UVM's Religion Department is recognized by the American Academy of Religion as a highly successful prototype for the new, comparative model of studying religion, as opposed to the more common theological-based curriculum. Guided by a belief that the study of religion is a crucial part of the wider study of human cultures, global affairs and personal identities, the department has a long tradition of remaining free of connections with religious institutions.
Religion majors not only study major religious traditions but also topics pertaining to religion and gender, race, social theory, ritual, myth, cognitive patterns and mystical experience. Majors also have opportunities to travel to countries such as China and India to further their study of the world's myths, rituals and social formations. Religion courses reflect the specialties of faculty, whose expertise spans Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, ancient Hellenistic religions and theories of religion, among others. Religion professors are widely published and recognized for their scholarship.
Phone: (802) 656-3080
E-mail:
Frances.Keppler@uvm.edu
Department Web Site:
http://www.uvm.edu/~religion/
Graduate school: Alumni who completed graduate programs, both in religion and other disciplines, are now professors at the University of Missouri, Central Connecticut State and St. Mary's College in Halifax. One former major is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard.
Careers: Graduates work in medicine, law, teaching, counseling and international relations, among other fields.
