Humans, Earth, & the Sacred: Religion & the Environment

This course surveys different religious traditions and their understandings of nature and human relations to other humans, animals, environment, and cosmos. In each case we will be looking at how those belief systems, or worldviews, result in particular attitudes that affect the environment and other humans by influencing human actions in relation to nature, and in turn how those actions (and thus the worldviews) affect humans, animals, plants, earth, and space, often in unintended ways, such as the way that those on the bottom of the socio-economic ladder suffer greater hardship and health issues such as exposure to pollution or toxins, environmental illnesses, and poorer food sources. Attention will be paid to power structures inherent in religious ways of understanding the roles of humans in relation to nature. Course requires site visits outside of class. Fulfills: D and X in LS Core.

School

Liberal Arts

Program

Religious and Theological Studies

Course Number

RTS3030C

Section

Instructor

Peter Ellard

Credits

Session

Summer Session 2

Type

Online - Asynchronous

Start – End Dates

07/11/2022-08/19/2022

Student Registration Link

https://www.merrimack.edu/admission/professional-studies/summer-session/registration/

Courses