Religions have been and remain among the most powerful forces shaping human history. Their discourses and practices inform the way we perceive ourselves, those around us, and existence at large, even when we are not actively religious. They are central to understanding both what divides us and unites us. The academic study of religion is a trans-disciplinary endeavor to understand from an objective perspective how religious traditions shape the lives of their adherents, without seeking to promote or disprove any specific belief system. Religious Studies acquaints students with the diversity of religious cultures and introduces them to key methods and theories employed in their examination as "religion."

The objectives of the Department of Religious Studies are:

1. To offer a broad, pedagogically effective, and academically current set of course options in the academic study of religion to any undergraduate, graduate, or special student who has an interest in such study;
2. To provide an excellent academic experience to students who enroll in our courses;
3. To provide introductory principal courses to a diverse student population;
4. To offer a comprehensive curriculum to undergraduate majors in both a B.A. and B.G.S. program, and to those who select a minor under the modified B.G.S. program;
5. To conduct and publish the results of research in the field of religious studies and allied fields of inquiry;
6. To disseminate the fruits of the academic enterprise to the larger public.
   

Daniel B. Stevenson, Chair
William Lindsey, Graduate Director
Molly Zahn, Undergraduate Director