Spirituality - Prayer, Meditation and Worship (THE2024)

30 credits

This module will explore the broad theme of spirituality in world religions. The role of prayer, meditation and worship will be explored within the life, mission and ethical practices of a selection of religious traditions including different traditions of Christianity in East and West, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Insights from the human sciences (e.g. psychology) and other academic disciplines will be drawn on when appropriate. Some of the topics that will be covered will be holiness, asceticism, mysticism, the role of symbols, monasticism, the interaction of spirituality and culture, the relationship between spirituality and creativity (especially art) and the interaction of the verbal and the non-verbal in ritual and prayer.