Religious Studies

This course introduces basic tools for understanding what religion is and why it matters for everyone, including people who do not identify as religious. Students will learn to identify how religion shapes daily life both within and beyond formal religious settings. Investigates the intersection of religion with topics such as political decisions, family ideals, national …

Survey of the basic content and major themes of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), New Testament and Apocryphal writings. Available for General Education, Area 3B Humanities.

Introduction to the basic tools for a critical study of religious traditions of the world. Students will learn about the cultural and historical development of several religious traditions and the ways they have shaped societies historically and in the present. Available for General Education, CSUN Section F Comparative Cultural Studies.

This course introduces and guides students in the practical use of the basic concepts of deductive logic as a dimension of critical reasoning. Using these concepts, students will discuss, analyze and critique statements that appear in the media (in the U.S. and elsewhere) that have been expressed by religious people and by the media itself. …

An investigation of major and selected religions around the world using social-scientific tools such as history, sociology and anthropology. Students learn why various religions change over time and how they interact with their particular social and cultural environments. Examples are taken from ancient and modern religions, major and tribal religions, including new religious cults. Available …

Examination of the development of U.S. and California political ideals, institutions and processes. The course focuses on the religious elements within political ideals, religious freedom, the relation between religion and state, and the role of religion in the public forum, including both politics and public education. Available for General Education, Area 4A/B Constitution of the …

Introduction to the historical development of the United States through a focus on ways that both religious and nonreligious agendas have shaped American institutions and ideals. Meets the American History, Institutions and Ideals requirement.

Selected topics in religious studies, with course content to be determined.

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Examination of feminist and gender theories impacting religious experience, roles, and perspectives in various religious traditions. Students in the course will articulate and employ gender, feminist, and queer methods of analysis to the production of religious knowledge and symbols, and how these shape the life of religious communities …

Study of new religious movements that developed in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. Students will analyze the emergence of these movements in their historical context, focusing on the innovation and creativity that emerged through the American religious landscape. Topics covered may include Mormonism, Christian Science, the Nation of Islam, …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Study of religious diversity in the contemporary United States with attention to groups who have been marginalized in dominant religious narratives. Students learn how focusing on minoritized religious groups can expand our understanding of what it means to be religious. Topics studied may include Native American, Latinx, African, …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. The study of the influence of religious traditions on the formation of American culture and the modification of religious traditions by the American context. Also addresses major American religious thinkers and movements, and religion’s role in shaping American thought, literature and ethos. Available for General Education, Area 3B …

This course discusses the religious traditions of Native North American peoples within their respective tribal, cultural, and place-specific contexts. Students will learn how these hundreds of diverse religious traditions inform contemporary Native worldviews, lifeways, and cultural production. Additionally, students will discuss religion through decolonial and Indigenous frameworks and learn about struggles for religious freedom for …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course introduces students to the varieties of spiritual experiences in Los Angeles, one of the most religiously diverse cities in the world. Students will explore the unique religious history of Southern California and the many ways Angelenos express, practice, and live religion and spirituality. Alongside examining the …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course explores the relationship between religion and literature by looking at how religious themes are represented, interpreted, and critiqued in literary works across different time periods. Students will analyze the ways in which literature serves as a medium for expressing, questioning, and challenging religious ideas, practices, and …

Examines how film artists address the major religious issues of our time, including the nature of reality, sources of transcendence, the nature of good and evil in the self and society, and the possibilities of renewal and hope.

Study of the literature and religion of ancient Israel through the Hellenistic period. No knowledge of Hebrew language is required; all texts will be in English translation. (Cross-listed with JS 320.)

Study of the New Testament and its religious thought in context.

Literary and social analysis of the teachings of Jesus.

Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and non-traditional forms of Christianity compared and contrasted with one another in their historical and social contexts.

