Religion in Contemporary Societies (HBC251)

Religion remains a mainstay of contemporary societies, serving to organize social life and interaction among people. Here, we trace the historical origins of various religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Taoism, and indigenous religions – and use a comparative approach in our discussion of the philosophical, ritualistic, and institutional aspects of the religions. We also take a closer look at how these religions have evolved in the Asian context.

• Overview of the academic study of religion
• Approaches to the study of religion
• Survey of religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism
• Survey of religions (cont'd): Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Shinto, Indigenous religions, New Religious Movements
• Religion and society
• Religion and society (cont'd)

• Distinguish between normative understandings and truth claims about religion(s) and the aims of the academic study of religion in the social sciences.
• Explain different scholarly approaches to religion and some definitions of religion that flow from these.
• Demonstrate familiarity with a range of forms of religious life (i.e. traditions, institutions etc.) and their historical and cultural contexts.
• Examine the relationship between religion and other forms of social life (including identity, gender roles, nation states, globalisation).
• Question the universal applicability of categories and terms employed in the study of religion and critically discuss key topics and issues involving religions today.
• Apply cultural relativism, methodological and theoretical pluralism, and think cross-culturally and comparatively about religions.
• Sketch religious diversity in the contemporary world.