RLGS 3001 Judaism (4 qtr. hrs.)
A literary and historical journey through Judaism. This course examines the "Jewish story" from its roots to its modern-day manifestations, focusing on select, classic Jewish texts in their historical contexts. From them, students will explore Jewish tradition and practice and will actively engage with and in the vivid interpretive imagination of the authors of Judaism throughout the ages.

RLGS 3151 Dead Sea Scrolls (4 qtr. hrs.)
Dead Sea Scrolls in their historical, literary and religious context in English translation, together with some relevant scholarly research.

RLGS 3192 Christian Classics (4 qtr. hrs.)
Reading and discussion of influential historic books pertaining to Christian life and devotion.

RLGS 3203 Christianity (4 qtr. hrs.)
This is an introductory course about the Christian religion, with a substantial component devoted to experiential learning. The primary goal of the course is to acquaint students with the richness, dynamism and diversity of one of the world's largest and most influential religious traditions. Even those students who have some general knowledge of Christianity benefit from the disciplined approach of the academic study of religion.

RLGS 3204 Christianity in the British Isles (4 qtr. hrs.)
It is the contention of this course that Christianity in the British Isles constitutes a singular chapter in the history of the religion and must be approached and appreciated as such.  The circumstances surrounding  Christianity's introduction to Britain—as documented by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People—presaged a destiny for the English Church that would be "peculiar."  With decidedly Roman sympathies, Bede's reforming agenda is presented as historical fait accompli.  The narrative nevertheless bears witness to the vibrant and resilient character of Celtic spirituality.  Although Henry VIII officially brought the Protestant Reformation to England from the Continent in the 1530s when he severed the English Church from the Papacy, the extent to which the Reformation in England was ever as theologically "Protestant" as it was in Europe is open to debate.  The Oxford Movement—at once reforming and catholicizing—would otherwise seem incongruous were that not the case.  Indeed, as we shall see, the notion of semper reformanda ecclesia is, perhaps, most suited to this geographical context.  Not surprisingly, playwrights, novelists, and filmmakers have found no little inspiration in Anglican reform's concomitant turmoil and intrigue.

RLGS 3212 Development of the New Testament: The Evolution and Transmission of Christian Scripture (4 qtr. hrs.)
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 qtr. hrs.)
Beliefs, feelings and actions representing human religious response of experience; function of religion in individual life.

RLGS 3302 Islamic Fundamentalism (4 qtr. hrs.)
This course introduces students to the history and scope of fundamentalist movements in the Muslim world, focusing on the Middle East.  Beginning with a look at the internal traditions of renewal and reform built around the idea of a return to the fundament or origins of Island, the course examines the rise of major movements from the 1700s to the present.  Students will engage with key questions, including: What distinguishes fundamentalism from radicalism?  How do Sunni and Shii fundamentalisms differ?  What roles have these movements played in politics and society, and how might these evolve in the future?  How might policy makers and others best approach fundamentalist groups?  A basic knowledge of Islam is assumed; students wishing to enroll without will be provided supplementary readings.

RLGS 3315 Religion & Moral Psychology (4 qtr. hrs.)
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 qtr. hrs.)
First and foremost, this is a course in Religious Studies.  It is a course about Jesus, a religious reformer of late ancient Judaism whose movement, by the end of the first century of the Common Era, gave rise to an identifiably separate tradition.  It is a course about New Testament portrayals of Jesus in the Gospels.  It is a course about contemporary, historical research on the figure of Jesus.  It is also a course about film and cinematography, about reading film critically as a "text," and, in this context, the way in which film "translates" or "transforms" Jesus into another medium.  Finally, it is a course about how Jesus films serve to convey modern cultural assumptions.

RLGS 3350 Culture, Psyche, and Religion (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 3370 Freud, Psychology, & Religion (4 qtr. hrs.)
Readings, discussion, and papers help students learn about the life, intellectual and social environment, and clinical and theoretical work of Sigmund Freud. Attention is given to the influence of Freud's work on the understanding of religion at the beginning of the 21st century.

