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RS 121Evil

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Religious Studies

Not in the current Undergraduate Calendar. Shown as it appeared in 2024–25.

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

How do the religions of the world define evil? How do they suggest it can be overcome? Classical and modern writers from Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism will be considered.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

66% liked it63% easy27% useful

From 50 ratings and 17 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Took this course because I am interested in religion as a whole and how such a corrupted belief system could view the idea of 'evil' and somehow it was utterly boring despite me being interested in the topic. Professor Seljak kept making jokes about how majoring in departments like Philosophy or English is useless and would result in you living in your parents' basement when he himself fails to realize he is making somewhat of a living teaching the amalgamation of both of these subject areas by incorporating stories from the Bible/etc. (fictional tales) that were made up by people to find some sort of deeper purpose/reason to life (philosophy) into his course teachings. M/C quizzes that…

    Nov 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Worst possible elective you can take. Super hard on the final essay and not enough feedback. Quizzes were easy if you did the modules but it doesn’t matter because the final essay is wacky.

    Jul 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • (I took this course online).This is a very heavy course. There is a lot of content and readings to get through every week. Even if you are interested in the content it can get pretty overwhelming. The reading is medium level- theres just a lot of it. I really liked the information provided in the course, I appreciated the professors side comments, and the explaining of contents. I absolutely hated the final paper, I felt under prepared and a lot of stress. After writing the paper (not my best, i was in first year) the professor told me that he couldn't even get through my paper because it was so bad. Lots of great info, but don't take it lightly.

    Mar 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • 4 quizzes, 1 final assignment. easy bird.

    Dec 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Really did not have an enjoyable time in this class. I took it as an easy elective in the summer and it was not as fun as it sounds. The content can be pretty dry but it is an easy course, especially if you take it online

    Nov 2022 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

141 posts and comments in 116 threads mention RS 121, November 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Spring 2024

Winter 2024

Looking for super easy bird online courses over spring 2024 4 points, 5 comments

“Looking for the easiest courses (at least 4) perferably similar to CLAS 104 in terms of difficulty &x200B; The coruses cannot include: BET 100 BET 210 BET300 BET450 CLAS 104 ECON 101 HEALTH 105 MSCI …”

u/WestonSpec: “RS 121 - Evil. No final exam, the grades were entirely based on quizzes and a short written assignment due at the end of term. RS 100 - Religions of Asia. …”

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Spring 2023

Winter 2023

RS 121: bird course or no? 2 points, 5 comments

u/hofornickmiller: “I’m looking for a minimal effort course this spring and I came across RS 121 but I can’t find the course outline for it post covid and was wondering how hard are the tests and is it just online tests or are there midterms and a final? Is there an essay I have to write? …”

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Fall 2022

Spring 2022

RS 121 - Struggling on the quizzes 3 points, 2 comments

u/Striking_Health_3387: “Anybody who is taking RS121 this semester or has taken it in the past: how did you prepare for the quizzes? I read the material, but the questions seemed so detailed on the quiz. I got a 46 on the first quiz and the second quiz is coming up this Friday and I am worried for it. …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar