Religious Studies

The study of religion has been an important and vital part of Texas A&M University since Professor Richard Stadelmann arrived in College Station over 20 years ago.  Thousands of students passed through Professor Stadelmann’s very popular course on the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and Near Eastern and Oriental religions, and each year, more and more students opted for the minor in religious studies offered by the Department of Philosophy and Humanities.

With the renaissance and rapid growth of the liberal arts at Texas A&M in the late 1970s and 1980s, religious studies assumed an even more prominent position.  New courses on all aspects of Western and non-Western religions were developed and taught by faculty members in the departments of Anthropology, History, Modern and Classical Languages, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology; even New Testament Greek became an annual offering.  In 1988 a college committee recommended that this exciting work on religion be given an official and coherent form, and as a result, the Interdisciplinary Program in Religious Studies was formally established in 1991.

The program is Interdepartmental and Interdisciplinary.  Students are introduced to a multidisciplinary experience of religions–both traditional Judaeo-Christian and non-Western–that employs ancient and modern languages, anthropology, art and architecture, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, social sciences, and theology.  Students learn about the history and traditions of their religion and those of others, the role of organized religion and religious groups in society, and the contribution of the religious sensibility to the psychological well-being of individuals.  Students also know that the world today extends far beyond the borders of Texas: there are cultures, nations, and peoples they need to understand better as they participate in a genuinely international community.  What better path to global understanding than knowing and appreciating the religions, beliefs, and hopes of persons living throughout Europe, the Mediterranean basin, Africa, the Near and Far East, and Latin America?

Contact

Donnalee Dox

104 Academic Building
Mailstop 4240
979.458.1870
dox@libarts.tamu.edu

Objectives

• To understand the religions of cultures around the world and throughout history
• To trace the roots of religious heritages in the Western and non-Western worlds
• To appreciate better the background, history, and traditions of one’s own religion
• To integrate history, languages, literature, philosophy, and the social sciences with the study of religion
• To help promote both multiculturalism and awareness of one’s own cultural environment
• To prepare for graduate or professional school or for the seminary

Curriculum

The minor consists of a minimum of 18 hours from courses in the religious studies offered by various departments of the College of Liberal Arts. 

Each student is required to earn a “C” or better in the two-semester sequence on World Religious Traditions (HUMA 303/RELS 303 and HUMA 304/RELS 304) and the capstone course PHIL 331/RELS 331 (Philosophy of Religion). 

In addition, the student must earn C’s or better in at least one 3-hour course in each of three areas(please see the end note for important restrictions on the courses that can count toward the minor): Religious Texts, Religion in History, and Religion in Psychology and the Social Sciences .

World Religious Traditions (6 hour requirement):

• HUMA 303/RELS 304: Near East Religions
• HUMA 304/RELS 304: Indian and Oriental Religions

Religious Texts (3 hour requirement):

• CLAS/RELS 351: Classical Mythology
• CLAS 201/RELS 201: Intermediate Greek: New Testament
• ENGL 365/RELS 365: The Bible as Literature
• ENGL 368/RELS 368: Women in the Bible
• HUMA 221/RELS 211: Hebrew Scriptures
• HUMA 213/RELS 214: New Testament

Religion in History (3 hour requirement):

• ANTH 317/RELS 317: Biblical Archeology
• HIST 220.RELS 220: History of Christianity, Origins to the Reformation
• HIST 365/RELS 365: History of Religion in America to 1860

Religion in Psychology and the Social Sciences (3 hour requirement)

• ANTH 403/RELS 403: Primitive Religion
• PSYC 405/RELS 405: Psychology of Religion
• SOCI 326/RELS 326: Sociology of Religion

PHIL 331/RELS 331: Philosophy of Religion (3 hours).  This course, being the capstone of the curriculum, should be taken by the student in the final year of study.

Note:  Courses in the minor cross-listed in the student's major department cannot count for both major and minor. A limit of 3 hours from the major department may be used in fulfillment of this minor.