UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN
Why Study Religion
The study of religion helps you understand the beliefs, rituals, and values that shape cultures, conflicts, and daily life around the world. You’ll think critically about life’s big questions while examining how religion influences politics, identity, ethics, art, and global events. This perspective prepares you for impactful careers in fields such as health care, law, journalism, international business, nonprofits, and the arts.
Located just outside New York City, Hofstra offers rich opportunities for internships and cultural engagement. You can pursue the new major in religion and contemporary issues, which integrates coursework from another discipline, or major in Jewish studies. Guest speakers, conferences, and community partnerships connect classroom learning to real-world issues, helping you understand, interpret, and navigate a diverse and complex world.
Belief Shapes the World
Explore how religion influences identity, ethics, conflict, and culture. Gain insight that matters in today’s global conversations.
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Leaders in Interfaith Scholarship
Hofstra’s religion and Jewish studies programs are strengthened by endowed chairs that support scholarship, teaching, and interfaith engagement. These chairs include the Kaufman Chair in Jewish Studies; the Hartman Chair for Catholic Studies, honoring interfaith leader Monsignor Tom Hartman; and the Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies, which has helped establish Hofstra as an international center for Sikh studies and interfaith dialogue.
Degrees & Programs
In addition to the religion major, the department offers a major in Jewish studies.
Department classes range from treating particular religious traditions such as Judaism or Buddhism, to looking at atheism and the “spiritual but not religious” phenomenon, to topical courses on religion and medicine, religion and law, or the history of yoga.
In addition there are popular classes such as Antisemitism and Islamophobia, Demonology, and Avatar, about the animated series and its deep exploration of religious themes. You can also do a religion concentration within other majors in the School of Health Sciences or the Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs.
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES & PROGRAMS
BA in Religion and Contemporary Issues Minor in Religion and Contemporary IssuesUNDERGRADUATE courses
ReligionCareer Path & Outcomes
Career opportunities for religion and Jewish studies majors are limitless because any professional path can be enhanced with deep knowledge of religion in culture and society.
Religion and Jewish studies majors bring their knowledge and skills into today’s professions, many of which require an acute ability to recognize one’s own worldview while also working with and serving people of many different perspectives.
Examples of organizations where Hofstra religion graduates are working include:
- Abrams Books
- Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County
- Mount Sinai Health System
- Navasky Hebrew School
96%
Social sciences graduates who were employed or attending or planning to attend graduate school within a year after graduating
90%
Employed graduates who landed their positions within six months after graduating
Internships
Examples of internship opportunities for religion majors include:
- Chaplaincy internships at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care
- Interfaith Center of New York, Interfaith Community of Long Island, or Interfaith Institute of Long Island
- Rubin Museum of Art and Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County
- Planned Parenthood of Nassau County and domestic violence shelters
- Nonprofits that promote anti-bias initiatives and work to stop hate crimes
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Build cultural fluency, ethical insight, and critical perspective, skills that prepare you for meaningful work in a diverse, global society.