Take Religious Studies We inspire engaged global citizens. - Courses Offered in Religious Studies Annual Brochure 2017-2018
RELS 111 World Religions I: Compassionate Global Citizenship 3 credits fall semester This course teaches you about world culture. It surveys the stories - the myths and symbols, and history and philosophy of Indigenous religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. You will learn what people from many cultures believe and how they live. You will become better able to work with people from many cultures. This is especially helpful for those who want to work in business, health care, education, law, government or areas relating to social justice.
RELS 112 World Religions II: Compassionate Global Citizenship 3 credits winter semester This course teaches you about world culture. It surveys the stories - the myths and symbols, and history and philosophy of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and new religious movements. You will learn what people from many cultures believe and how they live. You will become better able to work with people from many cultures. This is especially helpful for those who want to work in business, health care, education, law, government or areas relating to social justice.
RELS 210 The Bible and Film 3 credits fall semester We live in an increasingly secular age. Yet, studios continue to produce films based on biblical stories. These films are commercial successes. Why is this the case? What is it about these ancient stories that continue to resonate with us? In this course, we will watch a variety of films based upon biblical stories and drawing upon biblical themes. We will consider how such stories and themes have helped to shape who we are as a culture, and how these films explore such contemporary issues as gender, race and the environment.
RELS 215/SOCI 227 Sociology of Religion 3 credits fall semester No pre-requisite (for RELS 215): all are welcome. This course introduces you to the sociology of religion. You will study how religion has shaped society and how society shapes religion. Globalization, and pluralism, have impact on religion. Religion is an agent of social cohesion and also social conflict. Religion is influenced by, and also supports, social power structures. Religion s role in society is key to many critical issues facing our world today.
RELS 219/CELT 220 Celtic Paganism 3 credits fall semester No pre-requisite (for RELS 219): all are welcome. In this class, you will learn about the beliefs and religious practices of the ancient Celtic people. We will learn myths from medieval Irish and Welsh story-telling traditions. We will study evidence from archaeology, place-names and reports from Greek and Roman peoples of the time. You will learn how pagan festivals were adapted to become our modern holidays. You will study ancient witchcraft in Scotland and Ireland and modern paganism. This will teach you more about our cultural roots and especially the cultural roots of Nova Scotia.
RELS 221 Religion and the Environmental Crisis 3 credits winter semester The ecological crisis may be the most important challenge of our time. This class will help us reflect on how we as humans connect to our environment today. We will also learn how people in the world s most ancient religious texts relate to the environment. It will show us how religion can help us, and also hurt us, as we work together to find solutions to our ecological crisis.
RELS 225 Cults and Alternative Religions 3 credits fall semester Learn about cults in our modern North American society. You will study Jehovah s Witnesses, neo-pagans, Hare Krishna, the Moonies and the Raelians. You will learn about tragic ends to the groups at Jonestown, the Branch Davidians and Heaven s Gate. You will learn why they are considered dangerous, who joins them and why, about brainwashing, sexual deviance, violence and their cultural importance to our society today.
RELS 229/CELT 230 Celtic Christianity 3 credits winter semester Study how Christianity grew and developed among the ancient Celtic people. Learn about the medieval saints and monks, conflict with Roman Catholics and modern use of the term Celtic Christianity. This will enrich your understanding of our cultural heritage and particularly that of Nova Scotia.
RELS 254 Islam 3 credits fall semester Islam, and people who are members of this tradition, are very important for the safety and happiness of our planet today. Learn about Islam: its beliefs, texts, rituals, practices, history and philosophy. It will help you to be a better citizen in our world community and to better work and interact with our Muslim neighbours.
RELS 261 Islam and Film 3 credits winter semester Film is a powerful way that we communicate with one another. Let s use film as a way to learn about Islam: its religion and politics, its marriage and family relationships, sexuality and social structures, ethics and law, rituals and faith. A deeper understanding of Islam is critical in today s world. We will find peace through understanding.
RELS 295/PSCI 295 Religion and Politics 3 credits offered on-line No pre-requisite (for RELS 295): all are welcome. Religion plays a very important role in politics. Politics plays a very important role in religion. Learn about the relationship between religion and politics: in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, India and Pakistan, Eastern Europe and North America. Learn about how governments relate to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. Learn how religion has influence on citizenship, education, the political party system and many key social issues today.