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course examines the intersection of religion, sexuality, and gender and its unsettling effects on dominant forms of religious practice and embodiment. Through the lens of gender and queer theories, students will learn how a focus on sexuality and the body can blur the lines between the usual …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Study of selected themes in contemporary religious thought. Topics may include gender and sexuality, religious identity, the role of religion in political debates, climate change and environmental issues, race and colonialism, and other pressing contemporary issues. Available for General Education, Area 3B Humanities. (W.I.)

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course examines the history of atheism in Western history as well as its contemporary forms. Throughout history, many people in the West have claimed identities as atheists in reaction to organized religion and the notion of a transcendental God. In many cases, atheists respond to narrow …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Emphasizes the development of skills in critical thinking through analysis of such contemporary ethical issues as abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, sexual behavior, racism, gender bias, punishment, animal rights, the environment and the relationships between religion and morality. Available for General Education, Area 3B Humanities. (W.I.)

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course explores how race, power, and religion are connected, especially in the context of colonialism. We’ll focus on how religion influences the main ideas and politics related to race in colonial and post-colonial societies. We’ll look closely at how both religion and race are formed and …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Study of the varieties of Islamic civilization in their social contexts. Available for General Education, CSUN Section F Comparative Cultural Studies. (W.I.)

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course investigates scientific and religious modes of understanding the world, evaluating the claim that they offer distinct yet complementary perspectives. Students will explore the dynamic interplay between science and religion in real-world contexts, across time and throughout cultures. Using this global perspective, students learn to critically …

What role does the human mind play in belief? Is religion a product of nature, nurture, or both? Why is religion so common around the world? If religion is natural, is it true or false? This course tackles questions such as these, attempting to understand the reasons why humans around the world and throughout history …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course examines the intersection of religion and environmental values from a variety of perspectives as students learn how assumptions about religion, race, ethnicity, and class have shaped our ideas about environmentalism. As students learn about environmentalism’s exclusionary history, they will also develop tools for envisioning and supporting …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Seeks to describe the experience of the Jewish religion-ethnic community in America with reference to its own historic background and development and the relationship of the community to the general American culture and to other particular subcultures or ethnic groups. Emphasizes distinctive Jewish values and customs and evaluates …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Explores Asian religions by comparing human and divine religious figures cross-culturally. Comparison of the figures from the various cultures provides a method to understand the nature of humanity and divinity in Asia. Available for General Education, CSUN Section F Comparative Cultural Studies. (W.I.)

This course will explore several Asian religious traditions by engaging with primary scriptures and sacred texts. Through comparative and critical analysis, students will learn about each tradition’s philosophy, ethical codes, and spiritual practices that have shaped cultures across Asia for over a millennium. Traditions covered may include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Shintoism.

A historical, thematic and analytical study of the Qur’an both in its content and form, with substantial focus on the Qur’an as a source of information in various disciplines in the light of traditional and contemporary methods of interpretation.

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. This course engages Hindu traditions through an analysis of doctrines, mythological narratives, iconographic representations, sectarian movements, and religious practices associated with the gods and goddesses of India. Students will trace religious lives in India from the Indus Valley civilizations to the modern period, focusing on pivotal historical developments …

Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Study of the fundamental concepts of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism (e.g., nirvana, enlightenment, karma, dharma). Examines the historic development of these concepts in their various Asian cultural and geographic settings, including China, India, Japan, and Tibet, and its interaction with non-Buddhist traditions such as Daoism, Hinduism, Jainism, …

This course examines key texts, figures, ideas, and methods used in the academic study of religion, offering in-depth exploration of some of the topics covered in RS 100 Introduction to Religious Studies. Students will read and critically examine various disciplinary contributions that are foundational to advancing the modern academic study of religion.

Selected topics in religious studies, with course content to be determined.

As a culminating experience for Religious Studies majors, students build on their previous coursework by designing, implementing, and writing up an original research project in the academic study of religion. Research topics and methodological approaches may vary by semester. May be repeated for credit.

Independent Study