AP/HUMA3804 3.0 B: Theories in the Study of Religion
Offered by: HUMA
(Cross-listed to: AP/RLST3804 3.0B )
Session
Fall 2025
Term
F
Format
BLEN (Blended online and classroom)
Instructor
Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite
Introduces students to the foundational theorists and key questions in the history of the academic study of religion. This course examines the lenses through which we view religion, that is, how differing theoretical models shape our understanding of religion as a human phenomenon. Starting with Marx, Durkheim and Weber, the course explores a variety of theoretical models and contemporary debates. Open to: Religious Studies Majors and Minors only.
Course Start Up
Course Websites hosted on York's "eClass" are accessible to students during the first week of the term. It takes two business days from the time of your enrolment to access your course website. Course materials begin to be released on the course website during the first week. To log in to your eClass course visit the York U eClass Portal and login with your Student Passport York Account. If you are creating and participating in Zoom meetings you may also go directly to the York U Zoom Portal.
For further course Start Up details, review the Getting Started webpage.
For IT support, students may contact University Information Technology Client Services via askit@yorku.ca or (416) 736-5800. Please also visit UIT Student Services or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.
Alicia Turner, 702 Kaneff Tower
turnera@yorku.ca
Office Hours via Zoom by appointment
This course introduces students to the foundational theorists and key questions of the academic
study of religion. This course examines the lenses through which we view religion, that is, how
differing theoretical models shape our understanding of religion as a human phenomenon. In this,
it provides students with an overview of the development of the field.
The overall goal is to become familiar with the range of theoretical approaches and history of the
field so that we can place ourselves within the stream of critical scholarly thinking about religion.
Some of the content of the course will shift from year to year to consider various historical,
sociological, psychological, phenomenological, comparative, feminist and/or post-
structuralist/literary theoretical approaches. It will expose students to key debates in the study of
religion including the history and problems of definitions of religion, the insider/outsider problem,
post-colonial critiques and critiques of secularism.
Megan Goodwin and Ilyse Morganstein Fuerst, Religion is not Done with You, Penguin Random
House, 2024.
M. Cooper Minister and Sarah J. Bloesch, eds. Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion
Bloomsbury Publishers 2nd edition 2023.
Read and Reflect 60%
Engage 10%
Compare, Interpret and Synthesize 30%
• To enable students to chart the major theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
• To enable students to question the object of study throughout the course, as well as the
formation of the field itself.
• To enable students to ask questions beyond disciplinary boundaries.
• To enable students to analyze the limitations, biases, and advances of selected approaches to
the study of religion and thus develop a comparative and interdisciplinary critique.
- Academic Honesty
- Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Religious Observance
- Grading Scheme and Feedback
- 20% Rule
No examinations or tests collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule are classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms. - Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
