Religion Department Course List: Fall 2025
RN 100
Introduction to Religion
Yair Lior | MWF, 10:10AM-11:00AM
Religion matters. It makes meaning and provides structure to life, addressing fundamental
questions about body, spirit, community, and time. But what is it? How does it work in our
world? This course explores religion in ritual, philosophical, experiential, and ethical dimensions. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings,
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation
RN 101/JS 120
The Bible
Michael Zank | MWF, 12:20PM-1:10PM
Introduction to the great canonical anthologies of Jews and Christians. Students will learn to read for historical context and genre conventions; study classical and modern strategies of interpretation; and create a collaborative commentary or piece of “fan-fiction.” Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
RN 103
Religions of Asia
April Hughes | MWF, 10:10AM-11:00AM
Study of Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto. Focus on the world view of each tradition and the historical development of that world view. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Teamwork/Collaboration.
RN 106
Death and Immortality
Kecia Ali | MWF, 11:15AM-12:05PM
Examines death as religious traditions have attempted to accept, defeat, deny, or transcend it. Do we have souls? Do they reincarnate? What to do with a corpse? Other topics include mourning, burial, cremation, martyrdom, resurrection, near-death experiences. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation.
CAS RN111
Multireligious America
James Hill Jr. | TR, 12:30PM-1:45PM
Introduction to American religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, with an emphasis on developments after 1965, when new legislation opened up immigration and dramatically altered the American religious landscape. Exploration of interreligious interactions: conflict, cooperation, and creolization. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
CAS RN 200:
Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion
Teena Purohit | T/R 9:30AM-10:45AM
Origins and history of the academic study of religion. Different constructions of religion as an object of study and the methods that arise from them. The role of the humanities and social sciences in understanding religion’s place in history and contemporary experience. this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS RN202/JS211/STH TN808
From Jesus to Christ
David Frankfurter | TR, 11:00AM-12:15PM
New Testament and other early Christian writings: first, to place Jesus of Nazareth in the religious and social context of Second Temple Judaism and the Roman empire; and second, to explain the origins and growth of Christian beliefs, practices, and social formations up to the second century. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
CAS RN216
Judaism
Jonathan Klawans | T/R, 12:30PM-1:45PM
Systematic and historical introduction to doctrines, customs, literature, and movements of Judaism; biblical religion and literature; rabbinic life and thought; medieval mysticism and philosophy; modern movement and developments. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
RN 245/PH 245
The Quest for God and the Good
Diana Lobel | MWF, 1:25PM-2:15PM
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120), – An interactive seminar, investigating the meaning and purpose of human life, the significance of God or an Absolute, the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual quest, relationships between philosophy and religious thought, East and West. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Effective Fall 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.
CAS RN 246
Sex, Death, and the Buddha
April Hughes | MWF, 1:25PM-2:15PM
An exploration of various Buddhist understandings of the ideal human life. Topics examined include: karma and rebirth, nonviolence and war, human and animal rights, suicide and euthanasia, as well as abortion and contraception. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Teamwork/Collaboration.
RN 296/AA 296
Religion and Hip Hop
Margarita Guillory | MWF, 10:10AM-11:00AM
Uses digital media studies to explore diverse religious expressions in hip hop culture. Through critical reading, community field trips, and hands-on technology usage, students consider an often overlooked element in the study of hip hop culture: religion. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
RN 312/GRS RN 612
Buddhism in America
Laura Harrington | T/R, 2:00PM-3:15PM
The transplantation and transformation of Buddhism in the United States. Time period ranges from the eighteenth century to the present, but the emphasis is on contemporary developments, including the new Asian immigration, Jewish Buddhism, feminization, and engaged Buddhism.
