Courses Catalog Descriptions & Selected Syllabi
The Department of Religious Studies offers a wide variety of courses in the academic study of religion. Our curriculum spans religions East and West, ancient and modern, global and local, mega-sized and individual.
Courses are designated as RLST (formerly CPRL) in the class schedule.
100 Introduction to the Study of Religion (3)
syllabus Spring 2025 WEB
(usually offered every semester)
An introduction to the academic study of religion, exploring the social and cultural dimensions of religion, as well as religious consciousness and perception. Key concepts, theorists and methodological approaches.
105 Religion and the Quest for Meaning (3)
(usually offered every semester)
Nature of religious experience as the human pursuit of meaning and transcendence, exploring its central themes, phenomena, and questions; its principal types of figures and communities; and its major categories of sacred rituals, objects, seasons, and places.
110 Religions of the World (3) syllabus Spring 2022 WEB
(usually offered every semester: on-campus sections and WEB section)
Introduction to at least five religious world views from an historical and comparative perspective, with descriptive analysis of their belief system, moral code and symbolic rituals: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. One or more sections offered online. (Same as PHIL 110)
200 Introduction to Christianity (3)
(usually offered every semester: WEB section)
Overview of the Christian tradition, including Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant expressions. Foundational councils, creeds, scriptures, ideas and worship styles. One or more sections offered online.
201 Introduction to the New Testament (3) syllabus Spring 2025 WEB
(usually offered every Spring: WEB section)
Textual and historical study of the origins and content of the New Testament in the context of first-century Christianity.
210 Introduction to Judaism (3)
(usually offered every spring)
The Jewish tradition – its scriptures, laws, customs, holidays and world view in their historical setting.
246A Basic Hatha Yoga (2)
(usually offered every semester -- scheduled by KNES department)
Basic Yoga postures, breathing and relaxation techniques, and beginning meditation techniques from theoretical and experiential perspectives. Awareness, concentration and breathing patterns that accompany the movements of Hatha Yoga. (1 hour lecture, 2 hours activity) (Same as KNES 246A)
246B Intermediate Hatha Yoga (2)
(usually offered every semester -- scheduled by KNES department)
Prerequisite: KNES/CPRL 246A. Intermediate and advanced yoga sequences, including postures, breathing practices, meditation techniques and guided relaxation. Yoga philosophy and movement based on various Hatha yoga traditions. (1 hour lecture, 2 hours activity.) (Same as KNES 246B)
250 Introduction to Islam (3) syllabus Fall 2023 WEB
(usually offered every fall: WEB section)
Religion of Islam, its background and main teachings: the rise of Islam; the caliphate; Islamic theology, teachings, mysticism and philosophy.
270T Introduction to the Asian Religions (3) syllabus Fall 2022 WEB
(usually offered every fall: WEB section)
Main teachings of a major South Asian, Far Eastern or “Oriental” religion per semester. Such religions as Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism, Shintoism, and Zoroastrianism will be discussed. May be repeated for credit with different subject matter. One or more sections offered online.
280 Introduction to Buddhism (3)
syllabus Spring 2025 WEB
(usually offered every spring: WEB section)
Introduction to the origins and development of Buddhism. Discussion of the major teachings found in all traditions of Buddhism, the three major traditions of Buddhism and the position of Buddhism in the U.S. One or more sections offered online.
300 Methods of Studying Religion (3) syllabus Fall 2023
(offered every fall -- not offered in spring)
Prerequisite: Completion of any lower division CPRL course or approval of instructor. Academic study of religion to include the definition, functions and varieties of religion; the methods used to study it; and key figures who have shaped the development of this discipline.
306 Contemporary Practices of the World’s Religions (3)
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: completion of General Education (G.E.) Category C.2. Comparative study of how the beliefs, practices and moral codes of the world’s major religions influence the way nations and individuals behave in the spheres of daily life, culture, ethics, business and politics.
307 Non-violence, Animal Rights and Diet in Jainism (3)
(usually offered every spring)
Development of the beliefs, practices, culture, philosophy and art of the Jain religion. Examine core Jain principles, such as nonviolence and non-possessiveness and their contemporary relevance. Fieldtrip to a major Jain site in Southern California.
311 Religion and Film (3)
syllabus Spring 2023
(random rotation)
Prerequisites: CPRL 105, 110 or RTVF100. Religion and religious themes in film – a powerful medium through which we explore the meaning of life, relationships, moral quandaries and ontological issues.
