Undeniably, religion has a significant impact on your life. Whether a believer or a skeptic, you exist in a society heavily influenced by religious ideas about the existence of God, the construction of the universe, and free will and evil, to name just a few. This class aims to understand and evaluate the concepts employed by religion and its role in our lives. We will pull from a variety of religious traditions to discuss the reasons for religion to exist. That is, what do religious traditions see themselves accomplishing, and what assumptions about the world do they make? We will move on to discuss the impact of religion on personal life. How do religious traditions suggest we approach evil, what is the role of ritual in our daily life, and is it important to maintain any sense of ‘spirituality’? Moreover, how do we respond to religious experience in ourselves and others? We end by discussing the role of religion in society. In a society that respects freedom of religion but has a significant portion of religious adherents, what is the state’s appropriate attitude toward religion? We will read original texts, commentaries, and even some political speeches. The class aims to investigate your relationship to religion regardless of your personal belief, and therefore, I hope, will be of use to anyone of any theological or philosophical background.