Confused about the news of elimination and consolidation of degree programs at IU? The Department of Religious Studies is not going anywhere! Neither are our courses scheduled for 2025-26 or admissions for the future. Please view a message to undergraduate students from the chair of our department.

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.

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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.

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Students Help State Department

Through IU’s Diplomacy Lab, students in Prof. Patrick Michelson’s “Holy Russia, Holy War” course have partnered with the U.S. State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom.

Congratulations to Our Graduates

We extend our congratulations to Miles Lyons, Ashely Payton, and Ruby Rothenburg who will be graduating at the end of this semester!

Kulisz Publishes on Political Theology

Abby Kulisz (PhD 2022) is published in the forthcoming collection, Political Theology and its Discontents.

Read about the publication

Manring Celebrates Bengali Scholar

Prof. Rebecca Manring delivered the valedictory lecture at the two-day seminar, “Revisiting Acharya Sukumar Sen: Exploring Linguistic, Literary, Cultural Paradigms: 125th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Professor Sukumar Sen” hosted by the Faculty of Arts at Calcutta University.

Cemetery Anarchy

The Fall edition of Back Pages wrapped up in mid-November, featuring Provost Professor Emeritus Winni Sullivan’s contribution to the forum, “Cemetery Anarchy.”

Teaching Religion in Public Explores AI

Teaching Religion in Public (TRiP) kicked off the topic of how can we as religionists contribute to current conversations about the limits and possibilities of artificial and human intelligence at a recent lunch where they discussed “Antiqua et Nova,” a doctrinal note put out by the Catholic Church.

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

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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