Religion and violence: critical issues

Aims of the course: 

• To introduce participants to the critical issues raised by the study of religion and violence, in particular religions and war, terrorism, interpersonal violence and peacemaking.
• To help participants to engage with the current debates, academic and popular, in the study of religion and violence.
• To assist participants to become critical interpreters of scholarly and popular interpretations of the relationship between religion and violence.

Course content overview:

The course will begin with a critical overview of popular representations of religion and violence and addressing foundational questions that are raised by such material. For example, we shall address questions of definition ('What is religion?' 'What is violence?') and questions of causation (e.g. 'Does religion cause violence?) as well as a cluster of more specific questions, common in popular discourse ('Is there a link between non-violent extremism and religious terrorism?', 'Are cults inherently violent?', 'Are the so-called Abrahamic religions more violent than other religious traditions?'. We will then move on to focus on the part that religion might play in a number of specific forms of violence, from warfare and terrorism to family and intimate partner violence, using case studies, both ancient and modern, drawn from a number of different religious traditions and geographical contexts, as well as scrutinising the role of religion in peacemaking and conflict resolution.The course will conclude by examining the likely future of the relationship between religion and violence, and possible directions in the interpretation of the link between the two.

Schedule (this course is completed entirely online):

Orientation Week: 29 May-4 June 2017

Teaching Weeks: 5 June-9 July 2017

Feedback Week: 10-16 July 2017

Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.

While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).

Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards,etc).

A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.

What our students say about our online Religious Studies courses - April 2015

"Excellent, with insightful feedback and guidance for further reading"

"The tutor was very skilful in answering student comments"

Try a free 'taster' version of our online courses >>

Target audience:

• Those with an interest in the study of religion and happy to approach the subject matter in a critical manner.
• The course may also appeal to those who have a professional interest in the subject (journalists, teachers, police, etc.), as well as those with a personal or purely intellectual interest.