It is increasingly clear that we cannot fully understand ourselves or other people and cultures without some knowledge of religion in all its diversity. Religion is an extraordinarily exciting way to study the world. Our faculty is immersed in religious traditions from a variety of perspectives—from Asia to Africa, to Europe and the Americas, from antiquity to the present.

All of our faculty are engaged with inquiry into the role religion plays in culture and society. Some use history as the primary discipline to explore how particular religions originated and developed. Others focus on ethics or philosophy, bringing religious texts and practices to bear on questions of both abiding and immediate interest. Some are ethnographers or anthropologists, analyzing how communities use religious beliefs and rituals to create meaning. Most combine these ways of thinking in innovative ways. Religious Studies research spans the social and natural sciences, humanities, business, and the arts.