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Religious Studies / Center for Religious Understanding
Varner Hall, Room 217
371 Varner Drive
Rochester,
MI
48309-4485
(location map)
(248) 370-2154
Schedule of Classes
A glowing range of classes are offered each semester ranging through various religious and cultural perspectives. Introductory courses on Christianity, Islam and Judaism are offered most semesters, and our faculty have several tailored courses highlighting their specialties, including religious traditions, mystics, ethics and the divine.
The Religious Studies program also supports an engaging study abroad program for students to further their hands-on experience as well.
The semester has ended. Please refer to the tab for Fall 2023 semester.
Fall 2023 - 9/6/2023-12/16/2023
Introduction to Islam
REL 1150/CRN 41498
Online - Async
Taught by Aly Lela
Pre-Islamic Arabia, Muhammad and early Islamic history; the Qur'an and basic beliefs, practices and law; the Islamic Caliphate; Islam in the modern world and Muslims in America; women in Islam and other contemporary issues.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area. Satisfies the university general education requirement for a writing intensive course in general education. Prerequisite for writing intensive: completion of the university writing foundation requirement.)
Introduction to Christianity
REL 1250/CRN 40937/CRN 42265
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:20-10:27 a.m.
Taught by Randall Engle
Online - Async
Taught by Charles Mabee
Key ideas, major concepts, and peculiar language of the Christian religious experience. Focus on history of Christianity, creeds and doctrines of various denominations, Christianity’s cultural influences, and Christian ethical systems.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area.)
World Religious Traditions
REL 1850/CRN 40252
Online - Async
Taught by Charles Mabee
Examines the core teachings and practices of the world’s major religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religions. Emphasis is on terminology developed within each tradition, identification of human problems that each attempts to solve, and the insights and problematic issues that arise from these attempts.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area.)
Religion in the Modern World
REL 3140/CRN 40985
Online - Async
Taught by Charles Mabee
Focuses on key issues of religious life in the modern world. Examples of topics include the role of women in religious leadership, the relation of science and religion, religious fundamentalism, and religiously motivated acts of terrorism.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the knowledge applications integration area. Prerequisite for knowledge applications: completion of the general education requirement in the social science or the global perspective knowledge exploration area, not both.)
Directed Readings in Religious Studies
REL 4920/CRN 40247
Permission of coordinator (engle@oakland.edu)
Taught by Randall Engle
Individual study of topic(s) not covered in available courses. May be repeated for additional credit.
Winter 2023 - 1/4/2024 - 4/24/2024
Introduction to Religion
REL 1100/CRN 10933
Monday/Wednesday 1-2:47 p.m.
Taught by Andrew Guffey
Critical, comparative study of the human religious experience, as well as an examination of various methodological approaches employed by academic disciplines in the study of religion.
Introduction to Islam
REL 1150/CRN 14515
Online - Async
Taught by Aly Lela
Pre-Islamic Arabia, Muhammad and early Islamic history; the Qur'an and basic beliefs, practices and law; the Islamic Caliphate; Islam in the modern world and Muslims in America; women in Islam and other contemporary issues.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area. Satisfies the university general education requirement for a writing intensive course in general education. Prerequisite for writing intensive: completion of the university writing foundation requirement.)
Introduction to Judaism
REL 1200/CRN 15077
Online - Async
Taught by Michael Pytlik
Religious beliefs, practices and philosophies embedded within the major historical experiences (Biblical and Diasporic) of Jewish people including main institutional branches of Judaism, central characteristics of Jewish culture, and their relationship with non-Jewish groups and societies.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area. Satisfies the university general education requirement for a writing intensive course in general education. Prerequisite for writing intensive: completion of the university writing foundation requirement.)
Introduction to Christianity
REL 1250/CRN 12833/CRN 11573
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:20-10:27 a.m.
Taught by Randall Engle
Online -Async
Taught by Charles Mabee
Key ideas, major concepts, and peculiar language of the Christian religious experience. Focus on history of Christianity, creeds and doctrines of various denominations, Christianity’s cultural influences, and Christian ethical systems.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area.)
World Religious Traditions
REL 1850/CRN 10378
Online - Async
Taught by Charles Mabee
Examines the core teachings and practices of the world’s major religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religions. Emphasis is on terminology developed within each tradition, identification of human problems that each attempts to solve, and the insights and problematic issues that arise from these attempts.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the global perspective knowledge exploration area.)
Islamic Ethics
REL 3100/CRN 14718
Online - Async
Taught by Aly Lela
Major principles and theories of Islamic ethics. Application of these ideas to issues of deforestation, global warming, sustainability, women’s rights, abortion and cloning. Comparisons with other philosophical and religious theories.
Religion in the Modern World
REL 3140/CRN 13270
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:40-11:47 a.m.
Taught by Randall Engle
Focuses on key issues of religious life in the modern world. Examples of topics include the role of women in religious leadership, the relation of science and religion, religious fundamentalism, and religiously motivated acts of terrorism.
(Satisfies the general education requirement in the knowledge applications integration area. Prerequisite for knowledge applications: completion of the general education requirement in the social science or the global perspective knowledge exploration area, not both.)
The Book of Genesis
REL 3700/CRN 11482
Tuesday/Thursday 5:30-7:17 p.m.
Taught by Joe Klein
Examination of the major themes in the Book of Genesis, including creation, relationship between people and God, and human nature. Course will incorporate archaeology, rabbinic and Christian commentary, and literary analysis.
ST: Experiencing the Divine
REL 3900/CRN 14733
Online - Async
Andrew Guffey
This Special Topics course will consider the question “What is (a) God?” That is the central question of this course, which we will explore with special attention to philosophical, theological, artistic and anthropological approaches.
Directed Readings in Religious Studies
REL 4920/ CRN 10379
Permission of coordinator (engle@oakland.edu)
Taught by Randall Engle
Individual study of topic(s) not covered in available courses. May be repeated for additional credit.