Religion and Cultural Analysis

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the much-discussed (but less often understood) concept of culture and its implications for the study of contemporary religion. After attending to more theoretical concerns, we will investigate the manner in which a nuanced construal of culture is essential for better understanding such things as secularization, ideological subcultures, religious change, and the salience of religiosity in forging ethnic and racial identities. By attending to these (and other) topics, students should acquire the theoretical and methodological tools necessary for becoming more sophisticated observers of religion as it is actually lived out in the United States and elsewhere.

  • Course Categories: General Theology
  • Science Topics: History & Philosophy of Science, Life Sciences
  • Seminaries: Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University
  • Syllabus: Religion and Cultural Analysis
  • Tags:
    theology, pastoral theology, sociology of religion, science and religion, catholic, orthodox, history and philosophy of science

Related resources

  • Metaphysics

    This course, taught by Alan Vincelette at St. John's Seminary, is a study of the ultimate nature of spiritual reality, including materialism vs. idealism, essence and existence, potentiality and actuality, identity, the transcendentals, and the laws of thought.

  • Logic

    This course, taught by Alan Vincelette and Janice Daurio at St. John's Seminary, is a study of the logic of classical logic including definitions, categorical propositions, syllogisms, truth tables, and fallacies, and modern logic including Mill’s methods, predicate logic, modal logic, the scientific method, and the linguistic analysis of names, descriptions, concepts, and statements.

  • Introduction to Church History: 1500 to the Present

    This course, taught by Fr. Luke Dysinger at St. John's Seminary, will introduce the history, theology, and spirituality of the Christian Church from 1500 to the present. The rich theological, spiritual, and moral heritage of Catholic thought during this period will be highlighted through study of primary sources. In order to profit from the cultural…

  • Philosophy of Nature

    This course, taught by Michael K. Grace at St. John's Seminary, introduces the philosophical study of nature through the reading of original works of Aristotle and Aquinas and selected secondary readings that emphasize the relationship between the philosophy of nature and modern science.

  • Theology II

    This course, taught by Ken Keathley at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, is a study of Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology in which the biblical, historical, systematic and philosophical views of these doctrines will be defined and surveyed. The scriptural foundations for these doctrines will be emphasized and arguments set forth in their defense. Alternate…

  • Christian Theology I: Revelation, God, Humanity, Sin

    This course, taught by John Hammett and Benjamin Quinn at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, is designed to introduce the student to the discipline of systematic theology and the doctrines of the Christian faith dealing with revelation, God, humanity, and sin. Study will include the biblical foundations and historical development of each doctrine, leading to a…

In furtherance of the AAAS mission of advancing science in service to society, AAAS|DoSER’s role in the Science for Seminaries project is to support efforts to integrate science into seminary education. AAAS|DoSER does not advise on or endorse the theological content of the participating seminaries.