Overview (Undergraduate courses)

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It discusses problems of authorship; dating; place of writing, background, purpose and recipients of these gospels. Topics include: the synoptic problem and its hypothetical solutions; the contents and concerns of the synoptic Gospels; their theology; christology; eschatology; soteriology and exegesis of selected texts.

Credit Hours - 3

This course focuses on individual Church Fathers and their contributions to the development of Christianity from the first century to the end of the fourth century. Some of the Fathers to be studied include Apostolic Fathers (such as Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp); Greek Fathers (such as Justin, Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, Cyril); and Latin Fathers (such as Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Augustine). The course categorizes the Fathers into various periods and locations.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the Torah/Pentateuch, the five books which constitute the foundation of the Old Testament. Topics include: the historical background of Ancient Israel (ANE); the principal theories on the formation of the Pentateuch (Documentary Hypothesis; Fragmentary Hypothesis; etc.); the personality of Moses; relationship between narratives and legal texts; the main theological themes (Creation; Covenant; Blessing); exegetical study of some selected texts.

Credit Hours - 3

The course consolidates and sustains students’ acquired skills in reading and writing standard Arabic and introduces more syntactic structures by analysing short focused texts in the Qur'an and Hadith. Students will be introduced to contextualized and authentic grammar exercises with the purpose of integrating grammar concepts in their reading of Islamic texts. The course will also deal with the translation of simple sentences. The aim is to enhance the understanding of Arabic sentence types, their components, functions and characteristics, through grammar and translation exercises.

Credit Hours - 3

The fact of ethical universalism cannot be denied. There are ethical standards of behaviour that are acceptable to people around the globe. Nevertheless, there are certain standards of behaviour that are also of value to some groups of people that may not be of universal concern to others elsewhere. In this course, students will be helped to have a good idea of the foundations of African indigenous ethics and the relationship between religion and morality in African societies. The Course will also discuss nature, presuppositions, value and goals of African traditional ethical ways of life (some of which may be peculiar), and make critique in relation to factors of change, continuities and discontinuities in indigenous moral values.

Credit Hours - 3

The course examines the intersections of gender, religion, and culture as well as how they influence and shape each other, with reference to Africa’s three main religions (African Indigenous Religions, Islam, and Christianity). Cultural hermeneutics, feminism, literary, ethnographic and gender analysis will be used to de/reconstruct themes such as power, patriarchy, agency, violence, among others. Oral performances, including male and female music and praise genres will be examined to illustrate sources of social, cultural, and religious construction gender as well as subversion, female power, and agency. 

Credit Hours - 3

Living in the modern world means having to engage with many complex moral questions, not only in our personal lives but also when thinking about public policy. This course is devoted to in-depth discussion of a variety of problems in moral philosophy raised by current ethical controversies. Possible topics include capital punishment, torture, terrorism, war, poverty, genetic engineering and our treatment of animals and the environment. The aim of the course is to identify and understand the main philosophical issues raised by these topics, and to help you develop and defend your own views about them.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the living expression of religion in Ghana. It also examines the scope and range of the influence of religion in Ghanaian society. The course, in addition, provides analysis of the role of Religion in traditional Ghanaian societies; the role of Religion in modern Ghanaian society; impact, revitalisation and social change. It also discusses religious diversity, tension and conflicts; religion and governance; and national aspiration for peaceful co-existence.

Credit Hours - 3

The course discusses the contribution of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to humanity. It examines the geography, social, economic, religious and political background to Arabia and analyses the concept of Jahiliyyah; early life and call to Prophethood; Prophet Muhammad (SAW)  in Makkah and the concept of  Hijrah as an event and symbol; Muhammad (SAW)  as Prophet and Statesman in Madina; Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) Relationship with non-Muslims and International Diplomacy; Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) Spirituality and its place in Muslim devotion; The death of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and aftermath; Approaches to the Study of the Prophet and The Prophet in the writings of orientalists.

Credit Hours - 3

This course aims to foster an advanced knowledge and critical engagement with key issues in philosophy and theology. Typically, it will engage in detail with a historical and critical study of selected texts from major Philosophers and Theologians – pre – Christian, Christian and Islamic, non- religious and anti – religious, and from the classical, medieval, modern and contemporary periods. Some of the influential philosophers and theologians to be studied include; Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, John Hick, Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Ibn-Sina (Avicenna), Ibn-Rushd, Al-Ghazzali. It aims to explore philosophical and theological questions and arguments like the nature of God, Analogy, Religious language, religious experience, reason and faith, knowledge, revelation, evil, miracles, the soul, meaning of life and death, immortality, religion and science.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to contemporary religion with an emphasis on new and modern religious movements in Europe, North America, and Africa. It offers the contemporary and historical background of modern religious movements and discusses how various sections of society react to them.  It offers detailed study of selected International Movements, e.g., Nichiren Shoshu, ISKCON, Eckankar, etc., and local/indigenous Movements, e.g., Afrikania Mission, Independent Churches, Charismatic Ministries and Charismatic Movements within Mainline Churches.

