Welcome
The Department of Religious Studies offers the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree with a major or minor in Religious Studies, and the graduate Masters of Arts degree in Religious Studies.
Our faculty members have won prestigious awards for their excellence in teaching and advising. They are nationally and internationally recognized scholars in the academic study of religion. We have particular strengths in the following areas:
- American Religious History
- Native American Religions
- Biblical studies
- History of Christianity
- Islam
- Judaism
- Religions of East Asia
- Religions of South Asia
- Religions of Indigenous peoples
The Department is particularly interested in the intersections of religion with neuroscience, popular culture, gender, class, and society. Our methods and approaches are multidisciplinary, combining textual, historical, sociological, anthropological, psychological, comparative, and cultural studies perspectives.
News
May 17, 2013
Professor Signe Cohen has been awarded an Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award for 2013 from the Graduate Student Association.
May 10, 2013
Congratulations to MA student Jesca Scaevola on being awarded an Ancient Studies Supplemental Stipend by the Ancient Studies Committee!
May 1, 2013
Did you get a chance to read Professor Callahan's post on "Oceanic Religion" at the Religion in American History Blog the other day? You can find it here.
April 29, 2013
Professor Nate Hofer presented a talk on Islamophobia at William Woods University in Fulton on April 29.
April 21, 2013
Religious Studies major Maranda Johnson presented a paper and poster on "The Evolution of the Hindu Goddess Kali in Art and Literature" at the 24th annual McNair Scholars conference at MU this weekend.
Current News » Archive »
Events
Dr. Stephanie Kaza, Professor of Environmental Studies, will present the Fifth Annual Distinguished Lecture on Religion and Public Life on April 18 at 7:30pm in Fischer Auditorium, Gannett Hall. The title of her talk will be "Responding to Environmental Challenges: Insights from Zen Buddhism." This event is free and open to the public. See flyer here.
Dr. Nate Hofer will be lecturing on "Islamophobia, the New Atheism, and the Politics of Tolerance" for the MU Dialogue Club on Tuesday, April 16, from 6-8pm in the Benton Bingham Ballroom on the second floor of Memorial Union North. Pizza and refreshments will be served.
Dr. Erin Darby of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville will present a Paine Lecture titled “Digging the Divine? Female Figurines and the Archaeology of Israelite Religion” on Tuesday, March 19, at 5pm in Middlebush 310. The talk is free and open to the public.
Dr. Anne Blankenship, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, will present a Paine Lecture titled "Before the Civil Rights Movement: Christian Responses to the Incarceration of Japanese Americans." The talk will be in A&S 236 at 5pm, February 5 and is free and open to the public.
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