Purpose
The Department of Religion and Philosophy's purpose is to encourage students to explore and to understand religious and philosophical perspectives on human life.

The study of religion and philosophy in the liberal arts curriculum prepares students to live in our ever-expanding world where multiple religious, philosophical and ethical perspectives inform the different ways in which people inhabit, experience and ultimately shape the world we all share.

Living in a global context requires sensitive understanding and critical evaluation of religious identities: their texts and symbols, their histories and worldviews, their social institutions and material practices. It also requires specific skills and methods to analyze the complex ways in which religion and culture inform each other, as well as to negotiate interactions between different and often conflicting perspectives and values.

General Education Courses
The Department of Religion and Philosophy offers general education courses with the goal of developing students’ basic religious literacy.

The introductory courses in religion meet this goal, through enabling students to

• understand the differences between practitioner perspectives and academic perspectives;
• use the common terminology and methodologies applicable to the study of religion;
• demonstrate critical, analytical and comparative thinking skills about the various dimensions of religion; and
• develop understanding and appreciation of one’s own and others’ religious beliefs and ethical perspectives.

The religion major and minor build on this foundation in religious literacy. Students will gain knowledge in the various dimensions of scholarship in the field of religious studies.

Religion courses enable students to

• use the various intellectual lenses employed by scholarship in the field of religious studies to think, speak and write cogently about the complexity of religious phenomena;
• critically evaluate various theories with attention to their specific cultural and historical differences;
• interpret texts sensitively and critically, recognizing the complexities of language, history, culture, and symbols within various religious traditions;
• generate research in religious studies;
• build active connections across differences, within differences, through differences; and
• analyze the complex and sometimes contradictory ways in which religion and culture are connected to one another.