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Department of Religious Studies

Course Descriptions

RLGS 2001 Theory & Method for Rlgs Stds (4 credits)
This course provides a historical and theoretical introduction to issues, thinkers, and texts in the academic study of religion. Topics covered include the development of religious studies as distinct from Christian theology; definitive questions and problems within the discipline; and the study of religions in relation to race, class, and gender realities.
RLGS 3001 Judaism (4 credits)
Basic concepts, documents, movements and practices of classical Judaism from antiquity to the present.
RLGS 3050 Islam (4 credits)
RLGS 3062 Israel in the Ancient World (4 credits)
Social, political, economic and religious history of Jews in biblical times and their relations with contemporary states, empires, and religions.
RLGS 3101 Bible History & Archeology (4 credits)
RLGS 3114 Women and The Bible (4 credits)
Place of woman in biblical narratives as well as legal position of women in Israelite society and use of feminine imagery in the Bible.
RLGS 3130 Prophets of Israel (4 credits)
Development of prophecy in ancient Israel, beginning with early forms of mantic divination and continuing to classical prophesy and its role within Israelite thought.
RLGS 3151 Dead Sea Scrolls (4 credits)
Dead Sea Scrolls in their historical, literary and religious context in English translation, together with some relevant scholarly research.
RLGS 3165 Life & Teachings of Jesus (4 credits)
Intensive review of Gospels (especially Synoptics) and examination of selected modern attempts to reconstruct events lying behind them.
RLGS 3170 Life & Letters of Paul (4 credits)
Intensive review of Paul's letters and examination of some modern attempts to reconstruct events and thought behind them.
RLGS 3192 Christian Classics (4 credits)
Reading and discussion of influential historic books pertaining to Christian life and devotion.
RLGS 3203 Christianity (4 credits)
RLGS 3204 Christianity in British Isles (4 credits)
A study of Christianity in the British Isles -- its origins, earliest forms of expression, reformation, and subsequent development -- approached as a distinct chapter in the history of religion.
RLGS 3212 Development of New Testement (4 credits)
Using a variety of critical methods, this course explores the social, political, and religious influences that shaped the New Testament as it was written, copied, edited, canonized, and translated into its current forms. Students will perform a variety of exercises in class to illustrate the complicated process by which the New Testament was formed.
RLGS 3300 Psychology of Religion (4 credits)
Beliefs, feelings and actions representing human religious response of experience; function of religion in individual life.
RLGS 3302 Islamic Fundamentalism (4 credits)
This course examines the rise and appeal of Islamic Fundamentalism. Why and when did the fundamentalist movements begin? Why do many Muslims find the fundamentalist movements appealing? In documenting the growth and appeal of fundamentalist religious tenets among segments of the Islamic community, it becomes apparent that the fundamentalist enterprise has become or seeks to be a potent force on the geo-political stage. The course also compares and contrasts the diverse movements. It will be argued that there are more differences than similarities between the fundamentalist movements. No prior knowledge of Islam is required.
RLGS 3315 Rlgn & Moral Psychology (4 credits)
Philosophical foundations and research strategies of psychological studies of moral thought; Aristotelian, Kantian and utilitarian thought included, as well as religious dimensions of morality.
RLGS 3318 Jesus on the Silver Screen (4 credits)
RLGS 3350 Culture, Psyche, and Religion (4 credits)
RLGS 3381 Religion & Psychobiography (4 credits)
Use of different psychological theories to understand life and religious experience of individuals known through historical records.
RLGS 3400 Philosophy of Religion (4 credits)
Inquiries into nature of religion, religious experience, language, methods of thinking.
RLGS 3405 God (4 credits)
RLGS 3452 Political Theology (4 credits)
RLGS 3460 Nietzsche & the Death of God (4 credits)
This course will involve an intensive reading and discussion of Friedrich Nietzsche's 'Thus Spake Zarathustra,' together with relevant associated materials, especially 'The Gay Science.'
