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Welcome to Introduction to Comparative Religion
Welcome to Introduction to Comparative Religion.
People everywhere pray, tell sacred stories, mark births and deaths, gather in holy places, and ask what a good life requires. But they do these things in very different ways, and they mean different things by them. Comparative religion is the careful study of those similarities and differences.
This course is organized by theme rather than by tradition. You will look at how scholars define and explain religion, and how their theories have been challenged. Then you will compare how traditions understand the sacred, tell sacred stories, practice ritual, keep holy time and holy places, shape ethics and community, and face death.
Comparison done carelessly can flatten or rank other people’s faiths. Done well, it builds understanding. Throughout the course you will practice comparing fairly, describing each tradition as its own followers would recognize it.
How This Course Works
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | None. Titles and degrees begin with ordination through the Ordination Orientation. |
| Pace | Self-paced. Most students finish in four to six weeks, studying about four to five hours a week. There are no deadlines. |
| Structure | Eight modules. Each module has a lesson, a reading assignment, and a ten-question quiz. |
| Book report | Read one of the books offered, pass its ten-question quiz, and write a one-paragraph summary, after Module 8. |
| Final exam | Fifteen multiple-choice questions and one essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words, taken after Module 8. |
| Credit | 3 credit hours toward further titles and degrees. |
Grading
| Part | To pass |
|---|---|
| Module quizzes (8) | Pass each with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report quiz (10 questions) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report summary (one paragraph) | Approved by the school |
| Final exam, Part 1 (multiple choice) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Final exam, Part 2 (one essay, 1,500 to 2,000 words) | Approved by the school |
Required texts
- Nine Theories of Religion, Daniel L. Pals (third edition)
- The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea Eliade
- The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth, Wendy Doniger
Many of these books are available from public libraries, used bookstores, and as ebooks.
What you will study
Module 1: What Is Religion? Module 2: Why Do People Have Religion? Theories and Their Critics Module 3: The Sacred and Ultimate Reality Module 4: Sacred Story: Myth and Scripture Module 5: Ritual and Practice Module 6: Sacred Time and Sacred Space Module 7: Ethics, Community, and Authority Module 8: Death, the Afterlife, and Comparing Fairly
Book report choices
The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea Eliade; The Implied Spider, Wendy Doniger
Academic honesty
All written work must be your own. You may quote and discuss the course readings and other sources, but you must say where the words and ideas came from. Submitting work written by someone else, including work generated entirely by AI tools, is not permitted.