About the Program

Welcome to the Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies!

Religious Studies features a major and a minor which focus on the ways that different people, across space and through time, have developed their values, intellectual systems, rituals, and traditions in response to the fundamental questions of human existence. The program integrates scholarly expertise from the Schools of Humanities, Social Science, Social Ecology, Medicine, and the Arts. Interdisciplinary by definition, the study of religion calls for systematic, empathetic, and critical inquiry into the histories, philosophies, literatures, and practices of religion. It seeks to understand the role of religion in human experience and thought.

Majoring in Religious Studies prepares students for living in a multicultural society and for careers in counseling, health, teaching, commerce, law, writing, international relations, government, and the arts. It provides a very effective springboard for graduate school in the humanities and social sciences or professional schools in medicine, law, and business.

— Susan Klein Director, Program in Religious Studies