Religious Studies (Religion, Culture and Public Life), BA

The Bachelor of Arts in religious studies with a concentration in religion, culture and public life approaches religion as a mode of human culture, as constituted in intellect, language, emotion, practice, art and everyday life.

The program focuses on the role religions play in the formation of cultural identities, traditions, norms and memories, and it examines in particular the impact religions have on culturally specified ways people reason, communicate, socialize, work, entertain, dress, eat, live and die. Special consideration is given to the influence of religion on gender roles and sexual norms; the formation of images of the body and the moral assessment of medical practices; and the reflection and reproduction of religion in film, popular culture, and conventional, digital and social media.

The concentration addresses present-day interests and prepares students for jobs in a variety of professions, including education, journalism, media studies, gender studies, health care, politics, law, education, migration and international studies.