Religion acts in our world in central yet complicated ways. Yet religion is often something we have been taught not to talk about – like politics and sex, it can cause trouble! The wager of the academic study of religion is that thinking through religious differences is productive.

Such knowledge requires unlearning (as well as learning). Our classes will help you develop your ability to move out of your comfort zone (to think outside whatever your box might be). We believe that the more many-sided your view of religion is, the better able you will be to navigate our present world and your future.

How exactly does history live in, and impact, religious rituals and beliefs, institutions and ethics? While religions are inseparable from the social contexts in which people live them, religion isn’t simply the same as society either – how are they linked? How best to interpret the texts and narratives in which religions often embody their energy? Why do religions do such wildly disparate things – and often, such wild things? In the process of exploring these questions, you will acquire a repertoire of critical skills for interpreting a diverse world. These skills are transferable – whatever you become and wherever you go, you will be encountering cultures of difference. Our majors and minors go on to many careers, including law, business, journalism, social work, education (elementary, secondary and college), medicine, and psychology.

…to see differently and to want to see differently, is no small discipline and preparation of the intellect for its future ‘objectivity.’ Such objectivity means having in our power our ‘pros’ and ‘cons’: to be able to engage and disengage them so that we can use the difference in perspectives and affective interpretations for knowledge.