(Set) Sacred Texts of the World & Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know

(Set) Sacred Texts of the World & Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know

(Set) Sacred Texts of the World & Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know

Grasp the role of spiritual belief in cultures with this intriguing course set. Start with Sacred Texts of the World, which examines the written religious texts at the core of both major and lesser-known faiths around the world. Then turn to Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know to understand why religion matters so much to so many of the world’s peoples, and embark on a comparative study that will help you grasp each faith’s precepts and put current events into context.

Related Courses

Explore similar courses.

Sacred Texts of the World

Sacred Texts of the World

Throughout history, religious expression has been an essential human activity, deeply influencing the development of cultures and civilizations. With few exceptions, humanity’s religions are grounded in their sacred texts—foundational writings that crystallize the principles and vision of the faiths, forming the basis of belief and action. These are texts that people around the world live by and, at times, are willing to die for. Now, in Sacred Texts of the World, Professor Grant Hardy of the University of North Carolina at Asheville takes you deeply into the world canon of sacred writings that have played an integral role in human culture and history. Covering a wide spectrum of texts, the course examines the scriptures of seven major religious traditions, as well as nine lesser-known or smaller faiths, including sacred writings from the ancient Egyptian and Mayan civilizations. These 36 lectures provide rich insights into world cultures and the meaning of religious faith.

Great Courses Learn more
Introduction to the Study of Religion

Introduction to the Study of Religion

Whether one acts as an individual, a local community member, or part of a broader fellowship of believers, the approach to religion remains the same: viewing religion and religious life from the inside. What changes, however, when the approach to religion comes from the outside? How do scholars study the ways the religious experience is felt, shared, and communicated? How do they explain how this extraordinarily powerful force can define and shape the communities it creates? In Introduction to the Study of Religion, Professor Charles B. Jones offers a vibrant look at the discipline known as religious studies.

Great Courses Learn more
Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition

Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition

In Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition, noted scholar and Professor Tyler Roberts leads you on a fascinating 36-lecture journey that will help you understand the more than 300-year-long debate about the nature of religious faith and its compatibility with reason. It's a debate that increasingly swirls around the role of religion in the public arena in fields such as politics, education, medicine, and other sciences. Now is your chance to embark on one of the most intellectually satisfying plunges into philosophical and theological thought you will ever take—one that will add significantly to your grasp of some of today's most far-reaching issues.

Great Courses Learn more
The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity

The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity

In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to better understand the foundational role religion played in their daily lives. Because their religion circumscribed almost all aspects of life both inside and outside the home, it makes a wonderful lens through which to gain a deeper knowledge of their world.

Great Courses Learn more

Get the latest news!