RRE4206 – Ritual in Early Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Course description
Course content
Religious ritual practices and concepts are an essential part of the three Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This course is an investigation of the worship traditions of these three religions as they appear throughout the first millennium CE.
The first part of the course is intended to give students a general knowledge of ritual theory and terminology and of methods in ritual studies. This part of the course will also contain a mapping of the ritual landscape of these three Abrahamic religions, how they differ and how they overlap. Lastly, the first modules will introduce central theoretical concepts such as sacred space and sacred time, and how they are perceived in the three worship traditions.
During the second part of the course, we focus on selected themes in a comparative perspective. What comprises daily worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims during the first millennium CE? How are ordinary and extraordinary life events framed and affected by ritual practices? How do ritual practices impact lived and embodied experience, gender roles and social hierarchies?
Themes for analysis and discussion are ritual meals and fasts, purification, initiation and rites of passage, prayer, pilgrimage, mortuary ritual, hymns, ritual participation, ritual efficacy and the relationship between ritual and materiality. The interrelationship, mutual influences and differences between the three worship traditions will be explored throughout the course, and there will be an emphasis on applying ritual and liturgical theory to the examples that we study.
Learning outcome
By the end of this course students will:
- acquire knowledge and understanding of ritual practices and concepts in Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the first millennium CE.
- acquire an understanding of how these historical practices and concepts relate to contemporary practices and concepts in Abrahamic religious traditions.
- be able to compare these three Abrahamic worship traditions and recognize their similarities and differences. This will enhance the student’s general knowledge and understanding of these three religions.
- acquire knowledge and understanding of ritual and liturgical theory and will develop a skill in applying this theory to concrete empirical examples.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Students on the six year Theology Programme must be on the master’s level (i.e. completed the first three years of the programme). They may apply to the course by sending an email to info@teologi.uio.no by the same deadlines as for course registration for bachelor courses at TF.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with RRE4204 – Comparative Ritual: Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship (discontinued).
Teaching
Teaching is offered in digital form as ten online learning modules, supplemented by a two-day compact seminar in Copenhagen, March 13-14 2025.
Mandatory requirements:
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10 e-learning assignments throughout the semester. To qualify for the exam the students must complete 80% (min 8 out of 10) of the e-learning assignments.
Examination
The student writes a paper between eight and ten pages in length (19,200 to 24,000 characters including spaces and references but excluding bibliography and table of contents) on a subject, question or material chosen by the student and approved by the teacher.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.