Credit Hours - 3

The course explores Christian ethics as an academic discipline; discusses the distinctive characteristics of Christian ethics; examines the Christian decision-making process (issues of methodology) and surveys some ethical teachings of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. The course also examines some contemporary issues of Christian moral concern: abortion; the care of the natural environment; assisted reproductive technologies; and human sexuality. Particular emphasis will be paid to the teachings and practices of Jesus as the cornerstone of ethical decision-making in the church.

Credit Hours - 3

The course, which is a continuation of the course on the Life of Muhammad, examines the major developments after the death of the Prophet (SAW) in 632AD till 661AD. Students will examine the concept of the khilafa (Caliphate) as a religio-political institution; the issues of succession and leadership; the Proto-Shite Phenomenon and its implication for the schisms and doctrinal development; leadership styles of the four ‘rightly- guided caliphs’; expansion of Islam, Administration of Territories; and associated challenges; The Caliphs and their non-Muslim subjects; Civil wars and security; fall of the Orthodox Caliphate and rise of the Umayyad dynasty.

Credit Hours - 3

The course focuses on the reception of Christianity in the early Roman Empire between the 1st – 6th centuries. It introduces students to developments in the Early Church, with emphasis on the Jewish and Graeco-Roman settings. Furthermore, it evaluates the roles and contributions of some Church Fathers, paying considerable attention to internal and external challenges that led to the development of heretical groups, doctrinal controversies, persecutions and martyrdom.  The course concludes with an evaluation of the role of Christian Apologists and the emergence of the Christian canon.

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to myths and symbols of the indigenous religions and cultures of the African people. Selected African myths and symbols on creation, spirits and deities, humans, rituals, etc. will be discussed. It looks at how myths and symbols influence the religious and cultural lives of Africans. It will also analyse some symbolic meanings underlying proverbs, gender, number, colour, art forms (including Adinkra symbols) and fabrics in Africa. The course seeks to establish the universality and functional values of myths and symbols.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the geographical landscape and the complex religious, socio-economic, and political environments that shaped the New Testament writings. Topics include: the attempts at the Hellenization of Palestine under Antiochus IV Epiphanes; the Hasmonean dynasty; Roman colonization of Palestine from 63 BCE to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135 CE); Religious groups (Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots, etc.), Institution in Judaism; Feast and Festival.

Credit Hours - 1

The course introduces students to the basic principles of biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics. It will expose them to the stages and steps involved in exegeting a biblical text; practical approach in interpreting selected texts from the Old and New Testament and how to contextualise a text in the contemporary African context. The course will examine the importance of exegesis and hermeneutics for the contemporary African Christian.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces the student to the fundamentals of Modern Standard Arabic, intended to develop a mastery of the Arabic alphabet for rudimentary reading and writing to build the foundational grammar for understanding short passages from both the Qur’an and the Hadith. Additionally, students will also acquire a fair understanding of the Arabs and their culture from the classical to the modern period in the context of Islamic Studies.

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to the New Testament writings which originated in the Greco-Roman world. The courses discuss the story of Jesus, his encounter with humanity, the life and activities of the early church as recorded in the New Testament writings. It examines the history of the formation of the New Testament canon; its composition, structure and outstanding literary issues and theological themes of the main sections. It analyses how Christian communities, particularly in Ghana, use them as the primary lenses to interpret their lives and realities.

Credit Hours - 3

This course seeks to examine the historical and methodological issues in the study African Indigenous Religions (AIR) as an academic subject. It identifies and examines earlier attitudes, terminologies, and definitions associated with AIR brought about by its historical encounter with Islam, Christianity, colonialism, etc. This provides the basis for the examination of current attitudes and stereotypes about research and studies in AIR in the continent vis-à-vis its growing academic interest in the West. Similarly, issues of theory and method in AIR, including some engagement with contemporary discourses like the Insider/Outsider debate, self-reflexivity, research sensitivity, etc. would be discussed.

