At the beginning of the twenty-first century, religion continues to be a major force shaping cultural, political, and ethical debates around the world. Religion is a critical part of the way we understand the relationship between the individual and society, the role of spiritual authority in the political sphere, and the connections between religious commitment and national identity. The Religious
Studies major and minor are housed in the Department of Comparative Studies, an interdisciplinary program that also includes concentrations in Cultural Studies, Ethnic and American Studies, Folklore, Literature and Science Studies. Rather than studying religion in isolation, we examine religion through the insights of literary studies, ethnography, historiography, social analysis and cultural comparison. As an interdisciplinary program, Religious Studies at OSU draws on expertise from across the university and includes faculty from Comparative Studies, Greek and Latin, History, History of Art, Women’s Studies and many other programs. The academic study of religion neither requires nor excludes personal faith commitments. A student’s personal religious perspective is not a consideration for pursuing courses or the major in religious studies; rather, students are asked to investigate all the world’s religions from a variety of theoretical and comparative perspectives. However, it is not uncommon for a student’s interest in religious studies to be motivated by personal or existential questions. There is no better way to think through these questions than to examine the insights of the world’s religious traditions.