312 The Bible as Literature (3)
(usually offered every spring -- scheduled by ENGL department)
Prerequisite: completion of General Education (G.E.) Category C.2. Literary qualities of biblical literature and the influence of major themes upon Western literary traditions. (Same as CPLT 312)
321 Psychology of Religion (3)
(usually offered every semester)
A survey of classical and contemporary empirical psychological research investigating religious beliefs, experiences and practices. Topics include religious behavior across the lifespan; the social psychology of religious organizations; and religious connections to morality, coping, and psychopathology. (RLST 321 and PSYC 321 are the same course).
325 African-American Religions and Spirituality (3)
(usually offered every spring)
Prerequisite: completion of General Education Category D.1. African-American belief systems and denominations. Folk beliefs among Blacks, African-American religious groups, and the role of the Black Church in politics and social change in the Black community. (Same as AFRO 325)
330T Hebrew Scriptural Studies (3)
(random springs -- spring rotation with 331T and 401T)
Specific areas of Hebrew Scriptures, such as major and minor prophets, Psalms, values of wisdom writers, books of the Old Testament. May be repeated for credit with different subject content.
333 Religion and Sexuality (3)
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: Completion of GE Category D.1. Explores the connection between religion and sexuality. We analyze the religious ideas behind political and public debates related to sexuality and also consider the private realm such as sexual identity, family life, gender roles, and reproduction.
341 Hindu Tradition to 400 B.C.E. (3)
syllabus Fall 2023 WEB
(usually offered every fall: WEB section)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.2. Hindu thought in its earliest period. Subjects will include an overview of Vedic literature, especially its religious content and the major rituals of the early Veda; philosophical developments in the Upanisads or later Veda; and related sacred writings. One or more sections offered online.
342 Hindu Tradition from 400 B.C.E. (3)
(usually offered every spring: WEB section)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.2. Hindu thought after the Vedic period. Subjects will include the beginnings of Hindu philosophies, classical Hindu practice, devotionalism, modern or neo-Hindu groups appearing in the 19th century, and the contributions of thinkers such as Ramakrishna and Gandhi.
351 History and Development of Early Christian Thought (3) syllabus Spring 2025 WEB
(usually offered every semester: WEB section)
Prerequisite: completion of the G.E. Category C.2. Historical study of the diversity of Christian beliefs, movements and key figures from New Testament times to the late Middle Ages, including such topics as important creeds and councils, spiritual movements, and central figures such as Augustine and Aquinas.
352 History and Development of Modern Christian
Thought (3) syllabus Fall 2023
(usually offered every semester)
Prerequisite: completion of the G.E. Category C.2. Historical study of the diversity of Christian beliefs, movements and key figures from the late Middle Ages to the present, including such topics as the context and thinkers of the Reformation era, post-Reformation controversies, and recent debates and trends.
361 History and Development of Jewish Thought: Biblical and Rabbinical Eras (3)
(usually offered most falls)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.2. Hebrew Scriptures in their historical context, of the development of rabbinical Judaism and the Talmud, and of Judaism in the Christian and Muslim worlds down to the close of the Spanish “Golden Age” (1150).
362 History and Development of Jewish Thought: Medieval and Modern Eras (3)
(usually offered most springs)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.2. Maimonides’ legacy, the impact of mysticism, rise of anti-Semitism, emancipation of European Jews, the Holocaust, Israel’s founding and history, and contributions of Jews to American culture.
367 Religion in Latino/a Life (3)
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.2. National and international expressions of Latino/a religiosity – from popular religion to Marian devotion to curanderismo – are explored through film, historical documents, poetry, theology, art, sociology and ethnic studies. (Same as CHIC 367)
370 New Religious Movements in the U.S.A. (3)
(random rotation)
Beliefs, history, ritual and organizational make-up of non-traditional modern religions in America, such as Scientology, the Unification Church, Hare Krishna (ISKCON) and Rajneeshism as presented by guest speakers. Discussion of “cult,” “sect” and the occult will comprise portion of course.
371 History and Development of Islamic Thought:
The Beginning to 1258 (3) syllabus Fall 2023 WEB
(usually offered in fall)
Prerequisite: Completion of G.E. Category C.2. Islamic theology, law, culture and spirituality up to the close of the classical period in 1258. Interpretation of the Qur’an, formation of Hadith literature, development of Islamic law, divisions within Islam, rise of mysticism, contributions to science and art.
