Religion

About the Religion Area of Concentration

Former Secretary of State, John Kerry, writes that “One of the most interesting challenges we face in global diplomacy today is the need to fully understand and engage the great impact that a wide range of religious traditions have on foreign affairs. […] if I headed back to college today, I would major in comparative religions rather than political science.”

In light of the pivotal role religion has played in shaping selves, societies, and cultures from ancient times to the present, the Religion program provides the beginning student with an understanding of the complexity of religious phenomena and offers the advanced student a variety of methods appropriate to such study.

The mission of the religion program is to encourage critical thinking about religious traditions, ideals, rituals, and practices; to develop empathetic insight into the fundamental ideas and values of other peoples, times, and places, and to foster critical self-consciousness about the values and commitments of one’s own age and society. Through these studies, students reflect upon the historically developed content of their own culture as well as that of others.