Spirituality and Sensuality: Sacred Objects in Religious Life (Hamilton College)


Playing drums, telling stories, touching stones, creating wildly colorful altars, dancing, eating and drinking special substances are all basic religious activities. Examples will range across Native American, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish rituals and symbols, and materials will traverse fields from art history to anthropology, philosophy to poetry, science to religious studies. We will toggle between broad theories of religions and specific case studies.

An introductory week will be followed by a week on each of the five senses, and a concluding week. Each week we will incorporate lectures, readings, podcasts, images, and videos, and students will be challenged to spend a little time “offline” and taking notice of the sensual-spiritual elements that make up our cultural life.

What you’ll learn

  • Find ways to critically reflect on religious environments
  • Search for the sensual bases of religious traditions
  • Engage with examples across Native American, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish rituals and symbols
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Source: EdX

NOTE:  This on-demand course was created by Hamilton College and is available through EdX.  EdX keeps courses open for enrollment after they end to allow learners to explore content and continue learning. All features and materials may not be available, and course content will not be updated. You can check back to see when new live, online course start dates are announced.

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Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.