Religion

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Not all courses are offered every semester. Refer to the schedule of courses for each term's specific offerings.
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Unless otherwise indicated in the course description, all courses at the University of Florida are taught in English, with the exception of specific foreign language courses.

Department Information


Website

CONTACT

Email | 352.392.1625 (tel) | 352.392.7395 (fax)

P.O. Box 117410
107 ANDERSON HALL
GAINESVILLE FL 32611-7410
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 Curriculum


Courses

ANT 3153 North American Archaeology 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Interpretive survey of the ancient indigenous history of North America and archaeological approaches to its investigation.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

ANT 3241 Anthropology of Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Cross-cultural survey of beliefs and practices dealing with the supernatural, magic, and religion. Conceptualization of the supernatural. Sacred specialists, their function, and social position. Theories of comparative religion in light of anthropological data. (S and D)

Attributes: General Education - Diversity, General Education - Social Science

CLT 3371 Religions of the Graeco-Roman World 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Development, importance and influence of Greek and Roman religion and cult practice. The main literary and epigraphical sources are read in translation. (H and N)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International

IDS 1114 Ethics and the Public Sphere 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examination of the ways in which ethical concerns are aired and debated in the public sphere, including civic institutions, media organizations, and the market. Questions explored may touch on such topics as honesty in media, humility in the face of disagreement, and the pursuit of justice in a contentious society.

Prerequisite: Restricted to undergraduate degree-seeking students.

Attributes: Quest 1, General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

LIT 3173 Jewish Literature 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Variable topics in the Jewish literary experience, from the biblical narrative and classical tales to Yiddish and Hebrew literature, the modern European novel, and American Jewish fiction. (H and N)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International

PHI 3700 Philosophy of Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Studies problems in philosophical theology, including the nature of God, arguments for God's existence, the problem of evil and the relation between faith and reason, from both historical and contemporary perspectives. (H) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

POS 4291 Religion and Politics in the United States 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigates the role of religious institutions, values and communities in contemporary American political life. (WR)

Prerequisite: refer to the department.

Attributes: Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 1101 Nature, Spirituality, and Popular Culture 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

The course examines nature-related global processes and the religious, spiritual, political dimensions of artistic productions and scientific representations in ‘popular culture.’ It illuminates the tributaries, hybridities, and controversies that flow from these processes in the ongoing struggle of humankind to understand its place in and responsibilities toward the living world.

Prerequisite: Restricted to degree-seeking undergraduates.

Attributes: Quest 1, General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 1144 Religious Extremism 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

What is religious extremism? Who are the extremists? This course digs into these and other questions and provides students with critical knowledge about what is called extremism within Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while also investigating it in relation to topics such as nationalism, race(ism), and gender and sexuality.

Prerequisite: Restricted to degree-seeking undergraduates.

Attributes: Quest 1, General Education - Humanities, General Education - International

REL 1163 God, Humanity, and Evolution 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the language used to describe sciences and religions, focusing on Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory through the writings of leading thinkers who portray the ways that evolution reshaped religion, and religion reshaped the sciences. Students are instructed in writing about foundational concepts in the sciences and the humanities.

Prerequisite: Restricted to undergraduate degree-seeking students.

Attributes: Quest 1, General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 2071 Sustainability and Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the relationship between religion and sustainability and explores how the worlds different religious traditions address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Topics include social and environmental justice, sustainable consumption and sustainable agriculture. Case studies highlight multiple religious perspectives, especially in Latin America and south Asia. (H) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 2090 Indigenous Religions of the World 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Describes and compares the religious traditions of indigenous peoples from several different areas of the globe in terms of their cosmogonies, cosmologies, inter-relationalities, and eschatologies.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

REL 2104 Environmental Ethics 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores competing secular and religious views regarding human impacts on and moral responsibilities toward nature and of the key thinkers and social movements in contention over them. (H) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 2121 American Religious History 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Historical inquiry into the ideological origins and social context of American religious life. (H and D)

Attributes: General Education - Diversity, General Education - Humanities

REL 2158 Religion and Social Movements 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores religion’s role in movements for social change, including reasons movements form, strategies they use, and their impact. Focuses on the distinctive ways religion shapes social movement trajectories and outcomes. Pays special attention to recent changes such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and protests against police violence.

