Religion and Culture: Rethinking the Boundaries

This course explores the complex relationship between religion and culture through a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective.
We begin by ‘examining how “religion” is defined differently in Western intellectual traditions and in Islamic thought, and why these divergent definitions shape the way societies understand faith, morality, and community. Building on this foundation, the course analyzes the main areas regulated by religion- such as the relationship between God and the human being, the self (nafs), society, and the environment-and investigates how cultural contexts influence these domains.
Students will then engage with key concepts such as culture, subculture, counter-culture, and civilization, followed by a comparison between modern positivist civilization and Islamic/Aristotelian/Qur’an-centered models.
The course further addresses the harmony and tension between religion and culture, including the impact of secularization and cultural change on religious understanding. Attention is also given to
the risks of conflating religion with local customs, which can lead to distorted perceptions of religious teachings. Throughout the program, case studies such as Ottoman legal culture, Andalusia, and contemporary pluralistic societies will be used to illustrate how religion and culture shape social structures and coexistence models.