Overall objectives:

1 - To reflect upon the religious dimension of mankind.
2 - To analyse the religious phenomenon and the religious experience in its various forms and approaches (cultural and historic), both in their own context and in its relationship with other human expressions.
3 - To acquire a panoramic view over the religious plurality of mankind.
4 - To understand the religious phenomenon in the context of today and in the context of new knowledge.
5 - To know and to comprehend new the forms of religiosity in the world today.
6 - To comprehend the life experience and the forms of new religious movements.

Syllabus:

1 - The man and the sacred: The word «Religio»; the main characteristics of the religious phenomenon. The Religious Sciences; modern definitions of religion; forms of religion.
2 - Religion in Ancient Greece: the Eleusian Mysteries; Orphism; the Dionysian Cult; the Oracle of Delphi.
3 - Religion in Ancient Rome: the Indo-European background; general characteristics of the Roman religion; the traditional Roman religion; traditions that shaped the Roman religion; religions in the Roman Empire.
4 - Religions in the present day. Religions of wisdom: Hinduism; Buddhism; Confucianism; Taoism and Xintoism. Prophetic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islamism.
5 - The Christianity. Christianity in Classical Antiquity; Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. Protestantism and the Reformed Churches (Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism).
6 - New religious movements in the present day. Current perspectives and debate: Science and Religion; State and Religion.

Literature/Sources:

L. CARMELO , 2001 , Islão e o Mundo Cristão , Hugin
W. BURKERT , 2001 , A Criação do Sagrado.Vestígios Biológicos nas Antigas Religiões , Edições 70
A. CARMO , 2001 , Antropologia das Religiões , Universidade Aberta
J. DELUMEAU , 1999 , As Grandes Religiões do Mundo , Presença
R. CENTENO (coord.) , 2001 , Civilizações Clássicas I - Roma , Universidade Aberta
E. DURKHEIM , 1996 , Formas Elementares da Vida Religiosa , Martins Fontes
M. ELIADE , 1978 , O Sagrado e o Profano. A Essência das Religiões , Livros do Brasil
M. ELIADE , 1993 , Tratado de História das Religiões , Asa
M. ELIADE, I. P. COULIANO , 1993 , Dicionário das Religiões , D. Quixote
G. FILORAMO & C. PRANDI , 1999 , As Ciências das Religiões , Ed. Paulus
T. LING , 2005 , História das Religiões , Presença
M. H. ROCHA PEREIRA , 2006 , Estudos de História da Cultura Clássica I - Cultura Grega , Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
S. KESHAVJEE , 1999 , O Rei, o Sábio e o Bobo , Temas e Debates

Assesssment methods and criteria:

Classification Type: Quantitativa (0-20)

Evaluation Methodology:
Lectures; theoretical and practical lessons, discussion of theoretical contents of the program; argumentative debates. The evaluation of the students in the curricular unit of Religious Issues, regarding the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, shall be made by performing two written exams, both with equal weighting for the final classification. Given the nature of the material covered by the curricular unit, such evaluation model allows the subdivision of the topics on which students will be examined in two blocks, thus organizing their study and streamlining the assessment process of knowledge acquisition.