BA Hons. in Religion (TR041)

The variety of terms used to designate the ‘Hebrew Bible’ (e.g. Old Testament, Hebrew Scriptures, Tanak) indicate the richness of traditions related to these writings, the various ways that they are viewed, and also their life within different communities at different times. This module will orient students to the literary and theological contours of the Hebrew canon, introducing them to the rich variety of genres within.

The exploration of the Pentateuch and Chronicler’s History will provide a historiographical framework and develop students’ ability to identify literary themes while interrogation of the Prophets, Psalms and Wisdom Literature will demonstrate the incredible diversity of literary and theological genres contained within the Hebrew Bible. Students will also be introduced to the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in antiquity and in contemporary culture.

The writings included in the canon of the New Testament have been composed by different authors over a relatively long period of time. Translated in countless languages, the stories and ideas found in the New Testament have played a major role in shaping socio-political, ethical and religious discourses across the centuries and in different cultures and have been a constant source of inspiration in art, music and literature.

In this module, students will learn about the most relevant scholarly approaches to the study of the New Testament and its background in Second Temple Judaism and in the Graeco-Roman world, examine the variety of literary genres and the diversity of sources and traditions, which contributed to the development of early Christianity and to the formation of new religious and cultural realities in the Graeco-Roman world, and be introduced to the history of interpretation of the New Testament in antiquity and in contemporary culture.

The course will introduce the students to classical definitions of theology from Anselm and Aquinas, as well as to formulations of theology’s task from modern theologians such as Karl Barth, Dermot Lane and Elizabeth Johnson. The different methodological approaches to the study of religion will be introduced and the distinctive task of theology in this regard will explored. In carrying out this task in the course of the module the students will study at least four representative primary texts. Attention will be drawn to patterns of continuity or discontinuity, agreement and conflict in the texts. The purpose is to train students to integrate conceptual and historical skills in the reading of theological texts.

The module examines key questions and turning points in theological thinking from Antiquity to Modernity. Beginning with the current challenge of the link between monotheism and violence, it will investigate biblical sources of the doctrine of God; outline the debates on imago Dei, free will and original sin in theological anthropology, compare models of salvation, and discuss theologies of history on theodicy and eschatology. New challenges to and responses from theology in relation to modernity’s turn to subjectivity, critiques of religion (from philosophy and the social, medical and natural sciences), and the place of theology as a subject in the modern university will conclude the module.

The module will begin with a consideration of the nature of ethical analysis and investigation, and discuss the importance of bringing an ethical analysis to bear on a range of contemporary issues. Students will be introduced to some of the major philosophical and religious/theological approaches to ethics, drawing on a range of traditions from across the globe.

Key ethical categories, modes of ethical reasoning and traditions of argumentation will then be considered. These theoretical dimensions will then be analysed, both in their more abstract (philosophical/theoretical) manifestations and as they are raised through key contemporary socio-political issues. Students will be guided and engaged in addressing issues of: global inequality, political violence and genocide, immigration, environmental issues, international finance and globalisation, technology and artificial intelligence, issues in biomedical sciences and ageing.

In everyday speech, casual use of the word “ethical” simply means “good.” To say that someone is ethical, we might assume, means that they’re a good or moral human being. But the academic study of ethics itself is older, deeper and more complex. In such study, we ask and interrogate the diverse moral principles, stories and practices that individuals, communities, and cultures orient their lives around (from “God“ to “justice” to “love”). We ask where those moral principles emerge from in the first place (their sources), how those principles are created, what meaningful stories are told, and how those stories impact or shaped by the world. And we ask how ethical thinking or practices conflict or interact with one another in everyday life or the public sphere. Why might someone consider one action a “moral good” while another thinks the very same action is “morally wrong”?Theological ethics, as the focus of this module, is a genre of ethics that asks how diverse Christianities imagine everyday ethical principles and moral value. How does the way one imagines God shape ethical imaginations? This module serves as an introduction to theological ethics (or theo-ethics), through—in the first half of the module—the sources often called upon by theologians in ethical discernment, and—in the second half—engaging some of the major themes and styles in contemporary theo-ethics.

Religion as a cultural phenomenon is interrelated with possibly all aspects of human life, such as the formation of social communities; identity building; politics; healing practices; or art and literature. Hence, studying the role of religions in their cultural context requires a broad range of approaches and methods.

