context of contemporary religious, political, and cultural developments. Offered: jointly with ART H 452.
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RELIG 454 Seminar: Topics and Issues in Buddhism (5)
Topics vary.
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RELIG 455 Seminar on East Asian Religions (5) SSc
Examines dynamic new religious movements in PRC, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan that combine or adapt ancient Asian faiths (such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto).
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RELIG 456 Gender and the Hindu Goddess (5) A&H, DIV
Explores implications of the perception of a feminine divine for gender issues in South Asia. Includes historical overview of goddess worship in South Asia, mythologies, philosophical systems, cults, and rituals associated with the major goddesses, the phenomena of suttee, goddess possession, and women's goddess rituals at the village level.
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RELIG 459 Topics in the Buddhism of Tibet (3) SSc
Topics in the development of Buddhism of Tibet. Includes the relationship between reasoning and religious thought; the concept of a person; the formation of the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism; the notion of lineage; the master-disciple relationship in the tantric tradition.
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RELIG 472 Seminar: Topics in Early Christianity (5) SSc
Topics vary.
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RELIG 490 Special Topics in Comparative Religion (1-5, max. 15) SSc
Topics vary with each offering.
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RELIG 491 Seminar: Topics and Issues in Judaism (5) SSc
Topics vary.
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RELIG 493 Honors Thesis (5) SSc
Required course for Comparative Religion honors students.
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RELIG 497 Field Archaeology (1-10, max. 20)
Professionally-guided archaeological fieldwork at a recognized archeological dig in the United States or abroad. Offered: S.
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RELIG 501 Religion Theorized: Approaches to the Study of Religion (5)
Covers the major approaches to modern scholarship in the study of religion, which includes multiple approaches from history, phenomenology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, gender and sexuality studies, Marxism, and political theory. Class discusses which theories are most helpful in describing, understanding and explaining religion, enabling students to prepare their own research. Prerequisite: admission to the comparative religion MAIS program or permission of instructor. Offered: A.
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RELIG 502 Religion in Comparative Perspective (5, max. 15)
Analysis of selected theme or symbols in relation to several different religious traditions. Topics vary. Prerequisite: admission to the comparative religion MAIS program or permission of instructor. Offered: W.
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RELIG 504 Religion and Culture (5)
Study of the relations between religion and culture, with attention to the role of religion in defining conceptions of order and grounding socio-political and artistic traditions.
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RELIG 520 Seminar On Early Christianity (5)
Problems in the history and literature of early Christianity.
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RELIG 528 Christian Theology (5)
Study of exemplary figures in the history of Christian religious thought. Prerequisite: JSIS B 413.
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RELIG 534 Gender, Sex, and Religion (5)
Delves more deeply into foundational texts of the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity, while paying closer attention to historiographic trends in the field of gender and feminist studies of religion. With JSIS C 334/GWSS 334. Offered: jointly with GWSS 534; Sp.
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RELIG 554 Seminar: Topics and Issues in Buddhism (5, max. 10)
Topics vary.
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RELIG 555 Seminar on East Asian Religions (5)
Examines dynamic new religious movements in PRC, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan that combine or adapt ancient Asian faiths (such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto).
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RELIG 580 Seminar in Hinduism Studies (5)
Introduction to the academic study of Hinduism for graduate students. Examines major problems currently addressed in the academic study of Hinduism and the methods used. Provides a historical perspective on past scholarship. Offered: jointly with ASIAN 580.
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RELIG 590 Special Topics (2-5, max. 15)
Offered occasionally by visitors or resident faculty. Course content varies.
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RELIG 598 Colloquium in Comparative Religion (1, max. 6)
Required colloquium for graduate students in comparative religion program. Introduction to faculty research and to major methods and disciplines in the study of religion. Credit/no-credit only.
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