PT|EN
Culture and Religion Themes – Contemporary Times
Courses Degree in History
Cod: 31121
Department: DCSG
ECTS: 6
Scientific area: History
Total working hours: 156
Total contact time: 15

This curricular unit will seek, from the debate on the work of Danièle Hervieu-Léger, La religion en mouvement: le pèlerin et le converti, and other texts specifically indicated in the virtual classroom, analyze the changing relationship of societies and individuals with religion in contemporary societies and perceive the different views of religious phenomena

Religion
Secularization
Modernity
Contemporary Age



- ability to problematize and debate fundamental concepts for the understanding of the history and sociology of religions in contemporary age;
- ability to develop and sustain an argument about religion and culture in a logical and historical way;
- ability to present ideas related to the interpretation of religious phenomena in contemporary societies.

  1. The study of religions in the Western world - brief retrospective.
  2. The problems that arise for the contemporary study of religious phenomena.
  3. Initial reflections on religious modernity.
  4. The crisis of inherited religious identities.
  5. The pilgrim as a metaphor for forms of modern religiosity.
  6. The Convert - Reasons for Conversion, Identity and Example.
  7. "Deinstitutionalization", individualism and communitarianism.
  8. The crisis of institutions and the problems of secularization
  9. Separation of the Churches from the State. The Portuguese case.
  10. Conclusion: the role of the state and the dynamics of interreligious relations.

HERVIEU-LÉGER, Danièle - O peregrino e o convertido. A religião em movimento. Lisboa: Gradiva, 2005.
CATROGA, Fernando – O céu da memória: cemitério romântico e culto cívico dos mortos em Portugal (1756-1911). Coimbra: Minerva, 1999.
DELUMEAU, Jean – As grandes religiões do mundo, 3ª ed. Lisboa: Editorial Presença,2002 (1ª ed.  1997).
ELIADE, Mircea - O sagrado e o profano. A essência das religiões. Lisboa: Edição"Livros do Brasil", 1999 (1ª ed. original em francês 1957).

E-learning

Continuous assessment is privileged: 2 digital written documents (e-folios) during the semester (40%) and a final digital test, Global e-folio (e-folio G) at the end of the semester (60%). In due time, students can alternatively choose to perform one final exam (100%).

Ability to read in English and French may be useful
Contact for virtual mobility students: GCRI/International Affairs - gcri@uab.pt