Comparing Scriptures

Catalog description

What makes a religious book "sacred" and how do different cultures use written texts to construct belief and practice? This course will compare the Christian Bible, the Qur' an, and at least one other major religious book, such as Confucius' Analects, the Sikh GuruGranth Sahib, or the Hindu Bhagavad Gita. Emphasis is placed on understanding diverse genres of text and analyzing the ways religious communities interpret their scriptures. We will see how sacred scriptures shape traditions, as well as how traditions define and reshape scriptures.