Overview

The Minor in Religious Studies introduces students from any major to religion and religious issues in a scholarly environment, creating a much needed space for debate, growth and critical thought. It empowers students with a variety of thinking tools that prepare them to understand the phenomenon of religion as a subject for investigation and critique, not just for worship and belief or disbelief. The minor will allow the students to discern for themselves religion’s assumptions and dimensions, the use and abuse of religion in today’s world and over the recorded human history, and the dynamic relationship between religion and cultures. 

Program Objectives

The Minor in Religious Studies aims to:

1. allow students to foster a critical outlook towards religion, demonstrate accurate knowledge of the basics of various religious traditions, and appreciate the varied expressions of religious plurality in society.
2. help students to access the various components of religion from an intellectual scholarly perspective.
3. provide students with the interdisciplinary resources to understand the phenomenon of religion and its varied expressions in human life and society.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates with a Minor in Religious Studies should be able to:

1. demonstrate a basic understanding of recurring themes in religious traditions.
2. write and speak in a critical and open-minded manner about religions and their role in human life.
3. apply all human faculties critically to religion and religious-related issues.

Curriculum

For a Minor in Religious Studies, students must complete a minimum of 18 credits, distributed as follows: 

• Core Courses (minimum of 9 credits)
• Elective Courses

Core Courses (minimum of 9 credits)

Students must choose at least 9 credits from the below courses:

• REL312  Religious Literature (3 cr.)
• REL318  Religious Thought and its Cultural Expressions (3 cr.)
• REL411  Myth, Ritual, and Faith (3 cr.)
• REL412  Development of Religious Thought (3 cr.)
• REL413  Representatives of Christian Thought (3 cr.)
• REL414  Representatives of Islamic Thought (3 cr.)

Elective Courses

• ARA327  Sufi Literature (3 cr.)
• HST241  History of Islam in the Middle East (3 cr.)
• HST342  Topics in the History of Religion (3 cr.)
• PHL202  Medieval Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHL311  Philosophy of Religion (3 cr.)
• PHL327  Philosophy and Mythology (3 cr.)
• PHL328  Arabic and Islamic Philosophy (3 cr.)
• SOC304  Sociology of Religion (3 cr.)