Religious Studies
The study of religion helps students of all majors and minors to better understand the world and their own disciplines.
Minor
Our commitments
Religion matters for everyone, everywhere, all at once. The study of religion helps students of all majors and minors to better understand the world and their own disciplines. That’s why our classes and our funded programming connects faculty and students from across campus. Whether it’s a digital artist who hosts workshops with computer scientists, artists, and the makerspace or an ethnobotanist who connects history, culture, and forest management, our program commits to a multidisciplinary and vigorous study of how our world works.
Religious studies is for everyone (really). That's why our students are so diverse: people from every religious background (including none!) work side-by-side to study the role of religion in the world. We know that spirituality and religion inform the motivations and behaviors of people in every society. Through their scholarly understanding, our students develop their ability to act in the world.
Religious studies encourages curiosity and collaboration. Our curriculum begins with the basics of religious traditions but goes on to the connection between those traditions and other aspects of human culture, from politics to tech design. Grounded in the best of multidisciplinary liberal arts approaches, our curriculum helps students understand family rituals, the news events of the day, and everything in between.
Religious studies demands excellence. Award-winning faculty push our students to flourish in learning and in life. Our careful approach to the intersection of religion with art, history, literature, and science helps students grow intellectually and provides tools for critical reflection on the world and on oneself.
Religious studies enhances career outcomes. Our graduates can rely on the cultural knowledge they gained as they head into education, business, and public service.
Given the importance of religion to understanding the modern world, taking courses or pursuing a minor in religious studies can be an excellent complement for any major. Students completing a minor will learn to:
- Analyze the role of religion in human societies of both ancient and modern worlds
- Trace the historical development of religious traditions, texts, practices, and beliefs
- Explain key similarities and differences in a variety of religious traditions
- Engage respectfully and critically with the religious backgrounds and assumptions of others as well as their own
- Apply key terms and concepts common to the academic study of religion
Minor in Religious Studies
Beyond the Classroom
When possible, religious studies classes include field trips to Chicago and to colleges and universities in the Midwest. For example, class trips might visit a Hindu temple upstate or a take a day trip to Chicago’s Chinatown. When nearby universities host events of interest, faculty might organize ways for Knox students to attend and participate. Religious Studies courses also draw on collaboration with the Office of Spiritual Life to include additional travel opportunities and co-curricular work on interreligious dialogue.
The minor in Religious Studies requires five credits, including Introduction to Religious Studies and advanced study in courses that match the student’s interests.
Resources
The Knight Fund provides innovative programming, field trips and other classroom experiences, and student research. Seymour Library and its Special Collections & Archives offer contemporary and historical resources for students in Religious Studies. A number of special college funds support student/faculty research, guest speakers, and other programs.
Student research and creative projects
Faculty in the religious studies program guide students through independent research on topics that vary from biblical studies to videogames. Such work includes paid research opportunities in the summer and winter as well as honors theses during the senior year, and students have opportunities to present their research at local and national conferences, including the Knox Undergraduate Conference in Religious Studies, which draws participants from across the Midwest as well as Knox’s own students.
Recent student research projects include: religion and artificial intelligence in Bangladesh, psychoanalytic approaches to the Gospel of Mark, and machine personhood in videogames. With a committed and wide-ranging faculty, it’s possible for students to pursue an incredible range of projects related to religion.
Knox is a leader in promoting top-notch undergraduate research. In fact, more than 90% of all Knox students complete an independent research or creative project by the time they graduate. Many students' projects are supported by an unusually rich array of Knox College funding programs that together provide students more than $200,000 each year in support of their work. These sources include: the Richter Memorial Scholars Program, the Ford Foundation Research Fellows Program, the Ronald E. McNair Fellows Program, and the Knight Fund in Religious Studies.
College Honors
The Honors Program allows students to develop an extended emphasis for research or creative endeavor, and ultimately to present their work to a faculty committee, including a specialist from outside the Knox community.
Off-Campus Study
Knox encourages students to spend one or more terms studying at off-campus programs, many of which offer courses in religious studies. In addition, there are some programs that focus on the study of religion, including Buddhist Studies in Bodh Gaya, India (Carleton Global Engagement), Japan and its Buddhist Traditions.
Internships
There's no better way to explore the possibilities of life after Knox than internships. Our students' internships are found with the assistance of the Bastian Family Center for Career Success.
Is Knox for you?
Contact us to find out more about our comprehensive majors, minors, and programs.