This course foundationally approaches the study of comparative religion. There are two meaning to “Comparative Religion”: the general and the specific. Both are necessary for a full appreciation of the varieties of religious experiences.

Comparative religion generally means studying a variety of religions, especially those different from one’s own religion or the religions of one’s culture. This study is thought to broaden one’s appreciation of diversity, enhance one’s ecumenical perspective and make one more understanding and tolerant of others.

There is a more specific meaning to the study of comparative religion however. It involves not so much the study of different religions as it does the study of shared structures among the various expressions of religion. In this way, the comparative study of religion is an investigation of the structures of “the sacred”.

Characterizing the sacred, in contrast to the profane, is a major task for the study of religion. The sacred is a concept that resists precise definition since the sacred embraces both the extraordinary and the supernatural. Therefore, investigators explore how the sacred is expressed in religious belief and activity in order to isolate and identify the key fundamentals and structural principles.