8/18/2019 Introduction to Religious Literacy

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HarvardX: Religious Literacy: Traditions and Scriptures

Welcome to Religious Literacy: Traditions and Scriptures! This course is the first in a series; it is followed by five courses that will build on the work we do together here. We on the teaching team are delighted to greet you and we look forward to introducing you to the material we've prepared for your engagement.

Before launching into the course content itself, I want to say how excited I am to provide you all with multiple opportunities to interact with each other throughout the entire module. In fact, one of the reasons that I was eager to offer this course in this venue is because I wanted to create a space for people with diverse worldviews and from diverse backgrounds and geographical regions to interact with one another in a constructive way about issues and ideas that too often divide us.

Given this goal, I want to highlight here at the outset that the approach to learning about religion represented here is one that recognizes and values the diversity of beliefs and convictions within as well as among religions and worldviews. In this way, we will not be promoting or privileging one interpretation or worldview over another, or asking which interpretation or worldview is "right" or"true." Instead, we'll be exploring what gives rise to diverse interpretations, and why some worldviews and interpretations gain more social prominence and credibility in certain contexts over others. In short, our explorations will be focused on seeking to better understand diverse perspectives rather than debating w

hich ones are "credible." I trust that all of you who have signed up for Religious Literacy share this interest, and will see the rich diversity of participants as one of the most important assets of the class. I also trust that all interactions via the discussion board and during our live conversations on Fridays will be respectful and motivated by curiosity and a sincere interest in learning with and from one another.

Thank you for keeping these goals in mind, and let's begin our exploration together!

Professor Moore