SCY2290

Spiritualities, Faiths and Religions: Society and the Transcendent ( 6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL)

Leader: Andrew Singleton

Offered:
Clayton First semester 2005 (Day)

Synopsis: Are Australians spiritual, religious or what? Is Australia Christian, Monotheist, Secular or Polytheist? Why are Islam, Buddhism and Witchcraft growing? Is there a future for the churches? Does it make any difference? Focusing on religion in Australia, this option examines the problem of religious meaning, the emergence and maintenance of religious systems of meaning, and the interaction between religion and other aspects of society.

Objectives: Students completing this subject successfully will encounter the diversity of spirituality in religiously plural Australia, become sensitive to the ways in which spiritualities and modes of interacting with the transcendent are socially organised, understand the complex interplay between religion and society, appreciate the social underpinning and structuring of religious belief and the ways in which religious belief shapes society, become aware of the sociological perspectives on spirituality and religious belief, practice and organisation in Australian society.

Assessment: Research paper (3500 words): 75% + Class test (1 hour): 25% + Second year students' research reports will involve two rather than three theories of religion.

Contact Hours: 2 hours (1 x 2 hour seminar) per week

Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in Sociology or permission

Prohibitions: SCY3290, RLT2/3290, COS2290/3290