Foundations of Abrahamic Religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Comparative Perspective

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam together account for the religious identity of more than half the world's population, yet their relationships with each other — shared heritage, sharp divergence, centuries of mutual influence and conflict — remain poorly understood by most educated people. This course offers a structured, comparative scholarly introduction to all three traditions: not to advocate for any of them, but to understand them on their own terms and in relation to each other. By the end of this course you will be able to describe the major historical developments of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from their origins to the present, identify the central sacred texts and their roles in each tradition, explain the major theological agreements and disagreements among the three traditions, and apply comparative analytical frameworks to the study of monotheistic religion. What you will learn: - The historical origins of Judaism: the Hebrew Bible, the Deuteronomic reform, the Babylonian exile, and the development of Rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of the Temple - The historical origins of Christianity: the context of Second Temple Judaism, the ministry of Jesus, the Pauline letters, and the formation of the New Testament canon - The historical origins of Islam: the life of Muhammad, the revelation of the Quran, the early caliphate, and the Sunni-Shia split - The role of the prophets: how each tradition understands the prophetic tradition and the status of figures they share (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad) - Sacred texts and their authority: the Tanakh and Talmud in Judaism, the Bible and tradition in Christianity, the Quran and Hadith in Islam - Monotheism and its variations: how God is conceived and named differently across the three traditions, including debates about Trinitarian theology - Law and ethics: the role of halakha in Judaism, canon law and natural law in Christianity, and Sharia in Islam - Shared themes and significant divergences: prayer, pilgrimage, afterlife, messiah, and covenant — compared across all three traditions The course is organized as a sequence of comparative readings, thematic analysis chapters, and reflection prompts. Each section presents the relevant material from all three traditions before drawing comparative observations. Primary texts are excerpted with contextual commentary. This course is designed for students who are new to the academic study of religion and want an intellectually serious introduction to the Abrahamic traditions. No prior religious studies background is required. The approach is scholarly rather than devotional and is suitable for students of any background or none.