Religion Studies

A degree in religion studies
won’t teach you how to be religious.

But it will help you understand
the people and the world around you,
no matter what you do for a living.

Water color image of a group of people, representing all people and their worldviews..

Our students learn to discern the role of religion for individuals, cultures, and societies. They study and compare the myths, symbols, and rituals of various religious traditions from an outsiders’ stance, in a context of free inquiry.

Through our religion studies curriculum, students learn to read closely, think critically, discuss insightfully, and write analytically — resulting in a graduate with skills for responsible participation in their diverse local and global communities.

These skills are the heart of a liberal arts education.

Religion Studies

Fall 2025 Courses to Check Out

Religion & Popular Culture

Examining the ways religious beliefs and practices are represented in our culture and how that may function to influence opinions, actions, and policy.

Myth, Religion, & Creation

Using the comparison of creation stories as an introduction to the study of myth, its relationship to ritual, and its function in religious traditions.

Religions of Japan

Exploring religious life in Japan through a variety of its appearances, from the earliest historical evidence in the Neolithic Period to the present.

Judaisms

Using “Time” and “Space” as the dual focal points to examine the development of diverse Jewish communities encountered today.

Hand holding young plant with soil and roots

Ecology & Religion

Engaging meaningfully with various cultures’ religious approaches to the environment, including those of a local religious farming community.

Ancient stone table with scroll and papyrus

Scrolls, Scribes, & Scriptures

Studying ancient materials in their oldest forms and examining how these texts were read, interpreted, and transmitted within Christian communities over time.

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