School of Interdisciplinary Studies

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Religious Studies Courses

Listed below are the courses in Religious Studies (REL) taught within SIS.

There are many additional courses across the College of Liberal Arts that contribute to the Religious Studies plan of study.

  • Fall 2026
    • REL 200- Introduction to the Study of Religion
    • REL 230- Religions of the East
    • REL 231- Religions of the West
    • REL 317- Ancient Judaism & Early Christianity
    • REL 450- Christian Ethics: Gender & The Body
    • REL 451- Christology
  • Spring 2026
    • REL 200- Introduction to the Study of Religion
    • REL 230- Religions of the East
    • REL 231- Religions of the West
    • REL 264 - The Bible as Literature
    • REL 318- Bible and Early Interpretation
    • REL 351- Christian Mysticism
  • Fall 2025
    • REL 200- Introduction To Study Of Religion                                                
    • REL 203- Theology Of Paul                                                                          
    • REL 204- Introduction To Christian Theology                                                                
    • REL 230- Religions Of The East                                                                
    • REL 231- Religions Of The West                                               
    • REL 317- Ancient Judaism & Early Christianity

  • REL 20000 - Introduction To The Study Of Religion
    • This course will introduce students to the academic study of religion through an exploration of various methodologies available for a critical, reflective investigation of the study of religion
  • REL 20100 - Interpretation Of The New Testament
    • An investigation of the religious content of the Christian Scriptures in light of the historical, social, and intellectual contexts out of which they emerged. Other canons and extra-canonical interpretations of the New Testament will also be investigated. 
  • REL 20200 - Interpretation Of The Old Testament
    • An investigation of the religious content of documents Christians call the “Old Testament” in light of the historical, social, and intellectual contexts out of which they arose. The student will be introduced to problems and methods in their interpretation. 
  • REL 20300 - Theology Of Paul
    • A critical examination of the Pauline and Deutero-Pauline epistles, the book of Acts, and other first century texts associated with Paul of Tarsus. Students will be introduced to problems and methods in the interpretation of ancient texts. 
  • REL 20400 - Introduction To Christian Theology
    • This course is an introductory survey of the goals and aims of theology in the Christian tradition. Focus is on the content of Christian theology, its methodological presuppositions and principles of development. 
  • REL 23000 - Religions Of The East
    • A study of the history, teaching, and present institutions of the religions of India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. This will include Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, and Zoroastrianism. 
  • REL 23100 - Religions Of The West
    • A comparative study of the origins, institutions, and theologies of the three major Western religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 
  • REL 24000 - Engaging Religious Diversity
    • The course offers students case-based explorations of local and global religious diversity in various cultural contexts. Religious diversity in secular spaces and the significance of religion for shaping community identities will be examined from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students will analyze religious representations and influences in the public sphere by studying examples from different genres and media. Additionally, this course offers students opportunities to improve their religious literacy and gain real-world experience through experiential learning projects.
  • REL 25000 - A History Of The Christian Afterlife
    • An exploration of the ways Christians have envisioned the afterlife, including New Testament descriptions. Apocryphal notions, Patristic conceptions, mystical and 19th century descriptions of heaven as sexual union, and 20th century understandings of the afterlife as a “process of education”. 
  • REL 26400 - The Bible As Literature
    • A literary study of selections from the Old and New Testaments as examples of Hebrew and early Christian literature.
  • REL 31700 - Ancient Judaism And Early Christianity
    • This course is a study of the emergence of Judaism and the rise of Christianity out of roots in the history of ancient Israel. This will include noticing the effects of Greek culture, evidence of anti-Semitism and admiration of the Jews, conversion in a setting of religious pluralism, and the development of Jewish and Christian self-definition in this climate. 
  • REL 31800 - The Bible And Its Early Interpreters
    • This course will start with observation of the development of early themes in later parts of the Hebrew Bible and proceed to the on-going influence of these themes in Jewish literature outside the Hebrew canon (apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, targums, midrash, Josephus, Philo, and other Hellenistic Jewish authors), as well as in pagan literature of this era and in early Christian literature, particularly the New Testament. 
  • REL 35100 - Christian Mysticism
    • A critical, historical examination of the development of Christian mystical thought, beginning with its earliest intimations in the Hebrew Scriptures, the thought of Plato and Aristotle and continuing through Patristic, Medieval, Renaissance, Reformation, Counter-Reformation and Modern periods to the present. 
  • REL 45000 - Christian Ethics
    • The course explores the historical development of Christian moral theology, from pre-Christian times to the present. It includes a study of Biblical moral conceptions, patristic, medieval, Enlightenment, modern, and contemporary understandings of Christian ethics. 
  • REL 45100 – Christology
    • The course examines the historical development of Christological doctrine in the Christian faith from the age of the New Testament to the late 20th/early 21st century, paying special attention to the New Testament and conciliar formulations.
  • REL 45200 - Systematic Theology
    • An introduction to the nature, tasks, and methods of what Christians have called “systematic theology”, historically conceived through an exploration of the writings of figures such as Augustine, Aquinas, Melancthon, John Calvin, Barth, and Paul Tillich. 
  • REL 49100 - Special Topics In Religious Studies
    • Investigation of a special topic in Religious Studies. The topic will vary from semester to semester.