Professor Sexton's class is one that is fundamentally fascinating and is one that is appealing for not only sociology majors or adherents, but of anyone one whom desires the history and realities that surround religion and its impacts throughout time.

I was very satisfied with the course and my favourite part was the research paper of which was an ethnographic paper of a religion of our choice in relation to sustainability. That in itself was an interesting correlation of topics and made one choose something they may have already had knowledge of or allowed one to gain knowledge of.

In overall class structure, it was a very broad and this was shown with the differing topics of every week, differing three books throughout the quarter, and with the numerous guest speakers that came to class on significant bases.

Nevertheless, this course was one that is fascinating and should be good for a person that indeed enjoys theology in its many vast forms. But, it is a course that does require individual motive towards reading and its topics, however with the professor and the TA's; such should be of no problem as they were all very accommodating and involved in my personal experience throughout the whole quarter and that in itself makes the professor a rare as well as exceptional character whom really is striving for his students academic, professional , and even personal successes.

Overall this class was a decent class but the workload is pretty heavy. There is an ethnographic project where you need to go to churches and interview people, take fieldnotes and stuff. Then, there is a final paper on your project due at the end of the quarter. There are also some books you need to buy and read throughout the quarter with a quiz for each one. Also there is a survey due for every lecture and discussion due by the end of the day. In saying all of this, Sexton is a great professor and lecturer. There is a lot of work but as long as you keep up with it, you should be fine.

The highlight of my undergraduate sociology experience! Dr. Sexton is an outstandingly knowledgeable and supportive professor who masterfully guides his students through the course material. His instruction enthuses curiosity and insight as he supports his students in their discovery of what religion is, what it means to be religious, and how complex societal issues can be evaluated through a religious lens. The course provides opportunities for students to engage interactively with course content. Throughout the quarter, students conduct an ethnography project on a religious organization in the Los Angeles area. The project provides hands on sociological research experience beyond the classroom, as well as meaningful community engagement. Along with the ethnographic project there is a final exam and a handful of quizzes on the readings. I found the workload to be comparable to other upper division sociology classes and I used audiobooks to stay on top of the heavier readings. Manageable and rewarding!

As someone who is NOT a sociology major, I stumbled upon this class by accident as a late add... what a blessing it turned out to be... This class was probably one of the most important classes I have taken at UCLA, and I am about to graduate. Organized, thoughtful lectures, reading materials and willingness to communicate throughout this course make it unique from all other college courses I have taken. The workload is not much, it is super doable if you stay on top of it. I was added 3 weeks late in the class and was able to pull of getting a good grade in the class, that should tell you alot. Professor Sexton is very accommodating and actually LISTENS to his students and takes time to sit and talk with every student about concerns or any other matters (I know, you dont see this alot at a school this big). The class consists of participation, 3 quizzes, a final, and a final project where you study a religion. It seems a lot at first, but trust me, you will have so much fun doing it and it is really hard to not get a good grade because everything you have to do is listed, along with the help from him and TA's every week throughout the quarter. Quizzes are multiple choice, straight up and not meant to deceive you. Overall, a really fun, informative, educational and super interesting and fairly easy class... Take this class, you wont regret it!!

I really enjoyed this class and I think I learned a lot about the sociology of religion from Professor Sexton! I never would have though I would take a religion course as a Sociology major, but I'm glad I did. The readings he provided were also very engaging, however, be warned you will be quizzed on the readings but because they are pretty good reads you should be fine.
This class also featured guest lectures from the authors from some of the readings which really helped give me an insight on what I read and its always nice to interact with an author whose work you've read before.
This class also featured an ethnographic paper on a religion of your choice, which I found to be very fun to do. Although it is a bit of work to schedule and conduct interviews, it was a fun way to conduct your own research.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this class to any Soc major because Professor Sexton is a good professor and if you follow all of the required materials and assignments you should do well!