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60-Second Adventures in Religion

Featuring: Video
60-Second Adventures in Religion Copyrighted imageCredit: Copyrighted Image. Used with permission
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 27 Sep 2012
By The iTunes U team
Ever wondered why Karl Marx thought religion was like Opium - or whether religion is possible without a god?
Watch now: 60-Second Adventures in Religion

Would all religions benefit from having women leaders?

Would all religions benefit from having women leaders? Creative commons imageCredit: Art History Images (Holly Hayes) under CC BY-NC 2.0 licence
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 23 Apr 2012
By Graham Harvey
Does history show us that the greater participation by women as leaders could enrich some or all religions? 
Read more : Would all religions benefit from having women leaders?

DEBATE: Would all religions benefit from having women leaders?

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DEBATE: Would all religions benefit from having women leaders? Creative commons imageCredit: Art History Images (Holly Hayes) under CC BY-NC 2.0 licence
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 23 Apr 2012
Would greater participation by women in religion at leadership level enrich different religions? 
Read more : DEBATE: Would all religions benefit from having women leaders?

Divine Women: Episode three - War of the Words

Divine Women: Episode three - War of the Words Copyrighted imageCredit: BBC
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 19 Apr 2012
In the final episode, Bettancy Hughes discovers how the period known as the Dark Ages was in fact a golden age for a few remarkable...
Read more : Divine Women: Episode three - War of the Words

What’s the big deal about virginity?

What’s the big deal about virginity? Creative commons imageCredit: Lawrence OP under CC-BY-SA licence
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 16 Apr 2012
By Dr Stefanie Sinclair
Celibacy has been valued by women and men within many religious traditions. But why has such high spiritual significance been associated with women’s virginity? 
Read more : What’s the big deal about virginity?

Divine Women: Episode two - Handmaids of the Gods

Divine Women: Episode two - Handmaids of the Gods Copyrighted imageCredit: BBC
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 12 Apr 2012
In episode two Bettany Hughes uncovers the lost era of the priestess and visits Lesbos, home of the poet Sappho and, perhaps, the spiritual home...
Read more : Divine Women: Episode two - Handmaids of the Gods

DEBATE: Is the role of Goddesses only about sex and fertility?

Community contribution
DEBATE: Is the role of Goddesses only about sex and fertility? Creative commons imageCredit: Gruenemann under CC BY 2.0 license
Introductory Level Duration 10 mins Updated 05 Apr 2012
Do Goddesses make good role models and do they seem more limited than gods in what they do for humans?
Read more : DEBATE: Is the role of Goddesses only about sex and fertility?

Goddess preconceptions

Goddess preconceptions Creative commons imageCredit: Rifat Jamil Eusufzai under CC BY-ND 2.0 licence
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 05 Apr 2012
By Graham Harvey
Graham Harvey, Reader in Religious Studies at The Open University, asks if preconceptions about Goddesses as being all about fertility, sexuality and motherhood are true
Read more : Goddess preconceptions

Divine Women: Episode one - When God was a Girl

Divine Women: Episode one - When God was a Girl Copyrighted imageCredit: BBC
Introductory Level Duration 5 mins Updated 05 Apr 2012
Bettany Hughes uncovers evidence women were present at the birth of religion and encounters fearsome goddesses who controlled life and death
Read more : Divine Women: Episode one - When God was a Girl

Divine Women: Discussion Hub

Divine Women: Discussion Hub Creative commons imageCredit: Gruenemann under CC BY 2.0 license
Introductory Level Duration 10 mins Updated 29 Mar 2012
What are your views on the role of women in religion in the past, present and future? Vote in our polls and share your views...
Read more : Divine Women: Discussion Hub

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Mi'kmaq: First Nation people

Featuring: Video
Mi'kmaq: First Nation people Copyrighted imageCredit: Copyrighted Image. Used with permission
Advanced Level Duration 20 mins Updated 17 Apr 2013
By The iTunes U team
Can heritage continue to inform the way we live today? Is it possible to balance traditional ideas with a modern life?
Watch now: Mi'kmaq: First Nation people

Veiling: Tradition, Identity and Fashion

Featuring: VideoAudio
Veiling: Tradition, Identity and Fashion Copyrighted imageCredit: Copyrighted Image. Used with permission
Advanced Level Duration 35 mins Updated 22 Feb 2013
By The iTunes U team
Why do Muslim women wear the hijab? How do they reconcile different approaches to veiling between generations, across different geographical regions and in different cultural...
Watch now: Veiling: Tradition, Identity and Fashion

Regina Jonas: the first female rabbi

Featuring: Audio
Regina Jonas: the first female rabbi Copyrighted imageCredit: Copyrighted Image. Used with permission
Advanced Level Duration 35 mins Updated 13 Feb 2013
By The iTunes U team
Regina Jonas (1902-1944), who is now widely recognised as the world’s first female rabbi, was ordained in Nazi Germany in 1935.
Listen now: Regina Jonas: the first female rabbi

Introducing the philosophy of religion

Free CourseFeaturing: Audio
Introducing the philosophy of religion Copyrighted imageCredit: Used with permission
Intermediate Level Duration 12 hours Updated 18 May 2013
By The Open University
In this unit Timothy Chappell, Professor of Philosophy, asks what the words 'God' and 'religion' mean, and what it means to ask philosophical questions about...
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Religion today: Themes and issues

Free CourseFeaturing: Video
Religion today: Themes and issues Copyrighted imageCredit: Used with permission
Advanced Level Duration 15 hours Updated 18 May 2013
By The Open University
There is a widespread perception in the West that we live in a secular age, an age in which religion is at best an optional...
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The Enlightenment

Free CourseFeaturing: Video
The Enlightenment Copyrighted imageCredit: Used with permission
Intermediate Level Duration 16 hours Updated 18 May 2013
By The Open University
The unit will examine the Enlightenment. To help understand the nature and scale of the cultural changes of the time, we offer a 'map' of...
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Studying religion

Free CourseFeaturing: Video
Studying religion Copyrighted imageCredit: Used with permission
Introductory Level Duration 20 hours Updated 18 May 2013
By The Open University
This unit will give you an opportunity to think about some of the key concepts and methods of the discipline of Religious Studies. You will...
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The science of evolution

Free Course
The science of evolution Copyrighted imageCredit: Used with permission
Introductory Level Duration 5 hours Updated 18 May 2013
By The Open University
This unit debates the issues surrounding the science of evolution and religion.
Try The science of evolution now