Undergraduate Catalog
Religious Studies
Chair: Robert Kugler
Administrative Assistant: Claire Kodachi
As part of the Lewis & Clark programs in the humanities, the academic study of religion provides an opportunity for critical reflection on a key aspect of human culture, tradition, and experience. The extraordinary role religion has played throughout history as well as in contemporary societies provides the backdrop against which this critical inquiry takes place.
The Department of Religious Studies emphasizes the careful use of critical method along with clear and extensive writing as key tools of scholarly endeavor. As in any humanities program, students are encouraged to develop analytical skills that are of value in many graduate schools and professional fields. For students interested in Judeo-Christian origins, Lewis & Clark offers language courses in Greek, which serve as an integral part of their study and are especially important as preparation for upper-level work.
Resources for Nonmajors
All of the department's offerings are open to nonmajors. Preference is given to majors for enrollment in RELS 201 History and Theory and 400-level seminars.
Courses at the 100 and 200 levels are designed as introductory or survey courses, and none presumes a background in the field or any personal experience on the part of participants. These courses are designed to introduce not only the subject areas but also the methods of academic inquiry in the field of religion. The 200-level courses are organized in four areas (see details of the major program) reflecting the diversity of the world's religious traditions.
The majority of students taking religious studies courses are nonmajors pursuing elective interests. Many are students whose major academic interest is in another field such as art, music, history, politics, philosophy, or sociology, yet who find that some religious studies courses supplement and expand their understanding of their own fields.
Departmental Seminars
To give students opportunities to explore the departmental curriculum at an advanced level, seminars are offered each year in various areas of faculty expertise. Specific content of the seminars changes from year to year. Refer to the course list for those offered during recent academic years.
The Major Program
The field of religious studies is extremely diverse and thus the religious studies major is designed to give students a broad background in the field. The curriculum is organized in a series of levels:
100 level: Introduction to the academic study of religion.
200 level: Survey courses in four areas: Judeo-Christian origins, history of religions in the West; Islamic traditions; and religions of East Asia and India.
300 level: Exploration of specific topics introduced in 100- and 200-level courses.
400 level: Upper-division seminars in biblical studies, Western religious history, Asian religions, and Islamic traditions.
Major Requirements
A minimum of 40 semester credits (10 courses), distributed as follows:
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Four departmental core courses at the 200 level, from at least three of the following four areas: Judeo-Christian origins, the history of religions in the West, Islamic traditions, and the religions of East Asia and India.
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Four departmental courses at the 300 or 400 level (except RELS 490 Senior Thesis), at least one of which is a 450-level seminar.
-
One methods course: RELS 201 History and Theory.
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The senior thesis: RELS 490 Senior Thesis.
Relevant courses from other departments or overseas programs may, on a case-by-case basis, be substituted for one of the above requirements. Approval for such substitutions is granted by the department chair; students are responsible for submitting the appropriate forms to the registrar.
Minor Requirements
A minimum of 20 semester credits (five courses), distributed as follows:
Faculty
Alan Cole. Professor of religious studies. Asian religions, Buddhism, theory. Ph.D. 1994 University of Michigan. M.A. 1988 University of Virginia. B.A. 1985 Middlebury College.
Sylvia Frankel. Adjunct instructor in religious studies. Jewish studies.
Robert A. Kugler. Paul S. Wright Professor of Christian Studies, chair of the Department of Religious Studies, director of the Classical Studies Program. Judeo-Christian origins, Dead Sea Scrolls, early Jewish literature. Ph.D. 1994 University of Notre Dame. M.Div. 1984 Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. B.A. 1979 Lewis & Clark College.
Monica R. Miller. Visiting assistant professor of religious studies. African American religion and culture. Ph.D. 2010 Chicago Theological Seminary. M.A. 2006 Drew University. B.A. 2004 Fordham University.
Susanna Morrill. Associate professor of religion. Religion in America. Ph.D. 2002, M.A. 1993 University of Chicago. B.A. 1989 Bryn Mawr College.
Paul R. Powers. Associate professor of religious studies, director of Core Curriculum. Islamic studies. Ph.D. 2001, M.A. 1992 University of Chicago Divinity School. B.A. 1990 Carleton College.
RELS 101 Themes in Religious Studies
Faculty: Religious Studies Faculty.
Content: Introduction to various themes, theories, and
methods in the academic study of religion.
Selected topics illustrating how religious
discourses are formed, develop, and interact with
other spheres of human thought and action.
Historical, literary, and sociological approaches
to a variety of religious phenomena, such as
scripture, religious biography, material culture,
film, ritual performance.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 201 History and Theory
Faculty: Cole, Kugler, Morrill, Powers.
Content: History of the field. Psychological, literary,
anthropological, sociological, and historical
approaches to the study of religion. Readings by
major theorists. Should normally be taken no later
than the junior year.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 224 Jewish Origins
Faculty: Kugler.
Content: Exploration of early Judaism, from circa 450
B.C.E. to 200 C.E. Focus on the development of the
religion in the multicultural, pluralistic context
of the Greco-Roman world. Study of the
archaeological and written evidence for Jewish
origins (i.e., the archaeology and literature of
pre-Jewish Israelite religion and of early Jewish
communities in Egypt and Palestine, the Hebrew
Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the related
excavations at Qumran, documentary and literary
texts of Jews in Egypt, and related archaeological
evidence). Analysis of key themes in the study of
early Judaism (i.e., gender, colonialism,
multiculturalism and identity, early Judaism's
relationship to earliest Christianity)
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 225 Christian Origins
Faculty: Kugler.
Content: Exploration of early Christianity, from the turn
of the eras to 400 C.E. Focus on the development
of the religion in the multicultural, pluralistic
context of the Greco-Roman world. Study of the
archaeological and written evidence for Christian
origins (i.e., the archaeology of Jerusalem, the
Galilee, and the Dead Sea Scrolls community; the
New Testament, the writings of "orthodox" and
"heretical" early Christian thinkers, the Dead Sea
Scrolls, and other relevant Judean texts).
Analysis of key themes in early Christian studies
(i.e., gender, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, early
Christianity's relationship to early Judaism,
Christianity and empire)
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 241 Religion and Culture of Hindu India
Faculty: Cole.
Content: Introduction to Hinduism in its Indian cultural
context, with focus on theories of sacrifice,
fertility, and discipline. Studies in classic
Hindu sacred texts, with careful readings of myths
of order and productivity. Analysis of
reconstructed postcolonial Hinduism. Emphasis on
studying religion from a critical and comparative
perspective.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Every third year, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 242 Religions and Cultures of East Asia
Faculty: Cole.
Content: Chinese and Japanese worldviews. Confucianism,
Taoism, Buddhism, Shintoism: their origins,
development, interactions. Mutual influence of
folk and elite traditions, expansion of Buddhism
and its adaptation to different sociopolitical
environments, effects of modernization on
traditional religious institutions.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 243 Buddhism: Theory, Culture, and Practice
Faculty: Cole.
Content: Development of Buddhism in India and Tibet with
emphasis on issues of purity, power, and
asceticism as they are portrayed in classic
Buddhist texts. Special attention given to
Buddhist institutions and their rationales.
Buddhist philosophy. Critiques of 20th-century
misconceptions of Buddhism.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 251 Medieval Christianity
Faculty: Westervelt.
Content: Formation and development of Western Christianity
from late antiquity through the late medieval
period (circa 250 to 1450 C.E.). The relation of
popular piety to institutional and high cultural
expressions of Christianity. Issues such as
Christianity and the late Roman empire, the
papacy, monasticism, religious art and
architecture, and heresy and hierarchy discussed
using theological texts, social histories, popular
religious literature.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 253 Religion in American History to the Civil War
Faculty: Morrill.
Content: Introduction to major themes and movements in
American religious history from colonial origins
to the Civil War. Consideration of Native American
religious traditions, colonial settlement, slavery
and slave religion, revivalism, religion and the
revolution, growth of Christian denominationalism,
origins of Mormonism, using a comparative approach
in the effort to understand diverse movements.
Central themes: revival and religious renewal,
appropriation of Old Testament language by various
groups (Puritans, African Americans, Mormons),
democratization of religion.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 254 Religion in Modern America, 1865 to Present
Faculty: Morrill.
Content: Impact of religion in modern America from the end
of the Civil War to the present day, emphasizing
the interaction between America's many religions
and emerging American modernity. The fate of
"traditional" religion in modern America;
"alternate" American religious traditions;
urbanization, industrialism, and religion;
science, technology, and secularism;
evangelicalism, modernism, and fundamentalism;
religious bigotry; pluralism; new religions and
neofundamentalism.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 262 Judaism Encounters Modernity
Faculty: Frankel.
