Course description

RELN3003 explores the sociology of religion, including its key theories and research practices. It seeks to introduce students to the nature and function of religious beliefs, practices, and institutions, as well as the socially constructed nature of religion and its impact on societies. Students will learn how religion has been interpreted by sociologists in the past, and how evolving perspectives shape both the way academics perceive religion and how they study it. They will learn how religion permeates and affects virtually every domain of human culture and social interaction. RELN3003 will examine what the sociology of religion reveals about the nature of secularisation, violence and terrorism, sexuality, scripture, class, gender, inequality and power, the spiritualities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, rituals, politics and religion, notions of purity, as well as beliefs about where the universe came from. These perspectives can help us to better understand the world that we live in, and the presence of certain religious phenomena across human societies.

Archived offerings