Why Study World Religions?
Because Some Dialogue is Difficult, Some World Views Different
No matter what your major is, taking a course in World Religions enhances your college career. Whether you want to enter the world of business, serve your community in the public sector, or continue your education in graduate school, you will have daily opportunities to utilize the critical thinking skills and knowledge you have gained studying religion.
Why study religion?
To better understand…
- The complexity of religiously motivated violence around the world from 9/11 to abortion clinic bombings
- The ways in which religious ideas have shaped the development of art, politics, science, and philosophy since the dawn of human civilization
To develop your abilities to…
- Go beyond passive learning of facts and begin grasping ideas
- Make meaningful comparisons of human experiences across cultures
- Understand the connections between seemingly unrelated things like the abbreviation “Xmas” and the early history of Bible printing
To gain a perspective on and awareness of yourself by…
- Better relating to others with different national, religious and sexual identities
- Perceiving what about your world view may be strange to another and what about another’s world view may seem familiar to you
- Developing the scholarly qualities of fairness, openness, intellectual integrity and inquisitiveness
Courses to Take
At Ohio University, along with introductions to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Old and New Testaments, you can take classes like…
CLWR 2220-Difficult Dialogues: Religion, Gender, and Sexuality
CLWR 3470-Gandhi and the Gita: The Religious Roots of Nonviolent Resistance in Colonial India
CLWR 4810-Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism
CLWR 4820-Thinking About Death: Belief and Practice