Credit Hours - 3

The course provides a broad introductory perspective to the study of magic and witchcraft. The first part will briefly survey and discuss witchcraft and magic in the Bible and witchcraft in Europe and America (witch hunting, witch meetings, cannibalism and Black Mass, witches and devils, confessions, etc.) as well as the interpretations of European witchcraft and magic. The second part will engage the issues of witchcraft and magic in Africa (activities of African witches, confessions, witch hunting, witch doctors, etc.). It includes the social setting of witchcraft and magic in Africa. Finally, the course will discuss the future of witchcraft and magic.

Credit Hours - 3

The course analyses the various trends in Christian development and practice during the Middle Ages. It highlights the challenges, such as wars, rationalism, schism, and corruption that characterised the struggle of the church in the Middle Ages, the strategies adopted towards missions and the rise of Christendom. The course discusses Religion in the Medieval Society, Veneration of saints and Relics, Conversion of the West (350-700) and the Carolingian Renaissance.   It also discusses the religious reforms of the Medieval period and their impact on Church and Society.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the Renaissance of the Medieval period and its impact on Religion. It analyses the historical antecedence of the Renaissance, the cultural, intellectual, and religious movements that helped to make an unprecedented change on the socio-cultural and religious landscape of the medieval period. The course discusses gender, spirituality, intellectual work, and Christian humanism during the Renaissance period.  Major aspects of church reforms that characterised the era will be explored.

Credit Hours - 3

The Course is intended to introduce students to the relationship between religion and leadership in the Ghanaian/African society. The purpose is to help students have a good understanding of leadership forms as found in the three major religions in Ghana (i.e. Traditional, Christian and Islamic leadership forms); the sources of authority and legitimacy, gender issues in religious leadership and how these leadership forms have impacted each other. It is also to help students understand some of the challenges to religious leadership in Ghana and the impact of social change and modernity on traditional religious leadership in particular and to reflect on its future.

Credit Hours - 2

The course introduces students to the 16th Century religious revolution in the Church, the Reformation and Counter-reformation. It examines the socio-cultural and religious context which gave rise to the Reformation and Counter-reformation. Primary attention is given to the reform efforts of the various reformers (Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, John Calvin) and the discussion of some important theological concerns: Salvation, Sin, Grace. The course concludes by examining the implications of the Reformation for contemporary African Christianity.

Credit Hours - 3

The turn of the twenty-first century has been accompanied by an alarming global increase in religiously motivated violence. Historically, religious ideas have been used to justify both war and peace, both violence and reconciliation. This course will examine the relationship between religion and violence in various historical contexts. Topics will include just war doctrine, crusades and holy wars; sacrificial rituals in traditional cultures; contemporary terrorist movements; and religious pacifism. 

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the theories and practice of biblical interpretation. It examines the socio-historical background, the context and perlocutory effect of selected New Testament books on the original readers. It guides students to the use of relevant tools for biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, to hermeneutical methods and approaches including historical-critical methods, rhetorical and narrative analysis, post-colonial and feminist approaches, etc. Special attention will be paid to the interpretation of New Testament texts in the contemporary Ghanaian context.

Credit Hours - 3

This course examines spiritual and religious phenomena from a psychological perspective.  In addition to its historical development, religion as pathological and as therapeutic will be discussed. This includes religious and conversion experiences, psychoactive substances, meditation, faith healing, religion and wellbeing, and dreams. Attention is also given to introspective, psychoanalytic, Jungian, behavioural, cognitive, social, humanistic, experimental, and transpersonal orientations. The course further employs a psychological approach to the understanding of religious life in African indigenous Religion, Judeo-Christian, and the Islamic faith traditions in Ghanaian society. The course also considers issues surrounding the role of religion and spirituality in health, coping and quality of life.

Credit Hours - 3

This course is an overview of the historical dimension of Islam in West Africa. It covers the history of its introduction as well as the different patterns of its spread throughout the current region which covers the geographical region of West Africa. The general discussion of the course will include the ways of the reception and adaptation of Islam in West Africa.  It will also discuss the Sufi brotherhoods as well as contemporary movements such as Salafi and the Shia movements.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the Old Testament writings as a product of their historical, cultural and religious context. Topics to be studied include the History of formation, the Canon, the basic literary problems associated with the three division of the Hebrew Bible (TaNaK), the ancient Translations (LXX; Vulgata), the main theological themes and the relevance of OT in contemporary Africa Context.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the study of Islamic ethics and morality. Topics to be discussed include: ethical theories in Islam; Qur’an and Sunna as sources of morality; structure of Islamic ethics; characteristics, concept of abd and khalifa; external and internal actions; moral education and enforcement of morality; cherished virtues and abhorred vices; a study of works by selected Muslim moral philosophers; and an examination of Islam’s response to selected contemporary ethical issues e.g., abortion, AIDS, usury, same-sex marriage, environmental degradation, surrogacy.