After a brief introduction to the disciplinary history of the Academic Study of Religion and its colonial, philosophical and religious context the module gives an overview of the major approaches to the Study of Religion, both the “classical” approaches sociology, anthropology and psychology of religion, and the more recently developed such as the economy or the aesthetics of religion. Examples taken from different religious traditions and from the students’ own field observations provide the basis for experiencing the relationship between the approaches applied and the knowledge gained about religions.

This module aims to provide an overview of Islamic history, present and discuss Islamic scriptures, doctrines and rituals, demonstrate the significance and development within Islam of concepts such as prophethood, revelation, jihad, theology, law and gender, develop an understanding of the contribution of Islamic civilization to human culture and examine various scholarly approaches to the study of Islam

The class will consist of both lectures and student discussion on key themes covered by the readings.

This module introduces key social, cultural, and religious aspects of Jewish thought and practice from antiquity to our own time. The focus of this module is on Judaism as a major world religion that has shaped Western Civilization. Rabbinic textual traditions that underpin Jewish religious thought—especially the Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrashim—are explored.

Calendar, festivals (esp. Day of Atonement, New Year, Festival of Booths, Passover, Hanukkah), and rites of passage (e.g. birth, circumcision, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, marriage, divorce, death) are studied both within the classroom as well as, when appropriate, in visits to local Jewish synagogues. Contemporary Jewish movements and the history of their traditions (e.g., Modern Orthodoxy, Reform, Conservatism) come into view along with their different beliefs and practices (e.g., kashrut, Sabbath, worship, prayer). National movements within modern Judaism (e.g., Zionism, diaspora nationalism) are also considered.

The module firstly considers the question what philosophy is and why it is relevant for theology. It offers an overview of Western philosophy and analyses the questions treated in its main branches. Beginning with the Greeks as the founders of the western philosophical tradition, key texts from Plato and Aristotle will be studied and the influence of their work on human self-reflection, ethics, the state and community, and on concepts of the Good and of God examined. The transformations of their thought in late Antiquity will be followed up into their role in Medieval thinking, bringing it into direct contact with theology.

Two great philosopher-theologians of the Christian tradition, Augustine (354-430 CE) and Aquinas (1225-1274 CE) will be given particular attention. Questions arising from late medieval Nominalism will be traced through to modernity with Kant’s anthropological turn. Kierkegaard and his reception in twentieth century existentialism, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Critical Theory and hermeneutics will conclude the overview.

Employing literary sources as well as inscriptions, funerary art and ancient iconography, and other archaeological finds, this module investigates the religious beliefs and practice of the various peoples and civilisations of the ancient Mediterranean from ancient Egypt to Imperial Rome, focusing on the study of ancient rituals (e.g. burial customs, animal and human sacrifice) and on Mediterranean myths and mythologies (e.g. dying-and-rising deities in Egypt, Syria and ancient Greece).

Students will reflect about the methodological challenges of studying ancient religions, focusing on the problem of interpreting fragmentary evidence, understanding ancient definitions of religion and magic, and distinguishing between private and public devotion in ancient societies. The course will help student to think about such questions as did people in antiquity believe in their myths? Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What is the significance of the ancient myths of Osiris, Gilgamesh and Baal? Did the ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians practice human sacrifice?

Why do some people consider animal sacrifice and ecstatic devotion as “Hinduism”, while others consider vegetarianism, non-violence, and meditation to be “Hinduism”? Why do some people regard Buddhism as a philosophy that rejects sexism and racism, while others see Buddhism as a religion that promotes inequality? This course introduces students to the history of Hinduism and Buddhism by reflecting on how and why “Hindu” and “Buddhist” identity has been constructed in various ways across time and place.

The course is split into two halves. The first half covers Hinduism and the second half, Buddhism. In both sections, students will read primary sources from narratives, philosophy, and poems in premodern South Asia to maps, biographies, and lawsuits against academics from contemporary East Asia and America. Through an examination of these sources, students will not only be able to articulate the historically embedded debates that have led to the construction of Hindu and Buddhist identity, but they will also demonstrate an awareness of the theoretical questions that arise from studying Asian religions in a Western academic context.