RLGS 3381 Religion & Psychobiography (4 qtr. hrs.)
Use of different psychological theories to understand life and religious experience of individuals known through historical records.

RLGS 3400 Philosophy of Religion (4 qtr. hrs.)
Inquiries into nature of religion, religious experience, language, methods of thinking.

RLGS 3452 Political Theology (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 3460 Nietzsche & the Death of God (4 qtr. hrs.)
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 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 3475 Deleuze and Semiotics (4 qtr. hrs.)
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 3500 Islam (4 qtr. hrs.)
Introduction to the history, faith, practice, culture(s), and politics of Islam, starting with the Judeo-Christian Near Eastern context in which it emerged and tracing its theological development and geographic spread around the world. Proceeding thematically along a broad historical frame, the course ends with an examination of the numerous, often competing, trends in contemporary Muslim communities.

RLGS 3501 Pilgrimage in Islam (4 qtr. hrs.)
Introduction to the ideas and practices of pilgrimage in Islam, focusing on the hajj as Islam's paradigmatic form of pilgrimage and the one to which all others are compared, but also considering other local or "lesser" pilgrimages, often known as ziyarat or visits. The course excavates the history of the practice of pilgrimage, situating it within the social, political, economic and cultural contexts that have helped frame Muslims' understandings of the spiritual and social meanings of various kinds of pilgrimages at different times and places across the Muslim world. The course includes consideration of the hajj experiences of non-Arab Muslims through documentary and news programs, investigates contemporary re-thinkings of the meaning of "hajj", and reflects on the key geo-political and religio-political issues that may surround Muslim pilgrimage in the 21st century.

RLGS 3502 Contemporary Islam (4 qtr. hrs.)
This course introduces students to contemporary Islam. After a historical overview, the course looks thematically at different spheres of Muslim life. It considers changes that relate to political systems and forms of governance, styles of education, labor and professional work, changes in daily life habits such as timing and organization, changes in gender relations, and changes in religious authority. It also pays attention to the ways in which faith and practice are articulated through cultural practices like pop music and film.

RLGS 3503 Quran and Hadith (4 qtr. hrs.)
This writing-intensive course introduces students to the key texts of Island—the Qur'an and hadith—including their origins, and meaning as well as how they have been interpreted by Muslims over time, and focusing as well on case studies that highlight issues of crucial relevance for today and the future.

RLGS 3570 Religion and Morality in the American Public Square (4 qtr. hrs.)
Close focus on one or two moral issues in which religion is drawn into public debate in the contemporary U.S. Observation of the debate first hand at demonstrations, town meetings, and discussion groups, etc. Analysis of these observations is facilitated by readings on the subject and class discussion.

RLGS 3604 Faith & Ethics-Religion Biography (4 qtr. hrs.)
Modes of reconciling private (faith) and public (ethics) in thought and careers of selected modern individuals.

RLGS 3641 Religion and Race in America (4 qtr. hrs.)
Explores the relationship between racism and religious activism by focusing on the biographies of activists.

RLGS 3680 American Religious Experience (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 3693 Religion and the Media (4 qtr. hrs.)
Interactions between religion and all forms of communications media in American life.

RLGS 3701 Topics in Religious Studies (1 to 4 qtr. hrs.)
An exploration of various topics and issues related to the academic study of religion. The subject matter of the course varies and may be taught by the regular faculty of the department or a visiting scholar. Some offerings may include a travel component.

RLGS 3740 Bodies and Souls (4 qtr. hrs.)
This course examines the unique place of the body in biblical religion.  We ask how the Bible and its interpreters have shaped current views on sex and the gendered body in Western society.  How has the Bible been (mis)used in relation to current understandings of the physical body? Is the saying that a "human" does not have a body, but is a body as true for the Hebrew Bible as the Christian New Testament? How has Judaism and Christianity (de)valued sexuality, procreation, and celibacy?  How do the biblical traditions shape our modern opinions about the ideal physical body and body modifications? How can we understand "out-of-body" experiences and notions of death and afterlife in Western religion? Students are encouraged to interpret the Bible and their own beliefs from a uniquely embodied perspective.

