Internet-Aligned Religious Studies Course Unveiled

In the spring, HarvardX will be launching a new massive open online course (MOOC) titled "World Religions Through Their Scripture". This course, directed by Diane Moore, a senior lecturer at Harvard Divinity School and senior fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions, aims to attract an international, multicultural audience.

The course will bring together Harvard's leading scholars in the world's major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Each module of the course is put together by experts in their respective fields. For instance, the Christianity module is put together by Hollis Professor of Divinity Karen King.

Professor King plans a virtual tour of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre as part of the Christianity module. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the historic site of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, is a significant location in Christian scripture.

Karen King's focus in the course is on teaching students to study religion, not to follow it. She emphasizes that the Bible is more fluid than people usually realize, and Catholics have more books than Protestants in the Bible.

The course will examine religion through their scripture, focusing on various interpretations, evolutions, and cultural impacts. The modules can be taken individually, but taking all six reveals recurring themes. The course's interactivity allows students to contrast different versions of the Bible.

Karen King will introduce ideas that can be explored in the context of other religions in her module. For example, she points out that the Bible is more fluid than people usually realize, a concept that can be applied to other religious texts as well.

Diane Moore advocates for "religious literacy", which is an understanding of how religion works in its cultural and political contexts. This understanding is crucial in today's diverse and interconnected world.

According to Zachary Davis, a timely course like this could hardly be better, due to its potential for peace-building and understanding of religion. The course's creative animations and engaging format promise to make learning about world religions an enjoyable and enlightening experience.