Religion

Program Overview

What Does a Student of Religion Study?

The study of religion is a crucial part of the wider study of human cultures, global affairs, and personal identities. Contemporary society in the U.S. is increasingly shaped by diverse and conflictual religious claims, even as the great majority of public high schools provide their graduates with little if any introduction to the formal study of religion. In the Department of Religion, we use multiple secular approaches to explore the vast array of myths, rituals, ethical systems, and social formations that human beings have created in response to what they perceive to be powers beyond humans. Our students receive extensive personal attention in our small classes as they gain religious literacy and develop a critical understanding of the role of religion in the world, an essential preparation for global citizenship today.

B.A. In Religion Requirement - UVM Catalogue

Minor in Religion

Contemporary society in the U.S. is increasingly shaped by diverse and conflictual religious claims, even as the great majority of public high schools provide their graduates with little if any introduction to the formal study of religion. Students who complete the coursework for the religion minor gain a solid foundation in the core competencies required for religious literacy in the contemporary world. These include a sophisticated understanding of religion as a category of analysis, a grounding in the discourses and practices of multiple religious traditions, and the capacity to insightfully engage and interpret current events around the world shaped by religious influences. Together these essential skills prepare CAS graduates to engage ethically and insightfully with a diversity of communities in our religiously plural society, and they support successful work in a wide variety of careers. The minor also complements a broad range of majors across the university.

Minor in Religion Requirements - UVM Catalogue

Curriculum

• B.A. in Religion (Catalogue)
• Minor in Religion (Catalogue)
• Minor in Jewish Studies (Catalogue)
• Religious Literacy in Professions  - Undergraduate Certificate

Outcomes

Upon completion of the BA with Religion major degree, students will be able to:

• Understand how religions manifest in local and universal ways, change across time and space, and are integrated with other social systems. 
• Recognize the work of the category “religion” and analyze how religion, spirituality, secularism, atheism, and superstition interact and make claims to and/or criticize authority.  
• Develop knowledge of disciplinary approaches to the study of religion, the differences between external and internal accounts, and their formation inside development of modern universities shaped by European and American experiences and trends since the nineteenth century. 
• Build skills to research and communicate about religion for both academic and non-academic audiences.

Careers

• Social Services
• Psychology
• Counseling and Mental Health
• K-12 and Higher Education
• Arts Management
• Journalism
• Law
• Medicine and Nursing
• Business and Finance

Graduate Schools

• Harvard University
• Case Western Reserve University
• Marquette University Law School
• New York University
• Oxford University
• Queens University, Belfast
• Rutgers University Law School
• University of Chicago
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• University of Denver
• Yale University