Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies
We offer a major and a minor in Religious Studies for College students. Explore numerous religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism – our program engages enduring questions about religion and human society. Religious claims and institutions affect our cultural and political lives, global affairs, and personal formation, for good and for ill.
College students of any major are invited to take electives in Religious Studies, which can complement programs in history, literature, philosophy, biology, economics, or sociology, to name just a few. Students of religion study the historical development of specific religious traditions, understand and critically engage the ethical and intellectual teachings of various religions, and begin to make some comparative appraisals of the roles that religions play in different cultures and historical periods.
Religious beliefs and practices have shaped and continue to shape individuals’ and groups’ perception of themselves and the world around them. Religion touches all facets of human experience, and the religious studies program is the place to investigate its intersection with other spheres like gender and sexuality, race, the nation-state, violence, memory, ethics, emotions, politics, economy, power, art, literature, and media.
For more information about the Religious Studies program, please contact us at rlst@uchicago.edu
All those who are interested in the study of religion at Chicago are invited to sign up for the “religiousstudies” listhost. The listhost distributes information about requirements for the major and minor, new courses, fellowships and other opportunities, and Divinity School events like lectures and conferences that you are welcome to attend.