Rel In-Person: World Religions

The World’s Major Religions
Four In-Person Sessions
Tue., Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 2024, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

You’ve likely heard the statement that all religions basically teach the same thing. Well, it’s simply not true. This claim usually comes from people who only know their own religion and understand little about the others. “Scholars who study the world’s major religions know differently,” says retired associate professor Sharon L. Coggan. “Sure, there are similarities, but there are also important differences, ranging from each religion’s concept of God and teachings for how to live, and even what happens to us after we die.” Join Coggan as she delves into the many differences in the world’s religions. Explore “soteriological,” meaning “salvific” religions―those that say we are in desperate need of being saved from some condition or fate, versus other religions that teach there is nothing we need to be saved from. Some religions are founded by a specific individual such as Jesus or Muhammad, others are considered “ancestral,” whose origins are lost in time. Compare religions that are other-worldly, or this-worldly, and don’t posit a transcendental place where we go when we die. “These are just a few of the differences among religions,” Coggan says. “My goal in this class is to help you come away with a deeper understanding of world religions and their many captivating facets.”

Sharon L. Coggan, PhD, now retired, was an associate professor, clinical teaching track at the University of Colorado Denver where she created and directed the Religious Studies Program. Her areas of study include history of religions, psychology of religion and Jungian thought.