This course is an introduction to the study of religion through a
consideration of major ideas and issues in the field. We will
examine a variety of primary sources and theories—literary,
philosophical, anthropological, and political—with the purpose of
investigating aspects (and versions) of the following questions: 1)
What is sought or named by the term religion? 2) What is the source
or nature of religion and what does it produce? 3) What is a theory
of religion, and what/whom is it for? With these three questions,
and their associated tangents, we will strive to gain a snapshot of
the study of religion in its attempt both to identify the
multifarious human phenomena that can be placed under the
genus "religion" and to become conscious of what such a
classification includes (and excludes) and why. In so doing, we will
assess the value of distinguishing something like religion from
things like culture, society, community, or tradition, and in the
process will strive to become conversant in the uses of all of these
terms.