Undergraduate - UnitATS2724 - Spiritualities, faiths and religions: Society and the transcendent

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Caulfield First semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Greg Gow

Notes

Previously coded SCY2290

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? How do we compare with other places around the world? This unit examines the current state of religion and spirituality in Australia, compares this with the rest of the world, and offers a sociological interpretation of these developments.

Outcomes

Students completing this unit will:

Develop a critical awareness of contemporary religion and spirituality;
Be introduced to different sociological approaches to the study of religion and religious change;
Develop their analytical skills to critically understand and interpret recent religious developments.

Assessment

Short assignment (1125 words): 25%
Major essay (2250 words): 50%
Open book examination (1 hour): 25%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Greg Gow

Contact hours

One 2-hour seminar per week)

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Sociology
Religion and theology
Indonesian studies
Anthropology

Prohibitions

ATS3724, RLT2290, RLT3290, COS2290, COS3290