Religious and Ethical Studies

Professors Benko and Grimes.

The department offers an innovative major and minor in religious and ethical studies.

The department’s purpose is to encourage students to explore and to understand religious and ethical perspectives on human life. The study of religion and ethics in the liberal arts curriculum prepares students to live in our ever-expanding world where multiple religious and ethical perspectives inform the different ways in which people inhabit, experience and ultimately shape the world we all share. Living in a global context requires sensitive understanding and critical evaluation of religious identities: their texts and symbols, their histories and world-views, their social institutions and material practices. It also requires specific skills and methods to analyze the complex ways in which our culture and our various religious and ethical frameworks inform each other, as well as to negotiate interactions between different and often conflicting religious perspectives and values.

Student Learning Outcomes of the Religious and Ethical Studies Department

The department offers general education courses with the goal of developing students’ basic religious and ethical literacy. The introductory courses (RES-102, RES-103, and RES-104) meet this goal, through enabling students to:

  • Summarize the key questions, problems, or issues associated with the study of religion or ethics;
  • Demonstrate knowledge of common terminology and concepts applicable to the study of religion or ethics;
  • Articulate the value of diverse interpretive, religious, or ethical perspectives.

The major in religious and ethical studies and minors build on this foundation in religious and ethical literacy through educating students in the various dimensions of scholarship in the field of religious studies and exploring the diversity of ethical values in various aspects of today’s society, for example, in medicine and medical research, economics and the environment. Religious and ethical studies courses enable students to:

The major in religious and ethical studies provides a versatile preparation for graduate study and/or a career in a wide variety of fields. The knowledge and critical thinking skills that students acquire prepares them for assuming leadership roles in careers in law, ministry, business, public policy, psychology, human services, writing, medical research, environmental studies, social work and others. The major is also an ideal second major, enhancing any other major at Meredith with the ability to deepen and expand their understanding of the religious and ethical issues in their area of study. Students who wish to pursue advanced study or research in religious and ethical studies should consult with the department head and arrange for it through the special studies options.

Students may elect courses through the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges.

Degrees and Certificates

Courses

RES-102: World Religions

An exploration of major eastern and western religious traditions including, but not limited to, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to looking at the historical development of such traditions, this course addresses issues concerning current religious practice and the role of major religious traditions in contemporary society.

RES-103: Biblical Literature and History

A study of the canonical literature of the Jewish and Christian traditions. This course will explore how this diverse body of literature relates to its social and historical contexts. The focus will be on acquiring tools from a variety of academic approaches to reading the Bible. This course will enable students to understand how interpretive choices have been made in the reading of biblical texts and to reflect on how diverse ways of interpreting the Bible have shaped culture and continue to do so.

RES-104: Religious Ethics and Social Issues

This is an introductory course in ethical reflection which explores contemporary social issues from a variety of religious and philosophical traditions. Issues covered pertain to personal concerns such as sexuality, marriage, and reproduction, as well as broader societal issues regarding our economic lives and the environment.

RES-201: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life

An examination of issues common to human experience, such as the nature of reality and the self; theories of knowledge and values; and concepts of fate, free will, and justice.

RES-220: Ethics of Love and Justice

This course is an introduction to the historical development of ethical thought in the western philosophical and religious traditions. It is organized around the central themes of love and justice as addressed by major thinkers from the ancient past to the present. Students will explore various interpretations of the nature and demands of justice in conversation with the different roles that love and emotion are seen to play in shaping ethical commitments and practices.

RES-221: Comparative Religious Ethics

The course focuses on methodological issues associated with comparison in the academic study of religion and theological approaches. The role of comparison in interfaith dialogues will be emphasized throughout the course. Examples from a variety of religious traditions about relevant social issues will be used to reiterate methodological concerns and to expand student knowledge of the variety of approaches to moral and ethical decision making in different religious traditions.

Required Prerequisites

Complete one 100-level religion course or permission of instructor

RES-250: Religion and Moving Images

This course explores religious meaning in moving images (film or television). It will consider a wide variety of sources - from independent to mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, to television shows and mini-series - and will provide students with background knowledge of a variety of ways religious meaning is constructed and explored in films and television. After introductory readings on film theory, students will critically assess the form and content of films and/or television shows selected from different eras, cultures, or religious perspectives to explore how the moving image can give rise to religious meaning.

RES-253: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: A Conversation

Judaism, Christianity and Islam trace their roots to one biblical ancestor: Abraham. This course delves into a comparative study of the beliefs, practices and social concerns of the Abrahamic religions and examines constructive methods of interfaith dialogue.

RES-254: Introduction to Asian Religions

This course introduces the major religions of India, China, and Japan, including (but not limited to) Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Students will develop a cross-cultural understanding of religion by engaging in a comparative study of beliefs, practices, and sacred texts of these Asian traditions.

RES-267: Christian Origins: From Cult to Empire

A study of the development and diversity of early Christian life and thought as reflected in literature spanning from the New Testament letters of Paul to the writings of St. Augustine in the fifth century. Topics will include the spread of Christianity and the formation of the early church; persecution and martyrdom; heresy and orthodoxy; women's roles; social issues; asceticism and sainthood.

RES-268: Women and the Bible

A study of the status of women in the Old and New Testament cultures, the understandings of women in biblical theology, and the role of women in the events of biblical history.