RELS 298 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in World Religions 3 credits winter semester There are many ancient and medieval stories about monsters and mythical beasts of unusual size. They inspire modern fantasy writers, such as C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling, many of whom were deeply religious themselves. In this course, you will read such stories, both ancient, medieval and modern. Learn the religious origins of the fantastic. Inspire your imagination.
RELS 311 New Testament 3 credits winter semester Christianity has shaped, and continues to shape, so much of modern western culture. Learn about early Christianity: what history and literature, people and ideas shaped it? It will help us to better understand ourselves.
RELS 312 Old Testament/Hebrew Bible 3 credits fall semester Prophecy, history and wisdom literature in the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible, is the foundation of Judaism and Christianity. That makes it the basis for much of modern western culture. Learn the history, message and literature of this foundation of western cultural heritage.
RELS 315/WMGS 397 Power and Gender in Hinduism and Buddhism 3 credits fall semester Gender and power are very often experienced as being in conflict. Learn about power in Hindu and Buddhist traditions: what creates, supports and sustains life what is life-giving is powerful to these people. Control, dominance, manipulation and territoriality are based in fear and are therefore an expression of weakness. We don t need to empower cowardice by confusing aggression with strength.
RELS 325/WMGS 325 Early Christian Women 3 credits fall semester Many of our culture s understandings of sexuality and gender roles are rooted in Christian tradition. Study women s leadership, and other roles, at the beginning of Christian tradition. Learn about violence against women in that context. How did Jesus treat women? What was the place of women at the origin of Christianity? What was that like in comparison to the place of women in the Jewish and Greco-Roman societies of the time? Learning about where many traditional western gender roles come from can help us better learn how to make changes now.
RELS 331 Social Activists Inspired by the Bible 3 credits winter semester Trace the religious origins of ideas that have inspired global leaders to engage issues of social justice in the world. Study the specific activists and religious texts that have inspired people like: Moses Coady, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Bob Marley, Bono, Desmond Tutu, Tommy Douglas, Nelson Mandela, Charles Wesley, Elie Wiesel, Jimmy Carter, Rosemary Ruether, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Be inspired by our great change makers to change your world.
RELS 333 Religion, Violence and Peace 3 credits fall semester Religion heals. It can also cause harm. It is associated with violence. It is also associated with peace. Why? Is there something inherently violent about religion? Let s find out together. Study Greek, Roman, Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions to find the religious underpinnings of sacrifice, scapegoating, lynching, and global violence. We can learn how to do better together.
RELS 334/SOCI 337 Black/African Diaspora: Culture, Religion and Society 3 credits winter semester So many Black people experience, or are made to experience, powerlessness in so many parts of our world. Why is that? What are the effects of slavery that people still feel today? What are the structural and social factors that cause harm to so many people? We will study Black/African religion and culture, experience and contributions, especially in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Here, religion is a source of oppression and also of liberation. By understanding better, we will better make change together.
RELS 354/ART 357 Iconography of Christian Art: The Saints 3 credits winter semester So much of the great art in the western world was created with the support of Christian patrons and celebrates expressions of Christian faith. There is much that is great in this expression of the human spirit and the human quest to connect with Spirit. You will be introduced to the iconography of Christian art, especially art about Mary and the saints. You will learn how images developed over time, how they are effected by historical events and changes in ideas about the divine, and how they reflect the artist s own spirituality. You will learn how images are used in personal devotion and how they reflect the values of their time.
RELS 363 Christianity in the Roman World 3 credits fall semester At its beginning, Christianity struggled to survive. Then, in the 4th century, it became the religion of the Roman Empire, and so the religion of people in power. This shaped many things about how culture in the western world would develop. What were the beliefs and practices, and challenges, faced by the early Christians? What happened within Christianity that would shape our world today? We will study community organization, persecution, martyrdom, and women in the church. Knowing where we come from in the western world will help us to better chart our course from here.
