RELS 401: Death, Dying, and Religion

This course is an investigation into various aspects of the process and reality of human death including such major ones as the psychology of dying and bereavement; types of death; cultural attitudes toward death, especially as manifested in funeral customs of various societies; concepts and evidence for an afterlife; etc. There shall be a focus on how these aspects relate to and are understood within the major religious traditions of both East and West, with special attention to the Roman Catholic tradition.