RES-280: Religious and Ethical Studies Internship

This course consists of an internship in fields related to religious or ethical studies or both. The student will evaluate the experience under the guidance of an RES faculty member. An internship proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration.

RES-283: Women, Religion & Ethnography

This course explores women's attitudes, beliefs, and practices within their religious heritages through written descriptive studies based almost entirely on Fieldwork research, Ritual, leadership roles and religious experiences of women across a wide range of cultures will be examined.

Required Prerequisites

One RES course or with permission of instructor

RES-284: Sin, Satan, and Evil

A study of beliefs, images, and stories about sin and evil in the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity, focusing around the figure of Satan and patterns of belief and disbelief in Western religious history.

RES-285: Religion and Literature

This course investigates the presence of religious concepts and themes in a variety of literary forms as well as the presence of literary themes and devices in religious works. Course readings will draw from different time periods and cultures and include myth, history, parable, short stories, essays, oral narratives, poems, and novels.

RES-306: Religion and Pop Culture

This course explores the intersection of religion and pop culture, focusing on religion in pop culture and pop culture as religion. The relationship between religion and culture is explored through a variety of theoretical lenses with examples being drawn from American pop culture (TV, music, internet, and film). Students will be challenged to read popular culture "texts" through a critical lens that takes into account issues such as ideology, Americanization, and racial, gendered, and sexual identities.

Required Prerequisites

One 100-level RES course or permission of instructor

RES-344: Bioethics and Society

This course explores the ethical implications of technological and economic developments in the areas of health care and medical research relevant to both the general public and health care professionals and researchers. Specific issues covered include professional ethics, reproductive technologies, genetic testing and engineering, organ transplants, biomedical research and health care allocation and access.

RES-345: Environmental Ethics

This course explores ethical issues that arise in connection to the environment including: biodiversity; wilderness preservation; pollution; population; private property and common resources; intergenerational justice; environmental public policy; and corporate responsibility. Students will be introduced to the historical traditions of thought with respect to the environment, new and emerging forms of environmental ethics and the practical application of ethical theories and principles to current environmental concerns. Particular attention will be given to the ethical challenges of weighing competing interests and claims of individuals, social groups and institutions, future generations and the broader biotic community.

RES-346: Anthropology of Religion

This course focuses on the ways in which religion and human culture intersect. We will look at such themes as myth, symbol, magic and ritual and see how they contribute to the formation of human societies. Students will engage in a local field research project to learn how anthropologists study religion.

RES-351: Jesus and the Gospels

This course examines the varied and multiple ways that Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament gospels and other Christian gospels. The modern quest for the historical Jesus is a focal point of this course, and students will examine a variety of historical, literary and theological problems posed by the gospel texts and the quest.

RES-352: History of Christian Thought and Ethics

This course examines both historical development and contemporary themes in Christian thought and ethics. How have Christian beliefs about God, humanity, love, and justice influenced moral teaching on significant social issues including economic interests, race, gender and ecology? What are the ethics of individual human action, and what is the role of the church?

RES-379: Religion and Globalization in the Americas

This course will investigate the interconnections among religion, economics, and politics in the Americas during our significant historical moments. Conquest, Slavery, Independence/Industrialization, and the crises of the mid-20th Century.

Required Prerequisites

One RES course or permission of instructor

RES-385: Europe in the Middle Ages

This course will survey major developments in western Europe from roughly 400 CE to 1300 CE. It will use primary and secondary sources to explore the growth of a distinctly European civilization upon its Judeo-Christian, classical and Germanic roots, and will trace the expression of this civilization through its political religious and educational institutions; its former religious thought and vernacular literature; its art, architecture and music; and its interactions with different cultures both within and beyond its borders. Specific topics covered will include the Germanic invasions, monasticism, the conversion of Europe, the growth of the manorial and feudal systems, scholastic thought in the universities, heresy and the crusades, the growth of representative government and others.

RES-387: Age of Renaissance/Reformation

This course will work primarily through class discussion of primary sources to understand the changes in outlook expressed in the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. In particular, it will focus upon the transition from medieval toward modern attitudes in areas such as historical and scientific thought, political and educational theory, philosophy, art, music and religious thought and practice. It will also address the economic, social and political variables that underlay these changes in intellectual life, as well as the impact that these ideas had upon European society. Students will be encouraged to explore individual interests from their own major fields and personal backgrounds.

RES-480: Senior Internship

This capstone course consists of an internship in fields related to religious or ethical studies or both. Under the guidance of an RES faculty member, the student will apply theories and methods from these disciplines to actual work in the field, evaluate her experience, and give a formal presentation. An internship proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration.

Required Prerequisites

Junior or Senior Standing
RES majors

RES-498: Honors Thesis in Religion

In conjunction with a faculty mentor, the student will formulate and conduct a research project that will culminate in a paper and a presentation. A research proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration. The project must meet Honors Program thesis requirements and conform to the thesis guidelines of the Department of Religious and Ethical Studies.

Required Prerequisites

12 credits of RES courses, or by permission of the instructor.
Junior or Senior standing, Honors students and Teaching Fellows

RES-499: Research in Religious and Ethical Studies

In conjunction with a faculty mentor, the student will participate in a research project that will culminate in a paper and a presentation. A research proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration.

Required Prerequisites

Junior or Senior Standing, RES Majors, and Religion and Ethics and the Public Interest minors.