RELS 365 Spirituality in Medieval Christianity 3 credits winter semester Learn about spirituality in the formative years in the development of Christian thought, beginning with the legalization of Christianity in 313 CE and ending with the Reformation. Some of the most searching and intelligent men and women in both the Western and Eastern churches wrestled with the question of how it is possible to know God. Spirituality shapes our inner landscape. It also shapes how we together create and grow in our world.
RELS 374 Modern and Contemporary Islam 3 credits winter semester How we see and experience Islam in our modern world can tip the scales as we seek to live together in peace with our neighbours here at home and around the world. Learn about, and learn with Muslims, as they debate many important questions in our modern time like the role of women, Islam and the West, violence, terrorism, and human rights. Together we can make a difference.
RELS 375/SOCI 374 Islam in Canada 3 credits offered on-line spring session Muslims like non-muslims see themselves and their culture in many different ways. Learn the many perspectives in the critical debates taking place in Canada now like: integration, identity, authority, youth, education, gender, shariah in Canada (Muslim religious arbitration in civil law), media representation, discrimination, and surveillance post-9/11. Anywhere you work and live in the world, you will work and live with Muslims. We can learn to understand each other better now.
RELS 395 Be the Change I: Learning Social Justice from Gandhi 3 credits fall semester Mahatma Gandhi showed India how to end colonialism without war. His social justice activities inspired Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. to find ways to end colonialism without war. Yet colonialism has not really ended. We still have the same paradigms of thinking about power and success: we still live our lives in ways that show that we believe some people s lives have value and other people s do not. We have our own kind of slavery and our own kind of caste system with gender and racial imbalances and violence that show we are living by a same kind of thinking simply named in different ways. We will learn the alternate paradigms of thinking that influenced Gandhi, including the ancient Indian philosophic principle of non-dualism and ahimsa, or nonviolence, as taught by Buddhism and Jainism. It is with better thinking that we will find better solutions together.
RELS 397 Be the Change II: Learning Social Justice from Gandhi 3 credits winter semester Here, we will study what Gandhi can teach us about how to provoke social change in our world today. We study ways of thinking that lead to social harmony, and to social conflict, in medieval Indian Islam. We trace the rise, development and methods of implementing colonialism which continue to shape our world today. We then closely study and learn from the work of Gandhi and the leaders around him a small group of thoughtful committed citizens - who worked to de-colonise India and to remove limitations based on gender and caste. If they can do it, so can we. The success of the one at the expense of the many is failure.
RELS 328: Mind, Self and Society 3 credits - summer three weeks on-line and one week living in a Buddhist monastery in Cape Breton Pre-requisite: permission of the instructor email Dr. Adela Sandness at asandnes@stfx.ca Learn mindfulness. Learn how to meditate using the meditation technique that the Buddha used when he became enlightened! You will learn enough about meditation to establish a personal meditation practice now, or at a later time in your life. This summer course offers three weeks of learning on-line in preparation for a oneweek experience of Buddhist monastic practice to take place at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. In 2018, we will be at the monastery from August 21-28 and back on campus just in time for the school year to begin. Study will include the historical development of Buddhism, and in particular of Tibetan Buddhism, and study of the ethics and philosophy that are the basis of Buddhist practice.
RELS 398 African Origins of Christianity 3 credits fall semester There are African thinkers who were very influential in shaping early Christianity. This means that African thinkers were very influential in shaping the future direction of the western world. Learn the ideas, practices, and institutions of African Christianity from its beginnings to the present. We will study the roots of African Christianity in such authors as Cyprian and Augustine and the influence of African Christianity on the Western Church. We will conclude with selections of modern thinkers from an African heritage to explore how they have extended and adapted Christian thought.
RELS 404 Dead Sea Scrolls 3 credits winter semester The Dead Sea Scrolls are the most important archaeological discovery of the 20th century. They are ancient fragments of Jewish manuscripts that were hidden in caves in the desert 2000 years ago. They are controversial because they are from the time and place Jesus lives, and they include parts of the Bible that are 1000 years older than the manuscripts previously used to translate the Bible. They can change how we understand the Bible and the history of how Christianity arose. We will study the scrolls in their various contexts: archaeological, historical, literary, religious, and social.