SOC 246 - Religion and Our Social World

5 CR

What is religion? What power does religion have in our social world? What’s the difference between spirituality and religion? Explore the sociological phenomenon of religion and religious life. Themes include various beliefs and practices, cults, popular culture, death and dying, the political and economic impacts of religion, and/or social change.

Course Outcomes

Apply basic sociological concepts and ideas to religion;
Analyze symbols, icons, and popular conceptions such as worship and death around the world;
Discuss the ways in which popular culture has shaped the beliefs, structures and practices of religious groups (and vice versa), particularly in the United States;
Explain U.S. and global social, political and cultural rules about Religion from a social perspective;
Think critically about the various ways in which we construct ideas of our Selves against the landscape of Religion (i.e. Does it define us or not? How do we define ourselves as a member or nonmember of an organized religion, and why is that important in developing a sense of Self?); and
Describe religion as a social phenomenon.

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