Posted on July 16, 2010

Theme Three: Engaged Spirituality

This set of courses will provide students with an overview of how Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism teach their practitioners to engage in the world through the application of spiritual wisdom, values, and contemplative insight. We will focus primarily on the theories, methods, and goals of applied spirituality and spiritual activism from within each tradition.

We will cover the essential ethical and contemplative teachings of the major traditions and how these can be actualized in daily life. We will examine the extent to which each tradition has articulated a fundamental commitment to such issues as health care, social welfare, spiritual evolution, and improvement of life for humans, animals, plants and all aspects of the natural environment. We will examine the ethical positions of each tradition concerning such as issues as scientific experimentation, birth control, abortion, armed conflict, the death penalty, social welfare, world peace, and conflict between religions.

Classes will explore answers provided by each tradition to the following questions:

-How do we combine spiritual practice and compasionate action?

-How do we define and balance justice and mercy?

-What are the core guiding spiritual principles, laws, and ethics?

-What are the skillful means for applying spiritual principles and experience in society?

Course Offerings:

Survey of Engaged Spirituality

Electives:
Buddhist Engaged Spirituality
Christian Engaged Spirituality
Hindu Engaged Spirituality
Islamic Sufi Engaged Spirituality
Jewish Engaged Spirituality

Practicums:
Buddhist Meditation
Christian Contemplative Practices
Hindu Meditation and Yoga
Islamic Sufi Contemplative Practices
Jewish Contemplative Practices