BA in Religious Studies

Students enrolled in the BA in Religious Studies, learn complicated traditions of beliefs and practices in the same way as a political theorist regards systems of governance or a literary critic reads canonical literature: that is, we do not attempt to assess the truth or the merits of particular religions, but instead seek to understand how they have come about, what they are made of, what their practitioners do, and how they affect culture and society. Moreover Students study history, texts, and practices of well-known religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, for example), as well as those which are lesser known (e.g., Voodoo or Wicca). Finally Students analyze how the program is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry which investigates the religious traditions of humans, in all their historical, cultural, and doctrinal complexity