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Religion B.A.

Explore religion through art, literature, philosophy and society from global and historical perspectives and examine roles religion plays in shaping cultures.
An aerial view of Syracuse University campus in the summer.
The religion department, with its home in the iconic Hall of Languages, helps students develop an understanding of religion as the foundation of human culture.

About this Program

  • Develop an understanding of religion as a foundation of culture.
  • Become more aware of and sensitive to a diversity of religious beliefs and practices.
  • Learn to interpret dynamics of religious convictions, actions and expressions in cross-cultural, interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Choose semester, summer, short-term or yearlong options for international study, including Syracuse University centers in London, England, and Madrid, Spain, which offer courses in religion.

Program Information

Degree Type

Major

Outcome

B.A.

Modality

In-person

College or School

Career Path

Exterior of Hall of languages building

College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) is Syracuse University’s first and largest college. As the home of the liberal arts, our internationally recognized programs provide the cornerstone of a Syracuse University education with 50+ majors in the natural sciences and mathematics, the humanities and the social sciences (in partnership with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs).
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Curriculum

Study religion, conceptually and practically, from a multitude of perspectives—including art, ethics, ethnography, gender and sexuality, history, literature, philosophy and politics.

  • Examine the degree of religious diversity in the world historically and today.
  • Appreciate the crucial role religion has played in the course of human history.
  • Critically and imaginatively analyze the role of religion in human expression, thought and social institutions both historically and in the present day.
  • Explain a particular religious tradition and/or problem within the study of religion.
  • Recognize the difficulties inherent in undertaking a coherent, disciplined study of religion and be aware of the diversity of perspectives within that study.
  • Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

  • Religion Today in a Globalizing World
  • Gods: A Cross-Cultural Gallery
  • Ethical Decision Making
  • Religion and the Conquest of America
  • Religion and Popular Culture

Extracurricular Opportunities

Study abroad opportunity

Study Abroad and World Partner Programs

Religion majors often go abroad to Syracuse University centers in London and Madrid. Summer programs of interest may also include Religion, Law and Human Rights in a Comparative Perspective (Strasbourg, France); Exploring Jewish Life in Central Europe; Middle East Policies and Security Studies in Israel; and Revolutions, War and the Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East (Dubai, United Arab Emirates).

Students in front of a castle
Student organization

Theta Chi Beta Honor Society

Theta Chi Beta is Syracuse University’s chapter of the national honor society in religious studies and theology. Undergraduate students are eligible for membership in Theta Chi Beta by earning no fewer than 12 credit hours in the study of religion with a 3.5 GPA, and no less than a 3.0 GPA in their total program of study.

Learn more about this program

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