Psychology and Religion

This course will survey different cultural, religious, and scientific attitudes toward dreams and dreaming. Reading Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as well as contemporary authors, we will bring science and religion into dialogue by exploring both side by side regarding a universal human experience: everyone sleeps, everyone dreams. Prerequisite: open to students in the Fifth and Sixth Form.

This course will explore theories of the psychology of violence. Attempting to understand how violence itself unfolds, we will then look at case histories of persons who affected change in their time through nonviolent means, including Gandi, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Barack Obama. Prerequisite: open to students in the Fifth and Sixth Form.

This is a term-contained class that examines religious traditions beyond the Introduction to Religion and Culture course. The Abrahamic religions and the eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism serve as a starting point. A major concern is what makes a “religion”? How is it defined? What is unique about the study of religion as opposed to other academic disciplines? The reading topics depend on the interest of the teacher and students. Prerequisite: open to students in the fifth and sixth form.

This course looks at the therapeutic value of art, exploring psychological concepts and working on different forms of art and mixed media including but not limited to drawing, coloring, painting. Prerequisite: open to students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth form.

Psychology and Religion seeks to establish a dialogue between the discourse of science and the questions and concerns of religion. The class acknowledges and makes explicit the very different ways science and religion view “knowledge.” We look at the history of psychology from the ancient Greeks through the 21st century, read selections by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and engage contemporary thinkers such as Rene Girard and Ernest Becker on questions regarding the value of religion, the human fear of death, and the problem of violence. Prerequisite: open to students in the Fifth and Sixth Forms.

This course will explore various psychologies on personality type, persona and the factors that come into play as we learn to become ourselves. Identity will be explored culturally, ethnically, and personally, in order to explore all the factors at play in our sense of ourselves. Finally, we will explore the history of the internet and social media platforms and how these technologies play a role in our sense of selves, for good or for bad. Prerequisite: open to students in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Forms.

This is a term class that examines religious traditions beyond the Introduction to Religion and Culture course. The Abrahamic religions and the eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism serve as a starting point. A major concern is what makes a “religion”? How is it defined? What is unique about the study of religion as opposed to other academic disciplines? The reading topics depend on the interest of the teacher and students. Prerequisite: open to students in the Fifth and Sixth Forms.