Course summary

Religious Studies This course leads you into a profound exploration of spirituality, wisdom, and mysticism across major religious traditions—Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism—while emphasizing lived religious experiences and the search for meaning. But it also takes you beyond the traditional religious and philosophical perspectives. You'll examine contemporary spiritual identities, ethical and theological questions on life, death, gender, suffering, and pressing global issues like radicalization, ecology, and interfaith dialogue. You'll engage with historical sacred spaces, exploring their continued relevance in an age of technology and climate crisis. The course also tackles how our beliefs shape our treatment of the planet and all life forms. In a world saturated with diverse worldviews, you'll investigate how people negotiate faith, philosophy, and media, critically engaging with Western and non-Western perspectives. Questions like "Does scientism limit human understanding?" and "Is Western secularism inherently colonialist?" will challenge you to rethink assumptions about spirituality and global citizenship. By studying ancient wisdom, modern spiritual movements, and philosophical debates, you’ll develop a nuanced understanding of how people form and reform their worldviews—gaining essential insights for navigating today’s pluralistic world. Liverpool is the perfect place to study how people today deal with the different ideas and conflicting opinions that pop into the apps on our phones and computers. The city will be a constant backdrop to our studies. It is home today to new and changing religious traditions. We will visit and take a close look at places of worship – both the traditional and the strikingly new. And we will also explore the other ways that people find meaning, hope and community here – looking at the ways they actively create and use different types of ritual performance and expression to shape their spiritual identity. In this city, that of course includes art, music and football!