Description
This course examines the history and doctrines of six of the world’s important religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The course will discuss the differences, similarities, and relationships among them and the considerable diversity within each. The course will also consider what each religion considers the principle problem facing humankind, the paths to addressing that problem, and its thoughts on death and the afterlife. We will consider who wrote each religion’s sacred documents, their historical contexts and what they reveal about each religion’s key features.
Instructor
Bob Pearson
Bob taught at the University of Pennsylvania for ten years, being voted best teacher by the Fels Institute of Government’s graduating class of 2011. He is currently attending a course on world religions at Valencia College and has been engaged in independent study of religions for the past three years. The tentative title of his current book project is Blind Faith: What My Minister Didn’t Tell Me About Christianity. He earned a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago and taught Sunday School many years ago.
