Religious Studies

Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

Religious experience is an indispensable key to the understanding of human behaviour and thought. The Religious Studies program invites students to join in current scholarly efforts to identify and to understand different forms of religious experience from a number of disciplinary perspectives. In the core course, students will learn how to use various analytical methods to explore the rich variety of the world’s religious traditions. They may then, if they wish, concentrate on one religious tradition (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism etc.) or they may take a comparative approach. Students will have the opportunity to explore the western religious heritage of Judaism and Christianity from secular, historical, cultural, archeological and literary perspectives. Through a variety of important texts -- including the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic Writings and works from Apocrypha, and Pseudepigraphic literature -- students will deepen their understanding of the historical and cultural foundations of religion and contemporary religious practice. If the political situation eases, students may even participate in a guided tour of sites in Israel and Egypt as part of the program. Students are expected to acquire breadth both in disciplinary approach and in subject matter. Traditionally, religious studies has been a small program, which emphasizes personal contact between its majors and the faculty participating in the program.

• Religious Studies (BA) degree requirements
• Rules and regulations in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies
• Other programs offered in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies