Global Religions: Ideas and Practices

This course introduces students to the dynamic, diverse, often colorful and surprising world of global religions. It addresses religious traditions that have a huge influence on the world as we know it: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, as well as a more nature-oriented tradition such as Taoism, but also post-religious phenomena in western context that were caused by globalization, such as Easternization.
The course integrates two components or perspectives: an ideational perspective that concerns (contemporary interpretations of) classical religious beliefs and doctrines, and a practical ‘lived religions’ perspective that concerns the involvement of religions in contemporary social issues. 
Both components are approached from a transnational perspective that investigates how religions develop, interact with each other and with other cultural phenomena and political institutions on a global scale.  
As a theoretical framework, we use concepts that stem from the field of globalization studies.
  
Format
Class meets twice a week. Students are required to prepare classes by studying the readings and by doing small assignments (annotations, arguments maps, abstracts, questions to a text, analysis of practice or object etc.). Teaching methods include interactive lectures by the teacher, class discussions and close analysis of texts and practices (as presented, e.g., in short video’s). Moreover, students give oral presentations and prepare and moderate discussions about the topic of the presentation. 
Course participants do a field work assignment in small groups, which they present. Students write a paper on a specific topic of their own choice (related to the course). There also is an end-term exam. Students receive (peer-)feedback on their work in various stages.