Course: Religious Hermeneutics in Secular Society

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Course title Religious Hermeneutics in Secular Society
Course code KTEO/RELI
Organizational form of instruction Seminary
Level of course Master
Year of study 1
Semester Summer
Number of ECTS credits 6
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Mackerle Adam, doc. ThLic. Th.D.
Course content
1) Hermeneutics of religious texts - in Judaism - in Christianity - in Islam 2) The text as a carrier of meaning - genre ambiguity of the text - Old Testament laws in various traditions in antiquity (Egyptian Jews, Targum Judaism, Qumran, Christianity, law in the early church) - theoretical understanding of the problem in the first centuries of Christianity: Old Testament as law? - The same stories and motives in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition 3) The text as a norm: practical consequences in society's life - the sacred text as law: protestant reformation, Islamic Sharia, Catholic marriage law - the sacred text as a vehicle of oppression: racism (black slavery on the American continent), oppression of women (in all three religious traditions) - the sacred text as a vehicle of liberation (in all three religious traditions) - the sacred text in everyday life: the problem of ritual slaughter, blood transfusions, abortions, death penalty, homosexuality, etc. - the sacred text in political struggle: some textual-religious aspects of the Middle-Eastern problem

Learning activities and teaching methods
Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming), Work with text (with textbook, with book), Blended learning
Learning outcomes
The course is dedicated to the hermeneutics of sacred texts across the three main monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and focuses on three interconnected aspects: first, what the hermeneutics of religious texts, its changes, and different forms look like in respective religious communities; second, what the implications of these hermeneutics in everyday life are; thirdly, what is the impact of these hermeneutics upon the life of secular society - considering both the way of understanding and interpreting the text, and the way of understanding the world, or (quite specifically) the effects on the everyday life of society.
The student will understand the different ways of interpreting the holy text in the main world "Western" religions and the impact it has on the life of the society.
Prerequisites
The student is supposed to be acquainted with the basic principles of main world religions (mainly Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) and with their holy scriptures.

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination, Student performance assessment, Interim evaluation

The student is required to - actively participate in the meetings - prepare and contribute with his/her presentations on various topics throughout the course - the final exam, which verifies the student's understanding of the course content
Recommended literature
  • Bible. .
  • Qur'an. .
  • Bilal Philips, Abu Ameenah. Usool at-Tafseer. The Methodology of Qur?anic Interpretation. International Islamic Publishing House, 2005.
  • Dohmen, Ch., Stemberger, G. Hermeneutik der Jüdischen Bibel und des Alten Testaments. Kohlhammer, 2019.
  • Haynes, S. R. Noah's Curse. The Biblical Justification of American Slavery. New York, 2002.
  • Oeming, Manfred. Contemporary Biblical Hermeneutics. Routledge, 2017.
  • Peters, F. E. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Classical Texts and Their Interpretation. Prinston, 2018.
  • Reventlow, H. Graf von. History of Biblical Interpretation. Atlanta, 2010.
  • SAEB?, M. (ed.). Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. The History of Its Interpretation. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000.
  • Saeed, Abdullah. Introduction to the Qur?an: History, Interpretation, and Approaches. New York, 2008.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester