Why Study?

RELIGIOUS STUDIES

MAJOR AND MINOR

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Majors : Choose 4 courses (16 hrs)

Minors : Choose 3 courses (12 hrs)

• Buddhism

• Christianity

• Hinduism

• Islam

• Judaism

SERVICE-LEARNING

Majors Choose 1 (4 hrs)

Minors : n.a.

• Communitiesof Faith

• Religion and Race in America

ADVANCED WRITING COURSES

(A) Writing-Intensive Courses

Majors : Choose 1 course (4 hrs)

Minors : n.a.

Examples:

• Christian Classics

• Fundamentalism

• Religion & Moral Psychology

• Islam in Modern Times

• Religion & Morality in the American Public Square

• The Qur’an & Hadith

(B) Theories of Religion

Includes writing 10-15 pg. research papers

Majors : Choose 2 courses (8 hrs)

Minors : Choose 1 course (4 hrs)

Examples:

• Bodies and Souls

• Great Religious Thinkers

• Culture, Psyche & Religion

• Psychology of Religion

• Religious Ethics

ELECTIVES

Majors : Choose 2 (8 hrs)

Minors : Choose 1 (4 hrs)

Examples:

• Dead Sea Scrolls

• Islamic Mysticism

• Jesus on the Silver Screen

• Religion & Psychobiography

• any of the Experiential or Advanced courses that you haven’t yet taken

• AHUM 1716 courses and Core courses that are taught by RLGS faculty

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS:   

 Major: 40

Minor: 20

The University of Denver’s Undergraduate Religious Studies program offers you the opportunity to study religion in ways that you won’t find at other universities. Of course you’ll learn about many of the major religious traditions of the world and investigate how theories of religion can help you interpret the religious phenomena that you see around you. But in addition, you’ll learn about religion by experiencing it, for instance by going with your class on visits to religious institutions in Denver and by doing projects in local religious communities. You’ll also take a special service-learning course, where you’ll see up close why many religions emphasize the value of service to others. Finally, you’ll learn what it means to do independent research in Religious Studies while developing excellent writing skills.

Both the major and minor in Religious Studies begin with a solid foundation of religious traditions courses . Majors select four of the following (minors select three): Buddhism (RLGS 3820), Christianity (RLGS 3203 or 3204), Hinduism (RLGS 3814 or 3816), Islam (RLGS 3050), and Judaism (RLGS 3001). These courses both introduce you to the histories, texts, and practices of particular religions and lay the groundwork for your study of more specialized topics, such as Islamic Mysticism, Christian Classics, and theory courses. One highlight of the traditions courses is that you’ll learn to read and interpret scripture and other primary texts . Equally important, these courses include an experiential learning component that take you out of the classroom and into the local community, where you’ll visit churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples and meet religious practitioners. Such experiences are meant to complement and enrich the learning that you’ll do in the classroom.

Religious Studies majors also take Communities of Faith (RLGS 3891) or Religion and Race in America (RLGS 3641), each a unique service-learning course designed just for our majors, where part of the course includes providing 20 hours of needed volunteer service at a local organization. By participating in the life of a religious community, you’ll discover why service is such an important concept and practice in many traditions. Back in the classroom, you’ll have the opportunity to reflect critically on your experience in light of readings and discussions on religious meanings of service.

Once you’ve been introduced to some of the world’s religions, you’ll be ready to take more advanced courses. Majors will choose one writing-intensive course, in which writing—both informal, ungraded and formal, graded—is used as an important mode of learning. In addition, majors will select two courses on theories of religion, such as Great Religious Thinkers and Psychology of Religion; minors take one theory course. Here you’ll learn how different scholars and religious practitioners interpret religion and how every interpretive lens shapes the way we understand religion. In theory courses, you’ll also learn to develop 10-15 page research papers, a crucial part of your undergraduate training.

Majors also take at least two elective courses in Religious Studies, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. AHUM 1716 courses and CORE courses taught by Religious Studies faculty may also be taken for elective credit, as well as any of the Experiential or Advanced courses that you haven’t yet taken. Note that AHUM and CORE courses can be taken only for general education credit or for credit toward the major or minor.

Through DU’s Cherrington Scholars Program, juniors may study abroad for a quarter at one of the many international programs that offer religion courses. Study abroad courses taken for major or minor credit must be approved in advance by the Religious Studies undergraduate advisor.

Finally, majors may apply for internships through the Marsico Internship Program. Through such experiences, you can gain a sense of how you can use your academic skills and knowledge of religion to get a job after graduation.

Contact us!   Prof. Luis Leon, Undergraduate Advisor

   Department of Religious Studies, Sturm Hall 166