Religion 110 was an excellent class. Some really engaging conversations lead to camaraderie with classmates. As other reviews say, pay attention to the lecture slides. In exchange for the slides being pretty guarded (though he will show you at office hours if you missed something), the slides actually contain all the info you need to know for the midterm and final. He gives a very comprehensive study guide for each.

Prof. Joseph actually wants his students to learn, and he cares about them as people.

Take this class if you’re willing to do a little work for a great reward—the grading is really generous if you show up and pay attention (not a ton of outside work besides some interesting readings). And the conversations are always thought-provoking. It’s refreshing to have a class where grading is uncomplicated enough to actually enjoy participating. This is one of those classes.

This class gives you a pretty good overview of many religions and how they play out in LA. Professor Joseph was great -- he encouraged questions and answered them thoroughly in lecture. You have to go to lecture, as he doesn't post his slides or recordings.
The workload was fine, you really don't have to do any of the readings. Midterm content was all laid out in lecture slides. But my advice is to start the final project early!! You go to 2+ religious sites and write a 10-page comparison paper on them. It's not difficult, just time-consuming.
Take this class!!!

Loved this class! Super interesting material, engaging lecture/discussion, very intelligent peers, small learning environment.

Each week the class met twice (no discussion section) and joseph would lecture about a given topic using a slide presentation. He was always eager to answer questions and foster discussions about specific interests that students had. He protects his slides with his life and will not repost them. This is largely because the midterm and test are based 100% on the slide content.

Each week we were expected to produce 1 discussion question based on the assigned reading (this was 20% of our grade I think).

I studied the slide material a bit for the midterm and final and got 100% on both. They were structured as about 25 short answer questions.

The most challenging part of the class is probably the final paper which is 10 pages and you can create your own prompt. I was pretty anxious about this + I procrastinated it, but everything was fine.

All in all, one of the best classes I have taken at UCLA. Super interesting content, straightforward assignments, and a witty but cool professor. Totally recommend.

I will admit I took this course because of the reviews here. Honestly, I'm surprised I passed this course with a B. I went to every lecture and took notes. I did not do any of the assigned readings. I passed my final and midterm with a B and never received my grade for my final paper, but I enjoyed writing the essay! The professor was hilarious, I didn't think I would be intrigued, but I was; he made learning about different religions fascinating. I DO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED going to class and taking notes. Everything in the study guide will be on your notes! I studied three days nonstop before my midterm and final and memorized my notes to the tea.

It's a fascinating subject! The class is not difficult at all. The only assignments are a midterm, 10-page final paper, and a final. The tests are straight memorization of your notes according to the provided study guide, and the paper requires at least one in-person site visit to a religious ritual. The lectures are interesting, and since the professor does not record lectures nor upload slides, make sure to write everything down. The professor is a cool person too.

This was such a great class with a great professor!

FYI for those taking this class next, don't go on your phones or leave early, he will call you out, lol.

Simon's a great teacher, most of his classes are all 33%/33%/33% midterm, final, and a final paper. He didn't record lectures so participation in every lecture is a must. The exam questions are open response—just memorize and study the review bullet points like it's an exam and you can BS the rest. The final 10-page paper requires you to visit 2 religious sites and compare them.

Simon's very accommodating and I recommend you to take advantage of his OH if you have the time.

Overall, his lectures were pretty engaging as someone who took it as a blow-off GE class.

Prof Joseph is very knowledgeable about his field and an awesome guy. He helped me so much with my research paper and providing powerpoints for the lectures after I got sick.

I took this class to satisfy the diversity course requirement. I highly recommend taking this class because the professor is very passionate about what he teaches. I always looked forward to his lectures because they felt like a time to relax. The way he teaches the material helps you really learn the material without feeling stressed. His exams do require you to memorize almost all of his lecture slides.

Easy A class. Professor Simon will provide study guide for the midterm and final. The exams are heavily based on the lectures and the study guide. This class also has a final project which is at least 10 pages long but Professor Simon was super helpful. You can ask him anything about the project.