Prerequisite: Any Quest 1 course with a minimum grade of C.

Attributes: Quest 2, General Education - Diversity, General Education - Social Science

REL 2210 Hebrew Scriptures 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

History, literature, and beliefs of the Israelites from the Biblical text in the light of modern scholarship. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 2240 New Testament 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces various literary, social, and religious contexts of the books of the New Testament. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 2300 Introduction to World Religions 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Origin, historical development, and key figures, concepts, symbols, practices and institutions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian traditions, including Taoism, Shinto, and Confucianism. (H and N)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International

REL 2301 Introduction to Hindu Culture 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

History, performing arts, and cultural expressions of the Hindu traditions of India and in the diaspora.

REL 2315 Religion in Asia 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Studies the religious dimensions of human culture, focusing on Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto. (H and N) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 2341 Introduction to Buddhism 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Introduces doctrines, practices, and institutions that shaped the essential identity of Buddhism as a pan-Asian religion that transcended ethic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 2362 Introduction to Islam 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Historical introduction to Islamic tradition. The foundational elements of the tradition, based on the life of Prophet Muhammad and the text of the Qur'an and on an examination of subsequent Islamic expressions. (H and N)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International

REL 2388 Indigenous Religions of the Americas 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

This course introduces the student to the historical and contemporary religious beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. (H)(WR). This is a core course for the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Minor.

Attributes: General Education - Diversity, General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 2502 Introduction to Christianity 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Includes origins and development of Christianity, beliefs and rituals, global diversity, Christianity-inspired literature, and engagement with contemporary cultural issues.

REL 2600 Jews, Judaism, and Jewishness 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Multidisciplinary approach to the Jewish experience from its Biblical origins to modern times.

REL 2930 Topics in Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Variable topics at an introductory level. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 3022 Myth and Ritual 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Theory and method in the anthropological and religious studies of myths, rituals, religious specialists, and religious movements using examples from cultures throughout the world.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3076 Cults and New Religious Movements 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigates significant new religious movements such as the People's Temple and the Branch Davidians. The origins, internal structure, popularity, and functioning of these movements as well as claims of manipulation and discrimination. (S)

Attributes: General Education - Social Science

REL 3082 Global Ethics 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores ethical dimensions of global social, political, and environmental issues. Introduction to and application of diverse theoretical approaches in philosophical and religion ethics to contemporary global issues such as human rights, war and peace, climate change, and public health.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3098 Religion Medicine and Healing 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Non-conventional healers and healing practices in religious traditions around the globe.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3099 Spirituality and Health Care 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigation of the relationship between religious and spiritual beliefs, alternative and traditional medical practice, and Western biomedicine, in historical and contemporary context.

Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3108 Religion and Food 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores the relationship between food and religion by investigating food in the context of specific religious traditions, such as Hinduism, and examines food as a moral and ethical category in religious and secular contexts, e.g., organic and locavore. (D and H) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Diversity, General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3120 Religion and the American Immigrant Experience 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Survey of the roles that religion has played in some significant movements of people into and out of the US from the pre-Colonial period to the present.

REL 3136 Global Religions in the United States 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigates the religious lives of post-1965 Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Global Christian immigrants from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa and their interactions with American society.

Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3139 African American Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Interdisciplinary study of African American religious experience from its beginnings in the 17th century to the present.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 3140 Religion and Society 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Interaction of religion and social institutions; the ways religious groups influence and are influenced by the socio-cultural environment. (S) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Social Science, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3148 Religion and Violence 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores the problem of violence that springs from religious roots in Western, Asian, African, and Native American traditions. (H and N) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3160 Religion and Science 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the relationship between religion, science, and philosophy in different religious traditions, focusing on the West. (H) (WR)

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3171 Ethics in America 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines ethical issues facing contemporary US society, with a focus on cultural and religious diversity. Introduces major religious and philosophical frameworks as ways of understanding and addressing these issues.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

Attributes: General Education - Diversity, General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3191 Death and the Afterlife: Perspectives from World Religions 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines conceptions of death and the afterlife from the perspectives of various religious traditions and popular culture. Considers certain ethical issues related to death and how some American religious traditions engage with such issues.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

REL 3213 Hebrew Bible as Literature 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Intensive introduction to the literary study of the Hebrew Bible within the context of ancient Near Eastern literature and history.

REL 3249 The Christian Gospels 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Redaction-critical study of selected portions of the canonical Gospels with particular attention to the development of traditions about Jesus in the earliest church. (H) (WR)

Prerequisite: REL 2210 or REL 2240, or instructor permission.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3252 Acts, Paul, and Early Christianity 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the narrative of the beginning of Christianity according to the Book of Acts, especially as it describes the career of Paul. The second half focuses on the letters of Paul as an alternative source for understanding the earliest forms of Christianity. (H) (WR)

Prerequisite: REL 2210 or REL 2240, or instructor permission.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3291 Gender and the Hebrew Bible 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Critical examination of the literary representation and historical realities of gender and sexuality in ancient Israel through close readings of selected texts from the Hebrew Bible.

REL 3294 Apocalypticism 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores Jewish and Christian apocalypticism through a survey of apocalyptic texts from the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Jewish literature (including the Dead Sea Scrolls), and the New Testament. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 3318 Chinese Religions 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Comprehensive historical survey of the main religious traditions in China, with focus on Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3321 Early Judaism and Christianity 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the Jewish-Christian encounter. The historical interaction between Judaism and Christianity including how each group symbolized the other, and the practical implications of the representations. (H and N) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3330 Religions of India 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Historical look at the major religious traditions of the Indian subcontinent. (H and N) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3336 Religion in Modern India 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Studies religious traditions of India and their interpretation in relation to conditions of the modern world. (H and N) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3370 Religions of Africa 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Religion and culture in Africa, the encounter of Islam and Christianity with indigenous religions, and diasporic reformulations. (H and N) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3381 Religion in Latin America 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Main religious traditions in Latin America: native religions, Catholicism in its various forms, Protestantism, and African-based religions. (H and N)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International

REL 3463 God: Beliefs, Concepts, Issues 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigates central issues connected with the concept of God in Western religious traditions. Topics include arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, theodicy, faith, and reason. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 3492 Religion Ethics and Nature 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Religious perspectives on nature and the environment that focus on different theological understandings of the natural world; approaches to using natural resources and efforts to understand human responsibility for the realm of nature. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 3931 Junior Seminar 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Intensive introduction to the study of religion. Required of all religion majors during the junior year.

REL 3938 Special Topics in Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Special topics in religion. (H) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4092 Ethics, Utopias, and Dystopias 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines relationships between ethics and utopias in literature, religious communities, and millenarian movements.

Prerequisite: instructor permission.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 2000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4103 Religion and Nature in North America 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigates ways that religion and nature have evolved and influenced one another during the cultural, political, and environmental history of North America since European contact. (H)

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 4141 Religion and Social Change 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Investigates diverse relations between religion and processes of social change. Uses both theoretical and ethnographic case studies to explore issues raised by religion's social role in the U.S., Britain, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. (S) (WR)

Attributes: General Education - Social Science, Satisfies 4000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4145 Gender, Women, Sexuality, and Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores the ways that gender and sexuality are experienced and interpreted in different religious traditions.

Prerequisite: instructor permission.

REL 4188 Environmental Values and Practice 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Examines the ethical, religious, and political dimensions of the relationship between ideas and practices, including the divergence between expressed values and actual practices, and some possible reasons for this divergence.

REL 4209 Dead Sea Scrolls and Early Jewish Literature 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Explores the varieties of literature that arose within Judaism from 250 BCE to 220 CE, including selections from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the OT Pseudepigrapha, Philo, and Josephus. (H)

Prerequisite: refer to the department.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities

REL 4221 The Pentateuch 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

In-depth study of the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) in light of modern biblical scholarship.

Prerequisite: instructor permission.

REL 4349 Buddhist Meditation 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Theory and practice of Buddhist meditation; focuses on the systems of meditation practice developed by the Theravada school in Sri Lanka and the main traditions of Chinese Buddhism.

Prerequisite: introduction to Buddhism or instructor permission.

REL 4367 The History of Islam in the Modern World 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

History of Muslims from the 18th century to the present with particular attention to certain critical issues and interpretations in relation to conditions of the modern world. (H and N) (WR)

Prerequisite: REL 2362.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, General Education - International, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4368 Global Islam 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Addresses the need for a deeper understanding of the diversity of Muslim cultures/societies in the contemporary global context; combines topical and geographical approach and studies Islam as it intersects with broader social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

REL 4371 Islam in Africa 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Development of Muslim societies in Africa from the 7th to the early 20th century with a focus on the religious dynamics that led to the formation of a multitude of African Muslim cultures.

Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher.

REL 4382 Religion and Politics in Latin America 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Relationship between religion and politics in Latin America from a variety of perspectives and approaches. Addresses millenarian movements, gender, ethnicity and class, as well as church-state dynamics. (S and N)

Attributes: General Education - International, General Education - Social Science

REL 4393 Islam in the Americas 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Provides knowledge of Islam in the Americas from the 15th century to the present. (H) (WR)

Prerequisite: instructor permission.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4400 Religion and Psychology 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Covers history of philosophy and religion on psychological theories of consciousness, intelligence, cognition, as well as the mind’s role in the construction of knowledge, ignorance and morality, and it facilitates students in articulating their psychological models to explain human experience, belief, and well-being.

Prerequisite: Junior standing or higher.

REL 4905 Individual Work 1-5 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Majors or other advanced undergraduates who wish to supplement regular coursework by individual studies under guidance may apply to a member of the faculty for individual work.

Prerequisite: 9 credits in religion or department permission.

REL 4930 Special Topics in Religious Thought 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Special topics in religious thought.

REL 4932 Thesis Seminar in Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Thesis preparation option for honors-level students.

REL 4933 The Comparative Study of Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

The history and major methods that have contributed to the modern study of religion.

Prerequisite: Junior standing or higher and department permission.

Attributes: General Education - Humanities, Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4936 Special Topics in Religious Studies 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Advanced study for those with proper preparation of selected topics involving one or more religious traditions. (WR)

Attributes: Satisfies 6000 Words of Writing Requirement

REL 4956 Overseas Studies 1-18 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Provides a mechanism by which coursework taken as part of an approved study abroad program can be recorded on the UF transcript and counted toward graduation.

Prerequisite: undergraduate advisor permission.

SRK 1120 Beginning Sanskrit 1 4 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

First of a two-semester series that introduces the Sanskrit language through the Devanagari Script.

SRK 1121 Beginning Sanskrit 2 4 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Second of a two-semester series that introduces the Sanskrit language through the Devanagari Script with an emphasis on reading, writing, grammar and oral recitation.

SRK 2200 Intermediate Sanskrit 1 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

Intermediate study of Sanskrit to increase knowledge of vocabulary by developing reading and translation skills.

Prerequisite: SRK 1121 with a minimum grade of C, or equivalent.

SYO 4200 Sociology of Religion 3 Credits

Grading Scheme: Letter Grade

The sociological perspective on religions, including religious ideologies and rituals. Social aspects of the religious and religious aspects of the social. Organized religions and religions. (S and N)

Prerequisite: SYG 2000.

Attributes: General Education - International, General Education - Social Science