Course Objectives

Students will acquire:

• Knowledge of the role of religion in global political and social conflicts.
• Knowledge of regional conflicts in selected areas, in relation to the study location, and the role which religion plays in these.
• Deeper understanding, tolerance and respect for people with different beliefs.

Course Description

The course will provide an introduction to the role of religion in conflicts. The focus will primarily be on modern times, but an introduction will also be given in the texts of religious and interpretive traditions, and how these have been used to legitimise the use of power. Students will be offered an introduction in religious traditions’ conflicts with modernity and the secular sphere in recent times, with a focus on the phenomenon of fundamentalism. Religious terrorism will also be a theme of the course. A comparative, religious-sociological approach will be adopted. The course will provide a broad introduction to the sociological study of religion with a special focus on the role of religions in social change and conflicts.

Learning Methods

The course offers a decentralised option in cooperation with Gateway College. The teaching will be organised in the form of lectures and seminars. Students are expected to participate actively in the instruction. A written assignment is also included which is a course requirement. The assignment must be awarded a passing grade (grade E or higher) before the student will be permitted to sit the examination.

The syllabus consists of 1500 pages and is described in detail in the reading list.

Assessment Methods

The continuous assessment includes examinations and/or written submissions which count for 40% of the final grade. A final 5-hour written examination in which the student may be assessed in all the parts of the syllabus counts for 60% of the final grade. All examinations and submissions must be assessed as passed (grade E or higher) in order to achieve a final passing grade for the course.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean