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Religion

Associate Professor Phillip Sherman, Chair, Division of Humanities

Professor William Meyer, Coordinator

The study of religion considers religions as both expressions of the most fundamental human questions and as the products of historical forces. A broad study of religion encompasses theology as well as history, literature and the arts, social institutions, and cross-cultural comparisons. The faculty seek to prepare students to enter life after college with a richer understanding and deeper appreciation of religious questions, texts, and traditions. Such preparation will equip them with the skills and attitudes necessary for lifelong personal growth, community involvement, and professional accomplishment. The faculty also aim to provide students interested in further specialization with the skills and literacy needed for graduate study in religion and/or professional study in divinity.

Students successfully completing the program of study will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate a working knowledge of some of the critical methods in and major approaches to the study of religion.
  2. Explain the beliefs and practices, historical developments, and major contemporary concerns of the world’s major religious traditions.
  3. Demonstrate familiarity with major themes in biblical literature and other religious texts and with contemporary issues related to the study of religious texts.
  4. Understand some of the central themes of Christianity as well as the diversity within the Christian tradition.
  5. Analyze carefully, think critically, and write coherently about religious traditions, whether one’s own tradition or other traditions.
  6. Demonstrate a working knowledge of some of the critical methods in and major approaches to the study of religion.