The requirements for the Religious Studies programs are designed to be flexible and can be tailored to each student’s individual interests and personal and professional goals. The major is streamlined to facilitate students’ double-majoring or minoring in a second field.
Requirements for the major and minor include foundation courses introducing students to the study of religion and the religions of the world; the junior-senior seminar, and electives selected from three areas.
In addition to developing essential skills for critical thinking and ethical decision-making, students completing the major in religious studies will be able to analyze and assess the global range of religious beliefs and practices in historical and cultural context, appraise the roles religion plays in community and cultural life and synthesize research results and formulate written arguments on topics in religious studies.
The major in Religious Studies at Chapman is:
- Global in Scope
- Interdisciplinary
- Individualized
Major and Minor Shared Requirements
Required Courses:
- Living Religions of the World
- The Study of Religion
- Junior Senior Seminar
- Capstone Senior Project: The individualized student capstone project is the culmination of the major in Religious Studies. Students work closely with a faculty advisor and mentor to develop a project tailored to their individual interests and professional goals. Topics are as diverse and creative as the students in our department and include a wide range of religious traditions, methodological approaches and issues.
Electives Courses:
- Scriptures and Traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
- Scriptures and Traditions: Asian Traditions
- Philosophy of Religion and Theology
- Religion, Ethics and Society
Additional Major Requirements:
Majors also select 3 additional courses in an individualized area of concentration, working closely with faculty advisors and culminating a capstone research project. Students are encouraged to study abroad and incorporate internships into their academic program. For those students wanting to study primary religious texts in their original languages, our faculty can provide individualized instruction in languages such as Hebrew, Coptic, and Greek.
Double Majoring and Minoring in Other Fields:
The Religious Studies major is streamlined to facilitate students’ double-majoring or minoring in a second field. Many of our students double major in fields such as philosophy, political science, film, English literature, psychology, the arts, and music. For those wishing to minor in an additional field, Wilkinson offers complementary interdisciplinary minors in addition to those in standard disciplines:
Majors also select an individualized area of concentration can develop an Interdisciplinary Toolbox to study Religious Phenomena:
- Textual Studies
- Philosophical Analysis
- Psychology
- Literary Criticism
- Political Science
- History
- Theology
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Sociology
- Economics
Students interested in Religious Studies, but not majoring or minoring in religion, may choose to enroll in one of the following General Education Inter/Multidisciplinary Clusters:
- Religion and the Arts
- Histories and Religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
- Comparative World Religions
- Histories and Religions of the East
- Asian Studies
WHAT IS A CLUSTER? A cluster lets you study one disciplinary subject in depth or one topic from several disciplinary approaches. The “multidisciplinary” approach lets you develop some expertise in an area outside your major program. The “interdisciplinary” approach lets you study an area or topic from several different disciplinary perspectives. In either case, the effect is breadth of learning as well as depth of knowledge.