BA Hons. in Religion (TR041)

The variety of terms used to designate the ‘Hebrew Bible’ (e.g., Old Testament, Hebrew Scriptures, Tanak) indicate the richness of traditions related to these writings, the various ways that they are viewed, and also their life within different communities at different times.

This module will orient students to the literary and theological contours of the Hebrew canon, introducing them to the rich variety of genres within.

The lectures will focus on the formation and transmission of the text and how it grew out of the context of the ancient Near East. 

It will also invite the student to encounter the primary texts of various sections of this great ‘library’ including the Pentateuch, the historiographical literature, the prophets, the Psalms and the Wisdom literature. Students will also be introduced to the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls and how their discovery contributes to our understanding of the text and ‘canon’ of the Hebrew Bible in the Second Temple Period.

The writings included in the canon of the New Testament have been composed by different authors over a relatively long period of time. Translated in countless languages, the stories and ideas found in the New Testament have played a major role in shaping socio-political, ethical and religious discourses across the centuries and in different cultures and have been a constant source of inspiration in art, music and literature.

In this module, students will learn about the most relevant scholarly approaches to the study of the New Testament and its background in Second Temple Judaism and in the Graeco-Roman world, examine the variety of literary genres and the diversity of sources and traditions, which contributed to the development of early Christianity and to the formation of new religious and cultural realities in the Graeco-Roman world, and be introduced to the history of interpretation of the New Testament in antiquity and in contemporary culture. 

The course will introduce the students to the concepts of textuality and method, studying classical definitions of theology from Gregory of Nyssa, Anselm and Aquinas through to, and concentrating on, more recent formulations of theology’s task from modern theologians such as Jurgen Moltmann, Elizabeth Johnson, and Willie James Jennings. The different methodological approaches to the study of religion will be introduced, and the different ways of conducting the task of theology will be too. In the course of the module, attention will be drawn to patterns of continuity or discontinuity, agreement and conflict in the texts studied. The purpose is to train students to integrate critical, conceptual and historical skills in the reading of theological texts.

The module examines key questions in the theological tradition. This will give an introduction to the richness of theology as a discipline, while addressing the question of the nature of theology as an academic subject within the university.  

The module will begin with a consideration of the nature of ethics argumentation and its application in contemporary issues. Students will be introduced to schools of ethics in philosophy and theology (virtue, autonomy, utility, the common good), the scope and limits of obligations (cosmopolitan and communitarian), professional ethics, and national and international agreements and conventions, with examples drawn from across the globe: dam building in India; migration and  displacement, international food security; sustainable transport; biodiversity conservation;  ‘smart’ technologies; so-called artificial intelligence  and the future of work; genetic ‘enhancement’ of future generations and ‘advance directives’ in dying. 

Theological ethics, as the focus of this module, is a genre of ethics that asks how diverse Christianities imagine everyday ethical principles and moral value. This module serves as an introduction to theological ethics —in the first half of the module—the sources often called upon by theologians in ethical discernment, and—in the second half—engaging some of the major themes and styles in contemporary theological ethics. 

Religion as a cultural reality is interrelated with possibly all aspects of human life, such as the formation of social communities, kin and gender relations; identity building; politics; healing practices;  art and literature, and what counts as knowlege in a society. Hence, studying the role of religions in their cultural context requires a broad range of approaches and methods. 

After a critical introduction to the history of the Academic Study of Religion and its colonial, philosophical, and religious context the module gives an overview of the major approaches to the Study of Religion, both the “classical” approaches (sociology, anthropology, and psychology of religion) and more recently developed ones, such as the economy or the aesthetics of religion. 

Examples taken from different religious traditions and from the students’ own field observations provide the basis for exploring the relationships between religion and culture and how they are studied as an important factor of how humans live in a complex world.

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world today. This module surveys its emergence, development, beliefs and practices, the 7th century into modernity. 

This module introduces key social, cultural, and religious aspects of Jewish thought and practice from antiquity to our own time. The focus of this module is on Judaism as a major world religion that has shaped Western Civilization. Rabbinic textual traditions that underpin Jewish religious thought—especially the Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrashim—are explored.

Calendar, festivals (esp. Day of Atonement, New Year, Festival of Booths, Passover, Hanukkah), and rites of passage (e.g., birth, circumcision, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, marriage, divorce, death) are studied both within the classroom as well as, when appropriate, in visits to local Jewish synagogues and museums. Contemporary Jewish movements and the history of their traditions come into view along with their different beliefs and practices (e.g., kashrut, Sabbath, worship, prayer).  

The module offers an overview of Western philosophy and analyses the questions treated in its main branches.  Beginning with the Greeks as the founders of the Western philosophical tradition, key texts and ideas relating to Presocratic philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle will be studied with a particular emphasis on metaphysical questions about the nature of reality and of the soul. 

The medieval era will be studied primarily through the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, with particular emphasis on his use of an Aristotelian approach to metaphysical notions of substance and soul, as well as his arguments for the existence of God.

The study of modern philosophy will focus on Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein. In this part of the course we will explore the views of these thinkers on questions like: What is knowledge, and is it possible? How is the mind related to the body? What is meant by virtue ethics? What is the relation between language and the world? Students will be taught how to critically engage with the various philosophical positions. 

Employing literary sources as well as inscriptions, funerary art and ancient iconography, and other archaeological finds, this module investigates the religious beliefs and practice of the various peoples and civilisations of the ancient Mediterranean from ancient Egypt to Imperial Rome, focusing on the study of ancient rituals (e.g., burial customs, animal and human sacrifice) and on Mediterranean myths and mythologies (e.g., dying-and-rising deities in Egypt, Syria and ancient Greece).

Students will reflect about the methodological challenges of studying ancient religions, focusing on the problem of interpreting fragmentary evidence, understanding ancient definitions of religion and magic, and distinguishing between private and public devotion in ancient societies. The course will help student to think about such questions as did people in antiquity believe in their myths? Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What is the significance of the ancient myths of Osiris, Gilgamesh and Baal? Did the ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians practice human sacrifice?  

Why do some people consider animal sacrifice and ecstatic devotion as “Hinduism”, while others consider vegetarianism, non-violence, and meditation to be “Hinduism”? Why do some people regard Buddhism as a philosophy that rejects sexism and racism, while others see Buddhism as a religion that promotes inequality? This course introduces students to the history of Hinduism and Buddhism by reflecting on how and why “Hindu” and “Buddhist” identity has been constructed in various ways across time and place.  

The course is split into two halves. The first half covers Hinduism and the second half, Buddhism. In both sections, students will read primary sources from narratives, philosophy, and poems in premodern South Asia to maps, biographies, and lawsuits against academics from contemporary East Asia and America. Through an examination of these sources, students will not only be able to articulate the historically embedded debates that have led to the construction of Hindu and Buddhist identity, but they will also demonstrate an awareness of the theoretical questions that arise from studying Asian religions in a Western academic context.