Course Syllabus
HIST 3255 Comparative World Religions
3 Credit Hour

Course Learning Resources:

This course requires a Questia subscription, which will be supplemented by online resources .

Course Description

A historical and comparative survey of the principal beliefs and practices of the world's major religions. Major religions are considered: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto and Taoism.

Course Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will:
1. Understand the importance of religious belief, expression, and worship to human beings.
2. Be exposed to the major tenets and practices of the worlds major religions.
3. Be exposed to the major truth claims of each major world religion.
4. Understand the geographic impact on religious practice in the worlds various regions.
5. Compare and contrast ancient vs. modern religious practices.
6. Evaluate the absolute and relative claims of the world's major religions.
7. Evaluate the nature and character of God in light of each major world religion.

Attendance
This is a 90 day independent study course, and is designed to be primarily self-paced. Its requirements include assignments and tests that you will complete and submit via the Internet.

I will maintain email and Internet contact and will be available to answer questions, engage in discussion and provide assistance as needed.

Your assignments should be submitted as file attachments in either Microsoft Word or HTML format. Each assignment will be evaluated, graded, and returned with feedback. Values for each assignment and test are provided in a table below.

Timing
Please be sure to time your assignments so that you have adequate time to complete the work in 90 days. Course tests are sent to you after you complete specific assignments, so be sure to give yourself enough space to pace the work comfortably.

Communication
As an independent study course, this is more a one-on-one exercise than a scheduled class might be. However, discussion is still important. Please feel free to use my email address for questions, comments, concerns, etc. and I will do the same. We do have the option to add a discussion forum should we need one.

Evaluation Material

Assignments and Tests
There will be 6 major assignments, a final paper and a final exam.

Grade Components

6 Individual assignments: 10% each (60% of total)
Final exam 20%
Final paper: 20%

Grading Scale

How to Take This Course

Assignments are posted on the Assignments page. Before you start working on assignments, please email me and introduce yourself. I would like to know a little about you, your motivation for taking this course, and what you hope to gain by taking it.

After that, to get started, just visit the Assignments page and begin.