RLGS 3760 Globalization and Religion: Theory and Methods (4 qtr. hrs.)
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 3813 Ritual (4 qtr. hrs.)
Classical and contemporary theories about the meaning, functions, and processes of ritual, and its relationship to "religion."

RLGS 3814 Modern Hinduism (4 qtr. hrs.)
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 qtr. hrs.)
History of ancient and medieval Hinduism, viewed through the lens of religious texts.

RLGS 3820 Buddhism (4 qtr. hrs.)
Buddhist life and thought from origins to present in India, Tibet, Japan and China.

RLGS 3890 Religion and Diaspora (4 qtr. hrs.)
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: A Biblical Perspective (4 qtr. hrs.)
This is a service learning course designed for Religious Studies undergraduate majors, though non-majors are welcome to enroll.

RLGS 3991 Independent Study (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 3992 Directed Study (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 3995 Independent Research (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4000 Theory and Methods in the Study of Religion (4 qtr. hrs.)
This course begins with a brief overview of the history of the study of religion in the west, from antiquity to the modern period.  When it reaches the modern period, the course shifts to considering "representative" theories of religion, broken down roughly along ideological and/or disciplinary lines.

RLGS 4010 Pedagogy & Teaching of Rlgn (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4050 History of Islam (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4090 Dissertation Proposal Seminar (4 to 5 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4100 Hebrew Bible Backgrounds: Seminar in Ancient Israelite Religion (4 qtr. hrs.)
This course is designed to train the student in the method and means of engaging in archeo-historical study of the Hebrew Bible.  The content of this course focuses on ancient Israelite religion in Iron Age Palestine, particularly on emergent ideas about God ('El) and the development and evolution of the priesthood.

RLGS 4105 Undrstnd Bible: Old Testament (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4119 PhD Collqm: Biblical Interp (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4122 Augustine on Genesis (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4130 Prophets of Israel (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4150 Biblical Aramaic (4 qtr. hrs.)
Reading seminar in Biblical Aramaic.  This course focuses on the vocabulary, syntax and expression of Aramaic in the Bible as well as in some related post-biblical texts (Targums, Dead Sea Scrolls, etc.).

RLGS 4191 Early Chrstn Old Test Interp (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4402 Plato: Postmodern Perspective (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4403 Kant's Religious Philosophy (5 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4404 PhD Tutorial (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4501 Intersections of Faith and Media (4 qtr. hrs.)
Using Islam and Muslim communities as case studies, this course examines the intersections between faith communities and media in the 20th and 21st centuries, looking at religious approaches to and use of print, radio, recorded voice and music, television, film, and the Internet.

RLGS 4676 Latino Religious Cultures: Methods and Theories (4 qtr. hrs.)
A survey of the freshest texts, methods, and theories for the study of religiosity among Latinos in the United States.

RLGS 4981 Internship in Rlgs Comm (1 to 4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4982 Internship in Rlgs Comm (1 to 4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4983 Internship in Rlgs Comm (1 to 4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4991 Independent Study (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4992 Directed Study (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 4995 Independent Research (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

The following classes are offered as part of the Joint PhD program with the Iliff School of Theology

RLGS 5101 PhD Collqm: Biblical Interp (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5110 Hebrew Bible Seminar I (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5111 Hebrew Bible Seminar II (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5112 Hebrew Bible Seminar III (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5113 New Testament Seminar I (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5114 New Testament Seminar II (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5115 New Testament Seminar III (4 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5301 Colloquium: Religion and Psychological Study (4 qtr. hrs.)
The course serves two main functions: (1) to gather the students and faculty of the Religion and Psychological Studies concentration of the Joint Ph.D. Program to share research and examine trends in the field and (2) to study a topic of importance to the field, be it historical, contemporary, related to a cognate field, or oriented toward a sub-specialty. Students must be in a doctoral program in order to register.

RLGS 5601 PhD Coloqm: Rlgn & Social Chg (1 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5991 Independent Study (0 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

RLGS 5995 Independent Research (1 to 10 qtr. hrs.)

For Updated Information
The Department of Religious Studies' website offers the most current information on courses, requirements, faculty, and student news.

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