Content: Exploration of how the emancipation period in
Europe transformed the Jewish world, beginning in
the latter part of the 18th century. Includes some
of the early personalities, such as Moses
Mendelssohn, Samson Raphael Hirsch, Leopold Zunz;
the emergence of new denominations in Europe in
the 19th century, such as the Reform and
neo-Orthodox movements; and denominations
developed in the United States in the 20th
century.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 273 Islamic Origins
Faculty: Powers.
Content: Major religious and sociohistorical developments
in the Islamic world from circa 600 to 1300 C.E.
Focus on the Qur'an, Muhammad, early Islamic
expansions and dynasties, and interactions with
non-Muslims. Examination of the formation of
orthodox beliefs and practices (e.g., theology,
ritual, law), contestation over religious ideals
and political power, and the emergence of Shi'ite
and Sufi Islam.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 274 Islam in the Modern World
Faculty: Powers.
Content: The religious, social, and political dynamics of
the Islamic world, circa 1300 C.E. to present,
especially the 19th-21st centuries. Earlier
developments (e.g., the Qur'an, Muhammad, Muslim
dynasties) considered in relation to the modern
context. European colonialism, postcolonial
change, reform and "fundamentalist" movements,
Sufism, Muslim views of "modernity," and changing
understandings of politics, gender, and relations
with non-Muslims.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required, unless section number is
preceded by an "F."
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 299 Independent Study
Faculty: Cole, Kugler, Morrill, Powers.
Content: Individual study directed by selected faculty.
Determined in consultation with faculty, study
focuses on bibliographic development and analysis
of the literature on a topic otherwise not covered
in depth in the curriculum. Major paper required.
May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and consent required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.
RELS 330 Jesus: History, Myth, and Mystery
Faculty: Kugler.
Content: Survey of the history of cultural appropriations
of Jesus through the centuries, ending with the
contemporary search for the historical Jesus and
its pop culture congeners. A case study in the
appropriation of a classical religious figure.
Gospel records; evidence of other ancient sources,
including noncanonical gospels; early Christian
writings; Western cultural appropriations of
Jesus; and Jesus in modern film and literature.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 333 Apocalyptic Imagination
Faculty: Kugler.
Content: For centuries Jews and Christians have sought to
make sense of human existence through apocalyptic
speculation, stimulating along the way a parallel
secular apocalyptic imagination. Exploration of
the interplay between religious and secular
apocalyptic and the sociohistorical and cultural
realities it responded to and engendered. A focus
on early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic from the
6th century B.C.E. to the 3rd century C.E. and
selected instances of apocalyptic through the 21st
century C.E. Resources include archaeological
evidence, literature, art, music, and film.
Prerequisites: One 200-level Religious Studies course.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 334 Lost Books of Early Judaism
Faculty: Kugler.
Content: Jews of the Persian and Greco-Roman periods
produced many literary works written in Greek.
Later, rabbinic Judaism prohibited these books not
only because of the language in which they were
written, but also because they were so heavily
influenced by the literature, thought, and social
world of Classical Greek and Hellenistic culture.
Analyzing these Jewish texts and corollary
Classical literature provides a window on lost
forms of Judaism at its infancy and on the
relationship between religious traditions and
cultural contexts.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 340 Women in American Religious History
Faculty: Religious Studies Faculty.
Content: Women's experience of religion in America from the
colonial era to the present. The relationship
between gender and religious beliefs and
practices. Religion as means of oppression and
liberation of women. Relations of lay women and
male clergy. Women religious leaders. Diverse
movements and cultures including Native American,
colonial society, immigrant communities, and
radical religionists from Anne Hutchinson to Mary
Daly.
Prerequisites: RELS 253 or RELS 254 recommended.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 341 Religions of the Northwest
Faculty: Morrill.
Content: Exploration of the religious history of the
Pacific Northwest, with a focus on Oregon and
Washington. Examination of the religious
traditions of regional Native American tribes,
early Protestant missions, and the growth of
Catholicism and Mormonism in the region, as well
as recent immigrant religions (such as Vietnamese
Buddhism), nondenominational Christian groups, and
alternative forms of spirituality. Using
theoretical models from religious studies to
consider why the Northwest does not carry the
imprint of a dominant religious tradition or
traditions, as most other regions of the country
do.
Prerequisites: RELS 253, RELS 254, or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 354 The Invention of Buddhist Literature
Faculty: Cole.
Content: Survey of the first writings in Buddhism (circa
first century C.E.). Exploration of the nature of
narrative, the role of art in the invention of new
forms of tradition, and the way media developments
shifted the concerns of the Buddhist tradition.
Emphasis on reviewing relevant theories of
narrative from the 20th century.
