Religious Studies
Source: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs/religious-studies-ab Parent: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs
Religious Studies explores religious thought and practice in various historical, political, cultural, and social contexts in order to understand and interpret societies and cultures throughout the world.
Degree Type
A.B.
department
Department of Religious Studies
CIP Code
38.0201ℹ
The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) was developed by the U.S. Department of Education to categorize educational programs in the U.S. for a variety of reporting purposes. Each program at Brown is assigned a CIP code that best matches its academic curriculum.
Current STEM Eligible CIP Codes
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Religious Studies
Religious Studies explores religious thought and practice in various historical, political, cultural, and social contexts in order to understand and interpret societies and cultures throughout the world.
It fosters scholarly skills such as close reading (of texts, images, artifacts, and other social data), excellence in writing and verbal expression, interpretation of the past and present from multiple forms of evidence, and assessment of contemporary social issues. By exploring the public and private concerns that the study of religion highlights — for example, the creation of community, the nature of the individual, suffering and death, notions of good and evil — students discover new ways of engaging the complex world in which they live. As students examine religious activity in the Americas, South and East Asia, the Middle East and West Asia, Africa, and Europe, they not only learn about the formation and transmission of beliefs, behaviors, values, rituals, and identities but also come to understand how diverse peoples have expressed religious understandings of themselves and others through politics, institutions, conflicts, and spaces commonly recognized as secular.
Student Goals
Students in this concentration will:
- Acquire foundational knowledge of several of the world’s religious traditions
- Develop critical abilities in textual exegesis and close reading
- Understand the intellectual, social-theoretical, and ethical issues relating to religious discourse
- Design a course of study in consultation with a faculty member
- Pursue original research
Department Undergraduate Group (DUG)
Student Leaders: Aijoon Lee, William Loughridge, Morgan Svenningsen
Graduating Class
| Class Year | Total Students | Honors Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | 6 |
| 2022 | 14 | 2 |
| 2023 | 13 | 5 |
| 2024 | 11 | 4 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 |
Former concentrators have excelled in a variety of careers, including law, politics, public service, academia, religious leadership, business, creative arts, and medicine.
What are Religious Studies concentrators doing…
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is typically the first point of contact for prospective concentrators. Once students have declared, they may be assigned a specific concentration advisor from within the department or program.