RLGS 3465 Derrida and Postmodernism (4 credits)
RLGS 3475 Deleuze and Semiotics (4 credits)
Examines the development of the thought of the famous French postmodern thinker Gilles Deleuze with special attention to his cultural and semiotic theory to the degree that it is relevant to the philosophy of religion. The course also investigates how Deleuze's work has shaped, and is beginning to push in new directions, contemporary postmodern philosophy. Prerequisite: must be at least junior standing and have completed at least two undergraduate courses in philosophy.
RLGS 3490 Sem: Philosophies of Religion (4 credits)
RLGS 3570 Rel & Morality Amer Pub Square (4 credits)
RLGS 3604 Faith & Ethics-Rlgn Biography (4 credits)
Modes of reconciling private (faith) and public (ethics) in thought and careers of selected modern individuals.
RLGS 3641 Religion and Race in America (4 credits)
Explores the relationship between racism and religious activism by focusing on the biographies of activists.
RLGS 3680 American Religious Experience (4 credits)
RLGS 3693 Religion and the Media (4 credits)
Interactions between religion and all forms of communications media in American life.
RLGS 3701 Topics in Religious Studies (4 credits)
RLGS 3707 Religion and Film (4 credits)
RLGS 3740 Bodies and Souls (4 credits)
RLGS 3750 Food and Religion (4 credits)
This course examines the relationship between religion and food. Class sessions will be organized according to theme and religious tradition: e.g., Christian feasting and fasting; divine food and drink in Hinduism; religious meanings of eating, digesting, etc.
RLGS 3760 Globalization and Religion (4 credits)
This course explores how religious movements around the world both affect, and are affected by, the process of globalization. A major segment of the course is devoted to various theories of globalization and how they account for the increasingly important role of religion. Focus is largely on the relationship between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
RLGS 3770 Religion and Violence (4 credits)
RLGS 3813 Ritual (4 credits)
Classical and contemporary theories about the meaning, functions, and processes of ritual, and its relationship to "religion."
RLGS 3814 Modern Hinduism (4 credits)
Doctrines, practices and history of South Asian Hinduism; conceptions of Gods and gods; image worship and temples; and the influences of caste and gender of the experience of Hinduism.
RLGS 3816 Hinduism Through Texts (4 credits)
History of ancient and medieval Hinduism, viewed through the lens of religious texts.
RLGS 3820 Buddhism (4 credits)
Buddhist life and thought from origins to present in India, Tibet, Japan and China.
RLGS 3880 Islam in Modern Times (4 credits)
Islam's encounter with the west through dialogue and confrontation; topics covered include fundamentalism, modernization, assimilation, and isolationism.
RLGS 3881 Islam in America (4 credits)
This course traces the genesis of the Muslim presence in America, the reasons for its rapid expansion, and how extraneous factors impinge on the Muslim community here.
RLGS 3885 Islamic Mysticism (4 credits)
The origins and development of Islamic mysticism, including ascetism and the Sufi orders.
RLGS 3887 Quran and Hadith (4 credits)
An examination of major themes of the Qur'an, the origins and development of the tafsir (commentary) and the canonization of Islamic hadith literature. Also discusses how different groups sought to impose their interpretive voices in the Qur'anic exegtical literature.
RLGS 3890 Religion and Diaspora (4 credits)
When forced to leave a homeland, displaced communities frequently turn to religion to maintain identity and adapt to - or resist - new surrounding culture(s). This course examines the role of religion and identity in three Jewish and Christian communities living in diaspora and poses questions such as: What is the relationship between religion and (home)land? How have the biblical themes of exodus, diaspora, promise and restoration been applied to contemporary experiences? And how have our American stories been interpreted through the lens of the Bible? As part of the service learning component, students have the opportunity to work with religious and immigrant aid organizations in the Denver community.
RLGS 3891 Justice: Biblical Perspective (4 credits)
This is a service learning course designed for Religious Studies undergraduate majors; although, non-majors are welcome to enroll.