World Religions

Brian Justice
Rising 10th – Rising 12th Graders
June 21 – July 16 • 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Monday – Friday
No class on Monday, July 5
$1,095 per session
“And take upon us the mystery of things as if we were God’s spies...”
– Shakespeare, King Lear
The objective of this course is two-fold: 1) to introduce students to the academic study of religion, and 2) to survey various topics within the historical, literary and philosophical traditions of the world’s major religions. We will begin by asking some fundamental questions. What is the meaning of religion? What does it mean to be human? What is the relationship between consciousness and religion? Are human beings as human beings necessarily religious beings? In other words, we will consider the possibility that religion is a universal phenomenon – perhaps even a necessary one – in human life.
Then, in attempting to survey some of the Bible and some parts of the world’s major religious traditions, we will give some attention to historical and cultural settings, but we will also emphasize the reading of sacred texts and other critical primary source material in order to grasp something of their insight into the basic religious questions. It is hoped that each student will attain an objective yet sympathetic understanding and appreciation of religion and its role in human affairs.
Brian Justice began teaching in 1992 and he has taught religion and history at Collegiate School since 1996. He has taught and coached with Summer Quest since 1996. Brad Cooke has taught at Collegiate since 2011 and this is his 18th year as a teacher.
For more information, contact the Summer Quest office at summerquest@collegiate-va.org.
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