2021-2022 Catalog

Religious Studies Major

Requirements

The major consists of a minimum of nine courses:

REL 101Religions in World Cultures

REL 240Theories of Religion

REL 490Senior Capstone

With the Department's approval students with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, and a major GPA of 3.20 or higher may elect to write and Honors Thesis (495/496) during their senior year.

Six additional approved REL electives:

The electives must include a 300-level elective, two courses in Transformations (Traditions and Practices), and at least one course in each of the three remaining non-Introductory domains of inquiry - Representations (Text and Contexts), Power and Difference, and Additional Department Electives chosen from the following Religious Studies Domains of Inquiry:

Introductory:

REL 101Religions in World Cultures

REL 102Contemporary Religious Issues

REL 103Religion, Myth, and Fantasy

REL 104Saints, Mystics, Ecstatics

Transformations (Traditions and Practices):

REL 211Hinduism: Unities and Diversity

REL 212Buddhism: From India to Asia and Beyond

REL 213Judaism: Faith, Communities, Identity

REL 214Christianity: From Jesus to the Third Millennium

REL 215Islam: History, Faith, and Practice

REL 216Religions in Africa: Contemporary and Historical Expressions

REL 231Religions in American History and Culture

REL 232Religions in Latin America

Representations (Texts and Contexts):

REL 201The Biblical Imagination: Torah, Prophets, Writings

REL 202Christian Scriptures

REL 203Religion and the Literary Imagination

REL 204India's Religious Texts: Sacred Word, Sacred Sound

REL 207The Quran

REL 260Global Muslim Literature and Film

Power and Difference:

REL 217Latina/o Religions: Not Just Catholicism

REL 222Interreligious Cooperation and Conflict

REL 225Sex, Gender, and Religion

REL 228Religion and Politics in Africa

REL 310Sacrifice: Ritual and Violence

REL 303Lived Religion in Context: Ethnographies of Africa and Asia

REL 305Muhammad and Prophecy

REL 308Visual Culture and Religious Identity

Additional Department Electives:

REL 223Religious Healing and Health

REL 224Religious Ethics

REL 250Anthropology of Religion

REL 301Philosophies of Religion

REL 304Spirituality and Transformation: From Sufism to Self-Help

REL 306Jewish Responses to the Holocaust

REL 307Jews in Poland, Culture and Memory

This page reflects the requirements for completing this major. General graduation requirements for all students can be found here