Religion, Myth and Secularization

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The course provides a broad approach to religion as a cultural phenomenon. It focuses on the following groups of questions and topics: 1. Defining religion What is religion about? How does religion differ from the sciences and the arts? What do secularization processes involve? In this part of the course we will look into significant philosophical perspectives on the nature of religion and secularism. 2. On the contents of religion We will briefly consider the most important characteristics of the major world religions. Against this background we will discuss a number of key narratives and themes from the Judeo-Christian heritage, taken from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament (such as the creation story, book of Job, death and resurrection of Christ, epistles by Paul). 3. On the politics of religion The last part of the course will look at the role of religion and religious institutions within political power structures, ranging from the Vatican to the Middle-East.