Skagit Valley College

Catalog Course Search Details

 Course Title:   Philosophy of Religion

 Title Abbreviation:   PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

 Department:    PHIL

 Course #:    140

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    380101

 EPC:    n/a

 REV:    2018


 Course Description  

Philosophical exploration of the nature of religion, the nature of the ultimate (God), and the meaning of religious concepts (faith, revelation, religious experience, immortality).

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Completed ENGL& 101 with a grade of 2.0 or higher.

Additional Course Details

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0


Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Academic Humanities  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Other Institution Equivalencies Table
Institution Course # Remarks
UW PHIL267 Philosophy of Religion
WWU PHIL113 Intro to Philosophy:Philosophy of Relgion

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

  1. become familiar with philosophic and religious language
  2. identify methods of evaluating comparative religious experience
  3. apply axiology to the study of religion
  4. recognize and articulate diverse ways of making sense of religious experience

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

0. Application and Integration

Definition: Applying information from one or more disciplines and/or field experiences in new contexts (Outcome 0.1); developing integrated approaches or responses to personal, academic, professional, and social issues (Outcomes 0.2-0.5).

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
0.3 Identify and evaluate the relationships among different perspectives within a field of study and among different fields of study.

1. Information Literacy

Definition: Recognizing when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
1.1 Determine the extent of information needed.
1.2 Access the needed information effectively, efficiently, ethically, and legally.
1.3 Evaluate information and its sources critically.

2. Critical Thinking

Definition: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
2.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and facts related to a specific discipline.
2.2 Analyze issues and develop questions within a discipline.
2.3 Identify, interpret, and evaluate pertinent data and previous experience to reach conclusions.

3. Communication

Definition: Understanding and producing effective written, spoken, visual, and non-verbal communication.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
3.1 Recognize, read, and comprehend academic and/or professional writing.

4. Community & Cultural Diversity

Definition: Recognizing the value of human communities and cultures from multiple perspectives through a critical understanding of their similarities and differences.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
4.2 Understand, value and respect human differences and commonalities as they relate to issues of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and culture.
4.3 Understand the historically and socially constructed nature of—and the meanings attributed to—human differences.
4.4 Demonstrate effective communication across differences in human communities and cultures.

6. Individual Awareness & Responsibility

Definition: Understanding, managing, and taking responsibility for one’s learning and behavior in varied and changing environments.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
6.1 Identify ethical and healthy choices and apply these personally, socially, academically, and professionally.

Course Contents

  1. methodologies of comparative religion
  2. the nature of deities: Hinduism
  3. religious practices: Hinduism
  4. enlightenment: Buddhism
  5. religious experience: Buddhism
  6. process religion: Taoism
  7. connectivity: Primal Religions
  8. the unitary deity: Islam
  9. Prayer: Islam & Judaism
  10. Immortality: Christianity