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The College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Religious Studies

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What is religious studies?

Religion asks questions that touch every aspect of human life. The faculty and students in IU’s Department of Religious Studies explore these questions, and proposed answers, across cultures, through time, and around the world, using a mix of historical, textual, philosophical, and anthropological approaches.

Explore Religious Studies

An education to prepare you for life

Our Religious Studies students are equipped to understand our diverse and rapidly changing world while learning much about themselves. This comparative field of study imbues students with the ability to assess diverse actions, traditions, and values. The knowledge and habits of mind learned in Religious Studies remain relevant forever, as key to a life of conscious choice and thoughtful, multi-cultural engagement.

View our undergraduate programs
Learn about our graduate degrees

Understand the world differently

Religious Studies courses help you examine your core values, both objectively and in terms of personal experience. In our classes, you will explore how people make sense of the world and enhance your global cultural knowledge as you engage in a wide variety of topics from barbecue to baseball, magic to mindfulness, and sexuality to the sacred.

Find undergraduate courses  Find graduate courses

Rebecca Manring’s Retirement

The Department of Religious Studies wishes Rebecca Manring, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Language Instruction for the Dhar India Studies Program, a fulfilling and well-deserved retirement retirement.

Read about Rebecca Manring

Religion and Music

The Center for Religion and the Human has been hosting a reading group this semester where students and faculty from a range of schools and department across IU gather to read, think, and discuss capaciously together across the two operative terms “religion” and “music.” 

Read more about it

Mysticism Reading Group

Grace Morris and Prof. Constance Furey are holding a Mysticism Reading Group. The group, which meets biweekly starting on Sept 25, will be discussing primary source texts relating to mysticism, starting with Women Mystics in Medieval Europe. 

Read more about it

Mormonism in Five Minutes

Mormonism in Five Minutes, part of the Equinox Religion in Five Minutes series, includes five articles by dual PhD candidate Colby Townsend (English & religious studies). 

Read about the project

Embodying Alegría

Prof. Sonia Velázquez presented work on anarchic joy in Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote at the Cervantes Society of America Biennial Conference held at the Newberry Library in Chicago. 

Read about the conference

A community of support

Our department is home to an incredible community of teachers and students ready to support your intellectual and personal pursuits. We are innovative and open-minded researchers who welcome unconventional ideas to help us better understand the role religion plays in culture and society.

Explore our research
View publications
Meet our faculty

Being Human

The study of religion broadens and deepens your understanding of the diverse richness and mystery that attends being human. Our faculty is engaged in research through the LUCE-funded Being Human project to learn more about what it means to be human in our rapidly changing world.

Learn about the Being Human project

News

Celebrating Rebecca Manring’s Retirement

Something Extra with Marco Arnaudo

Religion and Music Reading Group

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Events

Nov 11

Religion & Music Reading Group

10 a.m.—11:15 a.m.

1211 E ATWATER AVE

-

Dec 02

Religion & Music Reading Group

10 a.m.—11:15 a.m.

1211 E ATWATER AVE

-

Dec 04

Mysticism Reading Group

2 p.m.—4 p.m.

1211 E ATWATER AVE

-

See more events

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The College of Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts & Sciences

  • About
    • Faculty
    • Affiliate Faculty
    • Emeriti Faculty
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • About Bloomington
  • Undergraduate
    • Religious Studies Major
    • Minor
    • Courses
    • Advising
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Scholarships & Awards
    • Student Experience
    • Career Preparation
      • Career Advising
      • Marketable Skills
  • Graduate
    • Religious Studies M.A.
    • Religious Studies Ph.D.
    • Ph.D. Minor
    • Fields of Study
    • Courses
    • Financial Support
    • Awards & Essays
    • Student Experience
    • Career Preparation
    • Job Placement
    • How to Apply
      • FAQs
  • Research
    • Research Areas
    • Center for Religion and the Human
    • Resources
    • Selected Publications
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Get Involved
    • Alumni Spotlights
    • Alumni Newsletters
  • News & Events
    • Departmental News
      • News Archive
    • Event Calendar
    • Debate Tournament
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
    • Undergraduate
      • Religious Studies Major
      • Minor
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