Università Roma Tre

In our society religion and religious issues have an important space, which can be recognized in different forms of belief.
This class offers an introduction to the principle themes and theories which emerge in the history of the studies about religion/religions. We will try to tackle the difficult question "What is religion? What are religions?". In particular, we will discuss different theories about religion, its essence, its function in the society, up to the last approaches which underline the imbrication of religion with cultures, politics and societies.
Key words and topics (body, gender, violence, space) will be discussed in a comparative and historical approach.
The history of religious studies is taught through a multidisciplinary perspective, which allows students to focus on different approaches such as history, anthropology, sociology, cognitive sciences. The historical study of tools and approaches in religious studies are as follows:
What is religion? Different definitions
Religious diversity in Italy
Issues and questions
Histories of religions

Attending students
1. Appunti del corso e letture indicate nel percorso (vedi materiali didattici on line e l’ulteriore materiale che verrà distribuito dal docente durante le lezioni)

a book among:
N. Spineto, La festa, Laterza, Roma Bari, 2015 oppure
C. Ghidini, P. Scarpi, La Scelta Vegetariana, Ponte alle Grazie, Firenze 2019 oppure
G. Filoramo, Manuale di storia delle religioni, Laterza, Roma Bari, 2005 oppure
N. Spineto, Manuale di storia delle religioni Le Monnier, 2023
O un libro da concordarsi con la Professoressa.

Attending students will change n.1 with
G. Filoramo, Manuale di storia delle religioni, Laterza, Roma Bari, 2005 oppure
N. Spineto, Manuale di storia delle religioni 2023