Pursuing the Dao: An Introduction to Chinese Religions

This course will take place on Tuesdays, Jan. 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2026, 1:00-3:00 p.m., at the Mercer Senior Center, with Dr. David Barnhill.

China has one of the richest religious traditions in the world with relevance to the modern world. Over the course of time, four religions have dominated Chinese culture: Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism. What are their beliefs and values, and how do they compare to each other? For three of the traditions, the sacred is primarily located in the natural world. What are their view of nature and how do they relate to modern ecology and environmental philosophy? What are their views of ethics and how do they compare to traditional Western ethics? Each session will focus on one of these traditions, with time at the end for discussion:

• 1. Classical Confusianism: Confucius and Mencius.
• 2. Philsophical Daoism: The Daodejing and the Zhuangzi.
• 3. Buddhism: Huayan and Zen.
• 4. Neo-Confucianism: Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming.

Requirements: The only requirement is an interest in the topic and an openness to study religious traditions quite different from those in the West. There will be no texts or homework, although sources for students to further explore the subject will be offered. There will be no printed materials and no homework. A  few handouts will be provided by the instructor in the class as well as uploaded onto the course website at www.feuniversity.org.

This class is limited to 25 students.

We recommend signing up at least two weeks ahead of class to ensure class fills and to prevent cancellation.

Register by Dec. 23 to get a $5 Early Bird discount off the regular registration price of $45!

Instructor: David Barnhill, Ph.D. in Eastern Religions

Online Registration: Scroll down to our Registration form to register online!
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Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.

Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 862-2032 or (715) 476-2881.

Registration Issues/Troubleshooting: If you are registering with one email address for two or more people, please register each person individually (i.e. do not register all at once, but add students one at a time to checkout). If you continue to have difficulty or have another question, please contact us.

Course Cancellations: Students are encouraged to register at least 2 weeks before the beginning of any Fe University course. A course with less than 4 students 2 weeks before the start date may be cancelled at instructor/FeU discretion, with students’ registrations refunded. If you’re interested in a class, please sign up early! Thank you.

Student Cancellations: If a registered student cancels, registration can be refunded if requested 4 or more days before the course’s start date. We’re afraid cancellation requests made 3 or fewer days before the course’s start date are unable to be refunded.