This course introduces the academic study of religion with emphasis on the origin and functions of religion, religious experience, and major issues within the field of religious studies. Topics of study will include religion and society, the intersection between religion and gender, race, and violence, and the diverse components of religion (CSU, UC)(AA/AS-C, CSU-C2)

This course is an introduction to the major religions of the world and the primary figures associated with those religious systems. Students will study the content of religious beliefs and examine the rituals and practices through which those beliefs are expressed. (CSU/UC) (AA/AS-C, CSU-C2, IGETC-3B)

This course is a study of religion based on in-depth reading and careful analysis of the primary sacred texts associated with major religions of the East and the West. (CSU/UC) (AA/AS-C, CSU-C2, IGETC-3B)

A study of the relationship between religious beliefs and practices and aspects of culture as represented through literary, performing and visual arts. Emphasis is on major world religions and dominant traditions of Eastern and Western culture. (CSU/UC) (AA/AS-C, CSU-C1,C2, IGETC-3B)

This course provides an overview of the variety of religious traditions and communities found throughout Asia. Students comparatively examine the beliefs, scriptures, world-views, rituals, ethics, and social systems of the religious traditions and communities throughout Asia. (CSU/UC) (AA/AS-C, CSU-C2, IGETC-3B)

In this course students will examine the role of religion and religious groups in key events, time periods, regions, and institutions of the United States. The course concentrates on the interaction of religious groups with each other and with the larger society, particularly in relation to the political, economic, geographical, and cultural life of the nation. We will explore the contours of religion in North America from the precolonial times to the present, with special attention paid to American religious diversity and the complexities of American religious life. As we analyze the role of religion in American history, we will view past events through the lens of African-Americans, Native Americans, Latinx Americans, and Asian-Americans, amongst other perspectives. We will also explore the religious dimensions of gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class. (CSU) (AA/AS-D) (CSU-C2, IGETC-3B)

This course will provide an introduction to the Christian religion, giving attention to the history of its development. Its scriptures, rituals, and beliefs will be examined, as well as important persons, groups, and events which have developed among the Roman, Orthodox, and Protestant communities of Christianity. (CSU/UC) (AA/AS-C, CSU-C2, IGETC-3B)

This course analyzes the relations between religion, religious communities, and political institutions in the United States and California. The course examines political institutions and processes under the U.S. and California Constitutions, the influence of religion and religious communities on these institutions and processes, and the influence of these institutions and processes on religious communities, especially related to the rights and duties of citizenship. The influence of religious communities on the development and evolution of the U.S. Constitution and policy making role of traditional political institutions such as the presidency, the Congress, and the judiciary will be explored. Topics of study include freedom of religion, civil rights and citizenship, the political and religious philosophies of the framers of the U.S. Constitution, Constitutional documents as sources of civil religion, religion and immigration, separation of church and state, religion in public education, and the role of religion in war and domestic and foreign policy. (CSU, UC)(AA/AS-D, CSU-D)