Religious Studies Major
Learning Outcomes
Graduating Religious Studies majors should be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the beliefs, practices, and texts of more than one major religious tradition.
- Understand the diversity and complexity of religious traditions flourishing today.
- Comprehend the various ways religious beliefs and practices change in distinct temporal and geographical settings.
- Critically analyze significant questions and problems through the careful study of religious intellectual traditions.
- Develop scholarly skills to conduct sophisticated research within the discipline.
For a 30-credit major in Religious Studies, students complete the following:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 10 courses in Religious Studies, including: | 30 | |
At least two courses at the 1000 level | ||
At least five courses at the 2000 or 3000 level | ||
| Religious Studies Seminar | ||
or RLST 3990 | Independent Study | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
Courses taken in fulfillment of the core requirement in Religious Studies are counted toward the major.
Pathways
In consultation with their major advisor, students will designate a "pathway" through the major by choosing one of the following:
Religious Studies
To complete the Religious Studies Pathway, students select six courses from the following:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RLST 1001 | Religion and the Critical Mind | 3 |
| RLST 1002 | Common Questions, Traditional Response | 3 |
| RLST 1003 | Religion in a Comparative Key | 3 |
| RLST 1004 | Peoples of the Book, Sacred Texts, and Their Communities | 3 |
| RLST 1101 | Introduction to Judaism | 3 |
| RLST 1111 | History of the Jewish Experience | 3 |
| RLST 1201 | Hebrew Bible/Old Testament | 3 |
| RLST 1203 | Life of Jesus | 3 |
| RLST 1211 | Introduction to the New Testament | 3 |
| RLST 1402 | Introduction to Catholicism | 3 |
| RLST 1601 | Religion in the United States | 3 |
| RLST 1667 | Mormonism: An American Church | 3 |
| RLST 1801 | Asian Religions | 3 |
| RLST 1802 | Buddhism | 3 |
| RLST 2113 | Jews and Judaism in America | 3 |
| RLST 2115 | Women in Judaism | 3 |
| RLST 2118 | Faith After the Holocaust | 3 |
| RLST 2205 | Women in the Bible | 3 |
| RLST 2207 | Prophetic and Apocalyptic Voices | 3 |
| RLST 2220 | Writings of Paul | 3 |
| RLST 2221 | Good News of the Gospels | 3 |
| RLST 2222 | Writings of John | 3 |
| RLST 2430 | Eastern Christianity: Europe, Africa, and Asia | 3 |
| RLST 2440 | The Medieval Church | 3 |
| RLST 2445 | The Reformation Era | 3 |
| RLST 2660 | I'm Spiritual, Not Religious: The American Spiritual Tradition | 3 |
| RLST 2662 | Afro-Caribbean and African American Religions: Shout, O Children! | 3 |
| RLST 2663 | New Religious Movements in America | 3 |
| RLST 2665 | Religion and Medicine in the United States | 3 |
| RLST 2668 | American Catholic History | 3 |
| RLST 2760 | Islam in America | 3 |
| RLST 2880 | Hinduism | 3 |
| RLST 2886 | Buddhism in the United States | 3 |
| RLST 2889 | Tantrism | 3 |
| RLST 2900 | Special Topics (Shell) | 3 |
| RLST 3990 | Independent Study | 1-3 |
Theology
To complete the Theology Pathway, students select six courses from the following:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RLST 1203 | Life of Jesus | 3 |
| RLST 1211 | Introduction to the New Testament | 3 |
| RLST 1501 | Introduction to Christian Ethics | 3 |
| RLST 1701 | Introduction to Islam | 3 |
| RLST 2118 | Faith After the Holocaust | 3 |
| RLST 2120 | Modern Jewish Theology | 3 |
| RLST 2209 | Jewish Interpretations of Scriptures | 3 |
| RLST 2331 | The Problem of God | 3 |
| RLST 2335 | Liberation Theology | 3 |
| RLST 2336 | Catholicism and Gender | 3 |
| RLST 2338 | Evil | 3 |
| RLST 2339 | Last Things: Catholic Belief in Life After Death | 3 |
| RLST 2428 | Early Christianity | 3 |
| RLST 2430 | Eastern Christianity: Europe, Africa, and Asia | 3 |
| RLST 2441 | Encountering God in Medieval Christian Thought | 3 |
| RLST 2443 | The Papacy | 3 |
| RLST 2445 | The Reformation Era | 3 |
| RLST 2448 | Faith and Reason: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition | 3 |
| RLST 2544 | Finding God in All Things | 3 |
| RLST 2550 | Catholic 2.0: Faith and Practice | 3 |
| RLST 2552 | Contemporary Moral Problems | 3 |
| RLST 2555 | Catholic Social Teaching | 3 |
| RLST 2557 | Christian Spirituality | 3 |
| RLST 2558 | The Classic: Truth in Religion and the Arts | 3 |
| RLST 2660 | I'm Spiritual, Not Religious: The American Spiritual Tradition | 3 |
| RLST 2649 | American Catholic Theologians | 3 |
| RLST 2730 | Islamic Theology | 3 |
| RLST 2750 | Islamic Ethical and Legal Thought | 3 |
| RLST 2795 | Islam, Race, Power | 3 |
| RLST 2900 | Special Topics (Shell) | 3 |
| RLST 3990 | Independent Study | 1-3 |