Credit Hours - 3

The course is a continuation of SREL 331 – New Testament Greek I. Topic include the third declension; the subjunctive verbal mood; the use of infinitive and subjunctive; conditional sentences and translation of epistolary and poetic texts. Furthermore, it helps students to familiarize themselves with the critical apparatus of the New Testament Textus Receptus, a tool for exegetical analysis.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the history, fundamental elements, and basic vocabulary of the koinē Greek, the language of the New Testament writings. It explores essential issues of grammar and syntax to enable students to learn sufficient skills to translate narrative texts. Topics include the Greek alphabet, vowels, diphthong, breathings, syllabification, preposition, the first and second declensions and the indicative verbal mood.

Credit Hours - 3

African Indigenous Religions (AIRs) is one of the major religions on the African continent. The course will critically study existing sources, methods and approaches to the study of AIR, structure and characteristic features of AIR such as beliefs, rituals, the hereafter, religious leaders and functionaries, etc. Additionally, concepts of community, ethics, destiny as well as human relationship with nature/ecology will be studied.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the study of Hadith as a primary source of Islam and its importance to Muslims. It discusses topics which include definition/meaning of Hadith; and structure of Hadith; Isnad and Matn; differences between Hadith and Sunnah; transmission of Hadith; Collection and classification of Hadith; six authentic collections of Hadith; Muwatta, Musnad of Ahmad bin Hanbal and An-Nawawi’s collection; Hadith criticism; Study of selected texts of Ahadith and the religious, cultural, and social importance of Hadith.

Credit Hours - 3

The Course introduces students to the place of Qur’an in Muslim cultures. It discusses the historical and cultural contexts of the Qur’an such as the Qur’an as a revealed text and guidance. It studies the meaning, other names, features, and language and style of the Qur’an. It further discusses the concept of revelation, the development of the Qur’an, its revelation, preservation, standardization and compilation into a single text. It examines the Major themes of Makkan and Madinan Suwar, Approaches to Qur’anic and exegesis, Modern interpretation of the Qur’an, Western scholarship and the Qur’an. Relevance and the importance of the Qur’an in the lives of Muslims.

Credit Hours - 3

This course is a survey of Oriental religious traditions in their diversities. It explores their origins and growth as well as their fundamental teachings and the variety of the forms they assume as they travel beyond their original homes and encounter new cultures. The course will introduce students to some of the main religious traditions of eastern origins including Confucianism and Shinto. However, its major focus will be on Hinduism and Buddhism, which have a relatively strong presence in Ghana.

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to the biblical psalter as liturgical hymns and prayers of Israel. Topics include: the composition and authorship of the psalms; the type of psalms: praise, thanksgiving, Zion, lament, kingship etc.; the nature of the psalms; classification of the psalms that is individual and communal psalms; the psalms as liturgical hymns and prayers of Israel’s worship; the literary problems and the theology behind the psalms; the importance of the psalms for contemporary Christianity.

Credit Hours - 3

The course introduces students to the writings of apostle Paul as a foundation for further exegetical and theological studies. The course is divided into two parts. The first focuses on the personality of Paul: his inter-religious and inter-cultural world; his life as presented in the Acts of Apostles and in the Pauline literature; his missionary strategy and spirituality and the impact of his writing on the life of subsequent generations, including Christian communities in Ghana. The second part proposes a study of Paul’s theology through a reading of his undisputed letters: their background; rhetorical structure and main theological themes.

Credit Hours - 3

This course examines the historical, theological and social initiatives of indigenous people in Christian missions in Africa. The roles of various Church Groups and individuals in the establishment of the Church in Africa are discussed. Indigenous literary works, art, lived experiences, narratives and reflections are explored. The course examines the impact of indigenous initiatives on the lives of African Christians.

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to the Pentecostal waves in Ghana and their relevance in the Christian landscape. It explores the emergence, development, spread, and characteristics of the various Pentecostal waves. It discusses their doctrines and spiritualties (prosperity preaching, prayer in tongues, deliverance services etc.) The course concludes by assessing the charismatic phenomenon against the Ghanaian socio-economic, political and religious landscape.