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BTI Consortium | Last Updated April 11, 2023 - 5:00PM
INTERELIGIOUS LEARNING
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5437
Jewish/Christians Reading Bible
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
This course compares how core themes in the scriptures of Israel have been received, interpreted, and disputed in their classical texts by both the Jewish and Christian communities. It will juxtapose these received readings with contemporary interpretative methods informed by the modern turn to Jewish-Christian understanding. Themes explored include creation, election, covenant, and commandment. This co-taught course will be an intentional exercise in interreligious dialogue.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ruth Langer and Daniel Joslyn-Siematkoski
R
4:30-6:50
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston University Graduate Program in Religion
GRS RN638
Philosophy and Mysticism: Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
A thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Diana Lobel
TR
2:00-3:15
Grading Option
Audit; Letter; P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL; MA allowed
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3070
Krishna and Christ: Does It Matter?
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
Krishna, a supreme deity of Hindu tradition, and Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christian faith, have been compared and contrasted for well over two centuries. They been understood as similar divine persons, who descend into this world and are embodied here, gather followers, offer wise instructions, save their devotees, and are best approached by love and devotion. But differences have often been emphasized. For centuries, missionaries, scholars, and many ordinary believers have seen Krishna and Christ as competitors., pushing similarities and differences in contexts (most often in India but not only) where true religion, salvation, and conversion were at stake. Questions arose such as these: Are Krishna and Christ mythical or historical figures? The former mythical and the latter historical? Is either divine? Both? Did they truly come into this world, by incarnation or avatara? If they save, how does that happen -- and save from what? Are they moral role models? Can a Hindu love Christ, and a Christian love Krishna? Such were "hot" questions for a very long time, and even today for some. But for many, such questions have lost their urgency in the 21st century. It is good that competition is largely a thing of the past, but it may not be good that the urgency of the comparison -- Krishna and Christ, Christ or Krishna? -- no longer matters to most people. Do we have something to gain by taking both Krishna and Christ seriously? Facing this question sheds light on many larger questions regarding spirituality, religion, and cross-cultural learning. The course proceeds by key readings, discussed vigorously in class, but experience, practices, and images are important as well. Course requirements include brief weekly written responses to readings, and two 12-page course papers, but no final examination. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 64.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Clooney, Francis
MW
10:30-11:45am
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
Prerequisite: None. Auditors not allowed. Limited enrollment course. Enrollment priority given to HDS students and other Harvard faculty cross-registrants.
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3123
Lives of the Special Dead
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
This course deals with the historical tension between religious doctrines of afterlife transcendence and lived practices of devotion to the "special dead." Considers beliefs about fertility, power, and cult in ancient Greek hero cult; the life-giving tombs and portable relics of early Christian, Byzantine, and medieval saints; Islamic shrines of the "friends of God" and pilgrimages to their tombs; and Mah_y_na traditions of the distribution of the Buddha's remains in stupas and elsewhere. We will also reflect on American funerary practices and communities of the dead, both beloved and marginalized. Topics include postmortem corruption and holy incorruptibility; mediation; bones and resurrection in eschatology and ritual; "charisma"; and earthly "traces" of deceased holy persons. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion xxxx.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Patton, Kimberley
W
3:00-5:00pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
PAST 7360
World Religions
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
We will look at humanity's quest for God from the beginning of time, and how four of the world's major religious traditions�Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism�developed. Along with their history, we will study their main teachings, worldview, and practice. Part of the class will include visiting temples of the other faiths. We will also look at the phenomenon of atheism and its own religious perspective. With each of these different religions, we willdiscussOrthodox Christianity's understanding of other religions and how we are to dialogue and interact with them, trying to discover elements that could be acceptable within Orthodox Christianity, and how these bridges could be used in sharing our faith within other religions. This Course fulfills the World Religions/Ecumenism requirement.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Rev. Luke A. Veronis
T
6:40-9PM
Grading Option
Letter, PF, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7507
Theology of Religions/Comparative Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
This seminar will focus on the various theological positions which have been developed with regard to the reality of religious pluralism as well as on the relationship between theology of religions and comparative theology. While we will focus mainly on the works of Christian theologians, we will also pay attention to analogous developments in other religious traditions.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Catherine M Cornille
T
10:00-12:25
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston University School of Theology
STH TC859
Interfaith Leadership
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
A-TERM: This course offers an entry point into the emerging field of Interfaith Leadership. It will provide students with an analysis of the power and potential of interfaith leadership in justice work, community building, and personal spiritual maturation. It includes the study and interpretation of historic and contemporary examples of interfaith leadership, requires students hone an articulation of their own faith-based motivations for interfaith engagement, and teaches best practices for engagement across differing belief systems. Students will engage in interfaith dialogue as part of their course work. Upon completion of the course, students will have increased their ability to engage in interfaith settings, understand how interfaith leadership differs from intra- faith leadership, and be clear on their individual points of tension in interfaith leadership settings, as well as those of their denomination or faith tradition. The course welcomes people of all faiths from atheism to theism and does not require a specific affiliation.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wendy Von Courter
A TERM
9:00-4:00
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 3119
Ancient Hermeticism and Alchemy
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
This course will introduce students to the ancient Hermetic and alchemical traditions of Greco-Roman Egypt. Previous coursework in philosophy and religion in the ancient Mediterranean world is recommended but not strictly required. An optional Greek reading section will be offered. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1314.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Stang, Charles
T
3:00-5:00pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
CHST 7701
Seminar:Orth-Roman Cath. Relations
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA23
Following a review of the issues of alienation and schism, the course will examine the documents of the contemporary bilateral dialogues between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The course fulfills the World Regions/Ecumenism requirement.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Rev. Dr. Philip Joseph Halikias
M
9:40AM-12PM
Grading Option
Letter, PF, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
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