Religion

Degree

B.A.

Division

Humanities

Program Options

Area of Concentration, Joint Concentration, Secondary Field

About the Religion Area of Concentration

Former Secretary of State, John Kerry, writes that “One of the most interesting challenges we face in global diplomacy today is the need to fully understand and engage the great impact that a wide range of religious traditions have on foreign affairs. […] if I headed back to college today, I would major in comparative religions rather than political science.”

In light of the pivotal role religion has played in shaping selves, societies, and cultures from ancient times to the present, the Religion program provides the beginning student with an understanding of the complexity of religious phenomena and offers the advanced student a variety of methods appropriate to such study.

The mission of the religion program is to encourage critical thinking about religious traditions, ideals, rituals, and practices; to develop empathetic insight into the fundamental ideas and values of other peoples, times, and places, and to foster critical self-consciousness about the values and commitments of one’s own age and society. Through these studies, students reflect upon the historically developed content of their own culture as well as that of others.

Featured Course

Recent courses

  • The Black Church
  • Chinese Religions
  • Contemporary Catholicism
  • Empire, Power and Culture: The Mongols
  • Islamic Movements, Past and Present
  • Introduction to the Study of Religion
  • Japanese Religions
  • Jewish Scriptures
  • Judaism and Ecology
  • Religion and Activism: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X
  • Varieties of Judaism in the Modern World
  • Zombies, Handmaids and Superheroes: Religion and Popular Culture

Career Pathways

  • Law
  • Education
  • Religious Professional

Contact Us

Humanities Division

Phone Number

Email Address

Location

Ace Academic Center 116

Religion Faculty

Dr. Alexandria Griffin

Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion

Dr. Douglas Langston

Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion

Dr. Manuel Lopez

Associate Provost

Associate Professor of Religion and Buddhist Studies

Dr. Gordon Michalson Jr.

Professor Emeritus of Humanities

Dr. Nassima Neggaz

Associate Professor of History and Religion

Dr. Douglas Langston

Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion

Dr. Gordon Michalson Jr.

Professor Emeritus of Humanities

Dr. John Newman

Emeritus Professor of Religion