REL 137 - Speaking with the Divine

1 course unit

From the biblical world to modern America, asserting the power to speak with the divine has provided people the ability to enact social change, critique the powerful, and legitimate new religious beliefs. In this course, we will explore three different, but ultimately related ways that people have claimed to converse with the divine world: divination, shamanism, and prophecy. We will place particular emphasis on understanding the social significance and political function that these practices have played in the past, and continue to play today. More generally, we will also explore questions of religious belief and experience. The course will conclude with a reexamination of traditions of divine communication within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in light of cross-cultural comparisons with other religious traditions.
Meets general academic requirements DE and HU.