RN328/JS 255/RN 628/STH TX 828
Judaism in the Modern Period
Steven Katz | T/R, 3:30PM-4:45PM
Encounters between Judaism and modernity from the Renaissance and Reformation; the Spanish expulsion and creation of Jewish centers in the New World; emancipation and its consequences; assimilation, Reform Judaism, Zionism, the American Jewish community, non-European communities, Jewish global migration, and modern antisemitism. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
CAS RN 337/JS 377/WS 337/HI 205
Gender, Sexuality, and Judaism
Deeana Klepper T/R, 11:00AM-12:15PM
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). – Explores the role of gender and sexuality in Judaism and Jewish experience, historically and in the present. Subjects include constructions of masculinity and femininity, attitudes toward (and uses of) the body and sexuality, gendered nature of religious practice and authority. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
RN 338/PH495/JS348/STH TT 811/RN 638: Philosophy and Mysticism: Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
Diana Lobel | T/R, 12:30PM-1:45PM
Prereq: First Year Writing Seminar; and one course from among the following: Philosophy, Religion, Core Curriculum (CC101 and/or CC102). A thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain. This course fulfills single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings. CAS RN384/JS260/GRS.
Tentative: CAS RN 364/GRS RN 664/STH TX 878
Buddhist Literature
Laura Harrington | T/R, 11:00AM-12:15PM
What do Buddhist texts seek to do, and how do they do it? How are Buddhist texts deployed to engender personal and social transformation? Focusing on works from Indian, Tibetan, and Euro-American Buddhist traditions, we will explore these questions through varied literary genre, including Pāli folktales, Sanskrit poetry. canonical discourses, autobiography and contemporary socially engaged Buddhist writings. Particular attention will be given to the shifting valuation of embodiment in varied Buddhist works. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Teamwork/Collaboration.
RN 396/PH 466/PH 646/STH TX 850/GRS RN 696
Philosophy of Religion
Michael Zank | M, 6:30PM-9:15PM
Critical investigation of the limits of human knowledge and the theoretical and practical demands for meaning attached to notions of God, providence, immortality, and other metaphysical conditions of human thriving, from Plato to modern philosophies of religion. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking
CAS RN 406/GRS RN 706/STH TN 850
Biblical Fakes and Forgeries
Jonathan Klawans | R, 3:30PM-6:15PM
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Religion, philosophy, or archaeology majors or minors with junior or senior standing, or consent of instructor. – Examines issues regarding forged documents and artifacts relating to the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Examples of forgeries (alleged and certain) include: book of Daniel, Letter of Aristeas, Gnostic Gospels, Secret Gospel of Mark; forged Scrolls in museum collections. Examines forged documents and artifacts relating to Hebrew Bible and New Testament, probing historical and ethical questions they raise. Examples (alleged and certain forgeries) include: book of Daniel, Gnostic Gospels, Secret Gospel of Mark, and forged Dead Sea Scroll fragments. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
CAS RN 409/GRS RN 709
Cults and Charisma
David Frankfurter | T/R, 2:00PM-3:15PM
Examines religious sects, new religions, and charismatic leadership using case- studies from history and the contemporary world, as well as analytical principles from religious studies and anthropology. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I. Pre-req: undergraduates who have taken RN 200 and/or RN 355, and with consent of instructor.
RN 416/AA 416//RN GRS 716/AA 616: Religion, Race, and Climate Change
James Hill Jr. | M, 2:30PM-5:15PM
A multi-disciplinary course delving into the influence of and race on human behavior and non-human, planetary realities at local and global scales. It focuses on the historical, systemic, and societal implications associated with ongoing climate change debates. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry I.
CAS RN 460/CAS RN 760/STH TX805 /CAS JS 460
Seminar on the Holocaust
Steven Katz | M, 2:30 PM-5:15 PM
This course will examine historical, ethical and religious issues arising from the Holocaust. We will discuss antisemitism and ideology; what communities were considered “other”; human motivation regarding collaborators, perpetrators and bystanders; the role of individuals, organizations and governments; the treatment of women; the ethics of resistance; the behavior of the Jewish Councils; and attitudes to the existence of God during and after the Holocaust. We will also compare the Holocaust to contemporary crises now occurring around the world. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness.
CAS RN466/GRS RN766/STH TX854
Tolerance
Adam Seligman | TR, 9:30AM-10:45AM
Explores the religious roots of tolerance as an alternative to secular, more liberal foundations for pluralism. Grapples with the challenge of tolerance to the revealed religions and the ways different societies have met or failed to meet this challenge. Presents multiple case-studies and contemporary connections, explores relevance to students own experiences. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, The Individual in the Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.