Welcome to Religious Studies!
Religion is a fundamental part of human experience and meaning. It informs all aspects of human society, from individual and collective identity to personal relationships to political sympathies to scientific investigation to artistic creativity. The study of religion, as a result, ranges widely across human experience and the various academic disciplines.
The religious studies major brings together perspectives, approaches, questions, and expertise from many disciplines. It provides you with a range of analytical tools as well as in-depth knowledge of particular traditions and time periods.
You'll study the range of religious phenomena by
- interpreting religious texts
- tracing the development of institutions and practices
- examining the experiences and histories of specific communities
- exploring the intersections between religious belief and practice and their social and cultural contexts
News and Events
Thursday, September 11, 2008. Religious Studies Orientation. A get-together and orientation for current religious studies majors and minors and for prospective majors and minors. We will introduce the new major along with key faculty and staff introduced, answer questions, and generally have a good time eating pizza and talking about religion. 5:00 – 6:30, 135 Nicholson.
Thursday, September 18, 2008. Caroline Walker Bynum lectures at Thursdays at Four on “Visual Matter: The Materiality of Late Medieval Devotional Images.” Bynum is Professor of Western European Middle Ages in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton). Her many award-winning books about religion in the Middle Ages include Holy Feast, Holy Fast (1987) and Wonderful Blood (2007). 4:00–5:30, 125 Nolte (Institute for Advanced Study)
A new book, Sacred Power, Sacred Space: An Introduction to Christian Architecture and Worship, by Religious Studies Program director, Jeanne Halgren Kilde, has just been published by Oxford University Press.