RELG 253 - Love, God, and Sexuality

A cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary approach to the questions of how the social and cultural significance of sexuality has been shaped by religious discourse, myth, doctrine, and ritual. How have various forms of sexual expression come to be seen as normal, while others are seen as deviant? How has passionate love served as a metaphor for the expression of religious experiences, such as the union of the soul with God? How have people thought to “channel” sexual energy to pursue spiritual projects, as in tantra and religious celibacy? Topics of study may include marriage, different- and same-sex love, virginity, celibacy, sacred prostitution, ecstasy and mysticism, and the role of transvestites, transsexuals, androgynes, and third-gender people in religious myth and ritual in contexts such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Credits: 1
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: No Senior
Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements

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