THEOLOGIES OF DEATH ACROSS TRADITIONS (PR-2150)
(01/31/2022-05/20/2022)
Course Memo
This course is co-taught by Kamal Abu-Shamsieh and Thomas Cattoi. The purpose of this lecture/seminar course is to explore the specific approaches to the mystery of death taken by different religious traditions throughout history, from the three Abrahamic religions to the dharma religions of the East. While grounded in a theological and speculative dimension, the course will assess the ongoing relevance and pastoral applications of the insights of these different traditions. The approach taken will be interreligious as well as interdisciplinary, drawing on the contribution of psychology and pastoral theology. This course is designed primarily for students in the GTU Interreligious Chaplaincy program, but it is open to all students training for ordained and lay ministry across the different schools of the consortium, as well as anyone interested in speculative and pastoral reflection on the question of death and dying. Students will be expected to submit reflection essays and a final paper articulating their understanding of how death is an event that has various implications, physical and more importantly, theological, ethical and legal, communal, familial, or personal. [Faculty Consent required; Auditors with Faculty Permission]