Der Kurs vermittelt Grundlagenwissen zur Orientierung von
Studienanfänger*innen im weiten Feld der Religionsgeschichte. Am Ausgang
stehen kritische Reflexionen zum Begriff der ‚Weltreligionen‘ und zur
historischen Herausbildung der „öffentlich kommunizierte[n] und weithin
geteilte[n] Annahme, dass es auf der Welt eine Vielzahl Religionen gibt,
die sich untereinander als Mitglieder einer Klasse
wahrnehmen.“ (Stausberg 2020, 18) Anschließend werden mit einem weiten
Arbeitsbegriff von Religion Orientierungsmuster und Traditionen
erkundet. Dazu sind folgende Themenblöcke geplant:
„Religionswissenschaftliche Zugänge im Überblick“; „Biographien in der
globalen Religionsgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts“;
„Erlösungsvorstellungen in der Religionsgeschichte der ‚Achsenzeit‘“;
„Religion als Praxis und soziale Ordnung“; „Historische und soziale Zeit
in den Religionen“; „Körper der Religionen“.
- Teacher: Wenzel Braunfels
- Teacher: Lorenz Trein
- Teacher: Vanessa Von Campe
The English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) is regarded as one of the
main contributors to the intellectual foundations of the modern,
liberal, secular order. This course concentrates on reading several of
Locke’s most important works on religion and politics. Writing in the
wake of both the English Civil War, and Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan,
Locke’s defenses of religious toleration and individual liberties
proved immensely influential, also on the U.S. Constitution. We will
read such writings as the Letter concerning Toleration; the Two Treatises of Government; and The Reasonableness of Christianity.
We will also consider early critics and interlocutors of Locke such as
Jonas Proast and Robert Filmer, and more recent evaluations of Locke’s
philosophy by such scholars as Jeremy Waldron, Teresa Bejan, and Jeffrey
Collins.
- Teacher: Wenzel Braunfels
- Teacher: Lowri Cryer Davies
- Teacher: Robert Yelle
One of many parallels between Asian and European philosophical
traditions is that each has developed traditions of skepticism.
Skepticism calls into question the veracity of our sense perceptions,
our knowledge of the world, and our ability to distinguish between the
states of waking and dreaming, etc. Sceptics also expressed doubt
regarding religious belief, the efficacy of ritual practices, and the
existence of the gods. In ancient India, skepticism informed the
Buddhist critique of Brahmanical Hinduism and the development of
Mahayana philosophy ca. 100 BCE. In early modern Europe, the reception
of classical Greek skepticism influenced, on the one hand, religious
toleration, and on the other, the radical Enlightenment, with its
rejection of religion as well as of miracles and revelation. We will
consider some classical and modern texts that present skepticism
regarding knowledge in general and religion in particular. European
authors discussed include Plato, Cicero, Sextus Empiricus, Descartes,
Hobbes, Hume, and Nietzsche. Readings from premodern East Asian
traditions address Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian critiques of the
veneration of relics and spirits, the authority of religious
dignitaries, or the epistemic status of empirical vs. innate knowledge,
as well as universalist legitimations of the sovereign. Readings by
modern writers such as Zhang Dongsun and Nishitani Keiji address, among
other things, the influence of Christianity, nihilism, and the effects
of the division between reason and faith that Enlightenment is said to
impose on culture.
- Teacher: Wenzel Braunfels
- Teacher: Martin Lehnert
- Teacher: Robert Yelle
| In diesem Grundkurs werden Grundthemen und zentrale Theorien der
Religionswissenschaft anhand ausgewählter Texte von Klassikern und
Klassikerinnen vorgestellt und diskutiert. Damit werden wesentliche
Linien der religionswissenschaftlichen Forschungsgeschichte
rekonstruiert. Diese Einführungsveranstaltung dient als gute Basis für
die Orientierung auf religionswissenschaftliche Ansätze, was besonders
wichtig für Studienanfänger ist. Lektüre auf Deutsch und Englisch |
|---|
- Teacher: Wenzel Braunfels
- Teacher: Silviu-Vasile Rosu
- Teacher: Robert Yelle
Religious freedom, toleration, freedom of conscience: this idea,
enshrined in constitutions, statutes, and international treaties, is
regarded as one of the signal achievements of our modern, secular age.
Often called the “first freedom” and distinguished as the foundation and
precedent for other human rights, religious freedom has a more complex
history than is commonly recognized. We will examine the development of
this idea chronologically in European civilization, and look for
cross-cultural parallels in such places as ancient India and the Islamic
world. Early modern authors discussed include Martin Luther, Roger
Williams, John Locke, and Humphrey Prideaux. We will also address
contemporary debates and cases from North America, the European Union,
India, and elsewhere. As contemporary societies have become more
religiously diverse, disputes regarding the appropriate limits to
religious freedom have not gone away, but arguably have become more
complex.
- Teacher: Wenzel Braunfels