372 History and Development of Islamic Thought: 1259 to Modern Times (3)
(usually offered in spring)
Prerequisite: Completion of G.E. Category C.2. Islamic thought from the close of the classical period to the present, with emphasis on 20th century developments. Emergence of modern Middle East, reform movements, Islamic response to nationalism and modernity, recent Islamic resurgence.
373 Women in Islam (3)
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: Completion of G.E. Category C.2. Status and roles of Muslim women from the perspectives of the basic Islamic texts (The Qur'an and Prophetic Traditions). Topics include rights, marriage, and divorce, seclusion and dress codes, and religious, economic and socio-political participation.
374 Issues in Contemporary Islam (3)
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: Completion of G.E. Category C.2. Some of the contentious issues in Islam. Topics include the concepts of piety, peace, jihad, fundamentalism, terrorism, democracy, human rights, leadership of women and sexuality; the intellectual arguments surrounding these topics.
375 Conceptions of the Afterlife (3) syllabus Spring 2025 WEB
(usually offered every semester: WEB section)
Prerequisite: completion of the G.E. Category C.2; CPRL 110 recommended. How selected religious traditions have sought to answer the question “What happens when I die?” Resurrection, reincarnation, immortality of the soul, heaven and hell will be discussed.
380 Religion and Violence (3)
(usually offered every semester)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.2 and D.1. Interdisciplinary exploration of major theories, developments and documents connected to the relationship between religious practices and motivations for engaging in, preventing or rejecting violent behavior.
381 Religion and Politics in the United States (3)
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category D.1. Relationship of politics and religion, especially in the U.S. The colonial and constitutional experience, Supreme Court decisions on religious issues, the principal theorists of moral discourse in the public forum, contemporary issues of concern. (Same as POSC 381)
400 Religion, the Media, and Contemporary Culture (3) syllabus Fall 2021
(random rotation)
Prerequisite: AMST 201 or COMM 233 or HIST 180 or CPRL 105 or 110. Religion reporting in the secular media; the religious press in America; the influence of the media, both secular and religious, on the shaping of society’s values; ethical dilemmas faced by reporters.
412A History of the Christian Church to the Reformation (1517) (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: HIST 110A or equivalent. Christian Church from its origins in the apostolic preaching through the late Middle Ages and the beginning (1517) of the Reformation in both the East and West. (Same as HIST 412A)
412B History of the Christian Church From the Reformation to the Present (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: HIST 110B or equivalent. Western church as an institution from the Reformation (1517) to the present. Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism in historical perspective. (Same as HIST 412B)
412C History of the Jews (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category C.4. Jewish people from the biblical period to the present. Literature of each period, as well as the relationships that exist between the Jewish communities and the societies in which they exist(Same as HIST 412C)
417B Roman Empire (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: HIST 110A or equivalent. Roman imperial institutions and culture with attention to the rise of Christiani ty.(Same as HIST 417B)
425B The Reformation (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: completion of G.E. Category D.2. Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries: impact of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations on European culture; the religious wars; the price revolution and; crises of the nobility; rise of absolutism; and the early modern family. (Same as HIST 425B)
435A The Holocaust (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: HIST 110B or any modern European upper-division course. Traces the history and examines the origins, implementation and results of the European-wide programs of persecution and genocide carried out by Nazi Germany and their collaborators against the Jews during the period 1933-1945. (Same as HIST 435A)
466A Islamic Civilization: Arab Era (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: HIST 110A or equivalent. Arab predominance in the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. (Same as HIST 466A)
466B Islamic Civilization: Imperial Age (3)
(random rotation -- secheduled by HIST department)
Prerequisite: completion of G. E. Category D.2. Mongol invasions of the Middle East and their effects. Ottoman Turkish, Safavid Persian and Moghul Empires to 1800. (Same as HIST 466B)
485T Major Religious Thinkers and Concepts (3)
(offered every spring -- not offered in fall)
Prerequisites: 15 units in CPRL, including CPRL 105 or 110 and 300, and junior standing or approval of undergraduate adviser. Religious thinkers and concepts dealing with Western, Eastern and non-traditional religious ideas from ancient to modern times. Fulfills university upper-division baccalaureate writing requirement. May be repeated with different content.
499 Independent Study (1-3)
Supervised research projects in Comparative Religion to be taken with consent of instructor and the department chair. May be repeated for credit.
