» Welcome to Religious Studies

The Griset Chair in Bible and Christian Tradition was the first endowed chair at Chapman University, established in 1984 in the name of Belle Griset, whose son Francis Griset served as a Chapman Trustee for many years. This Chair was held formerly by our esteemed colleague Prof. Marvin Meyer until his untimely passing in 2012.  Now as a visiting position, this Chair allows Chapman students the unique opportunity to take courses with leading biblical scholars from around the world.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS!

	2014-2015 Visiting Chair Donald A. Hagner Prof. Hagner is George Eldon Ladd Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary and has had a long and distinguished career in New Testament Studies with an extensive list of publications on a wider range of topics, including acclaimed commentaries on Hebrews and Matthew and his comprehensive The New Testament: A Historical and Theological Introduction(2012). He has delivered a number of distinguished named lectures, his international reputation affirmed by the many awards he has received and the considerable time he has spent at Cambridge University as well as the University of Tubingen, the Pontifical Institute, and other universities in Sweden, France, Australia, Germany, Singapore, and Italy over the years. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, England.
.
	2015-2016 Visiting Chair Prof. Lee Martin McDonald An internationally renowned New Testament scholar, Dr. McDonald has written or edited 27 books and more than a 150 refereed articles and essays in prominent journals and major academic publications. Six of his books focus on the origins of the Bible, one of which has become a standard textbook for graduate and doctoral students in many academic institutions across the USA, Canada, and Europe. He is president emeritus of the Acadia Divinity College, the graduate school of theology at Acadia University, and dean of its faculty of theology in Nova Scotia, Canada. The past president of the Institute for Biblical Research, Dr. McDonald holds academic degrees from Harvard University and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Religious Studies Faculty members are dedicated teacher-scholars engaged in cutting edge research in their fields, who bring that expertise into the classroom.  Nationally and internationally recognized for their scholarship and award-winning teachers, religious studies faculty members include the Director of the Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education, the Director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute, the Dean of the Wallace All-Faiths Chapel, and the holders of the Visiting Griset Chair in Bible and Christian Studies and the Stern Chair in Holocaust Education. Meet our faculty.

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:

Scriptures and traditions

Philosophy and theology

Religion, ethics and society

Majors also select an individualized area of concentration, working closely with faculty advisors and culminating in a capstone research project.

Learn more about specific academic programs.

A Religious Studies Major is excellent preparation for graduate studies in a variety of fields, with religious studies majors consistently scoring among the highest on the analytic sections of graduate entrance exams like the GRE and LSAT. Our graduates have gone on to graduate study at prestigious universities and programs and embarked on such careers as teaching, research, ministry, clinical psychology, medicine, law, government, business, and journalism.

Whatever your future holds, knowledge of religion will enhance your understanding of contemporary politics, history, art, culture, and so much more.  And whether you become a health professional or a teacher, a lawyer or a psychologist, an international business person or a politician, interreligious literacy will be an invaluable asset to you and to your future employers.  

Chapman University Alumni Site