Prerequisites: RELS 243 or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 355 Sufism: Islamic Mysticism
Content: The historical roots and branches of Sufi Islam,
including the search for the "inner meaning" of
the Qur'an, complex metaphysical formulations,
ascetic assertions, meditation practices,
devotional ruminations on love, and Sufi poetry
and music. Discussion of the important role of
Sufism in the spread of Islam. Muslim critiques of
Sufism and Sufi responses.
Prerequisites: RELS 273 or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 373 Reformations of the 16th Century
Content: A historical perspective on the various religious
movements, collectively known as the Protestant
Reformation, that marked Europe's transition from
the medieval to the early modern period (circa
1400 to 1600). Review of medieval religious
patterns. The status of Catholic institutions and
ideas in crises of the late medieval period, the
theologies of Luther and Calvin, radical
movements, the political background of the
Reformation, and Catholic responses to
Protestantism. Readings and discussions
concentrate on recent social historiography of the
Reformation. Popular appeal of Protestant
religiosity, social implications of Calvinism,
roles of women in the Reformation, family patterns
and the Reformation, class structure and competing
religious cultures, Catholicism and rural society.
Prerequisites: RELS 251 or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 376 Religious Fundamentalism
Content: The perceptions and realities of religious
resurgence in a supposedly secularizing world.
Focus on the historical, theological, social, and
political aspects of Christian and Islamic
fundamentalism. Themes include secularization
theories and their critics, changing
understandings of religion and modernity,
connections among religion, politics, violence,
sexuality/gender, and identity.
Prerequisites: RELS 254 or RELS 274, or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
Departmental Seminars
RELS 450 Seminar: Social and Religious World of Early Judaism and Christianity
Faculty: Kugler.
Content: Recent research into the relationship between the
social setting of early Judaism and Christianity
and the texts both religions produced. Special
attention to the sociohistorical aspects of
selected regional expressions of Judaism and
Christianity (e.g., Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt).
Readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish
pseudepigrapha, the New Testament, other early
Christian literature, and media interpretations of
Judaism and Christianity to the present. Emphasis
on original student research. With instructor
consent, may be taken twice for credit.
Prerequisites: RELS 224 or RELS 225 or consent.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 451 Seminar in American Religion
Faculty: Morrill.
Content: Major trends in American religion from the
Puritans to the feminist and liberation theologies
of the 20th century. Intensive reading of works by
major American figures and scholars. With
instructor consent, may be taken twice for credit.
Prerequisites: RELS 253 or RELS 254, or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 452 Seminar in Asian Religions
Faculty: Religious Studies Faculty.
Content: Advanced interdisciplinary seminar on the matrix
of religion, politics, and literature with a focus
on Asian theories of pleasure, power, and
sanctity. Comparative analysis of notions of
self-identity, the body, and perfection through
investigation of myth and ritual. With instructor
consent, may be taken twice for credit.
Prerequisites: RELS 242 or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 453 Seminar in Islamic Studies: Islamic Law
Content: The religio-legal traditions of Islam, the efforts
to develop a comprehensive set of behavior guides
derived from the Qur'an, the exemplary behavior of
the Prophet, and other sources. Topics include
legal history; efforts at modernization and
reform; the formation of the major schools of law;
legal theory and methods for deriving rules from
sacred texts; the rules of ritual, civil, and
criminal law; political theory; adjudication and
court procedure; Islamic law and the colonial
encounter; legal expressions of gender roles; and
historical case studies.
Prerequisites: RELS 273 or consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 455 Themes in History of Religions
Content: Study of a selected theme in the history of
religions (e.g., interiority; construction of the
self; notions of the sacred; scripture;
development of tradition) from diverse theoretical
and methodological perspectives.
Prerequisites: Completion of a religious studies course at the 200 level or
higher.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 490 Senior Thesis
Faculty: Cole, Kugler, Morrill, Powers.
Content: Advanced readings and major works in religion. In
consultation with faculty, selection of a thesis
topic and further reading in the discipline and
research in the topic area. Substantial written
document demonstrating mastery of theory and
methodology in the study of religion and the
ability to integrate these into the thesis topic.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Senior standing or consent of instructor required.
Usually offered: Annually.
Semester credits: 4.
RELS 499 Independent Study
Faculty: Cole, Kugler, Morrill, Powers.
Content: Individual study directed by selected faculty.
Determined in consultation with faculty, study
focuses on primary research, methodological
concerns, and bibliography on a topic of mutual
interest to the student and faculty director.
Major paper required. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and consent required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.
Programs of Study