“Religion is always in the room” Liz Kiniki, formerly of CBS Religion
Scholars used to think that religion would become less important in the world as societies modernized. However in ways that are both visible and hidden, religion remains an essential part of culture in the US and around the world in the early twenty-first century. The study of religion at UVM provides students with the tools to understand how religions affect people lives and communities, both in the past and in the present. Examining narratives, practices, and communities, we ask how religions provide meaning, and how these systems of meaning are in turn shaped by systems such as gender, race and ethnicity, and nationalism. Discover why people study religion and learn more about the B.A. in Religion, or the Certificate in Religious Literacy in the Professions.
Shaping society since the beginning of time
The study of religion at UVM is a crucial part of the wider study of human cultures, global affairs, and personal identities; it is not tied to previous religious training or present religious affiliation. Religious study is the investigation of the myths, rituals, ethical systems, and social formations that human beings have created in response to what they perceive to be powers beyond the human. War and peace, states and revolutions, laws and communities have been shaped by religious aspirations and commitments. Discover why people study religion, and learn more about the B.A. in religion.
Recent Headlines
-
03-29-2024
-
03-22-2024
-
03-01-2024
Classes That Challenge and Enlighten
Religion classes will help you understand society better. Our classes assume that religions are human efforts to understand their place in the world/universe, and so we look at stories and practices that make sense of the world or bring about a world that these communities envision. We focus on specific religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity, but we also want students to understand that religions are always located in places and communities and traditions. We want to students to see religions as both tools and systems, that both liberate and oppress.
A Faculty of Scholar-Teachers
“Together, we are a genius” – Mary E. Hunt
The Religion Department is a group of scholars that are focused on thoughtful, transdisciplinary research that brings students along with them on this work. We engage in work across multiple disciplines – Religion, History, Anthropology, Environmental Studies, English, Ethnomusicology – to think about how religion “works” in the world. Some current projects (and related classes) include: mapping religious sounds in Burlington and Lagos, Nigeria (REL 2654 Sacred Sounds); investigating the intersection of Islamophobia and antisemitism (REL 3990 Religious Hatred); examining Jewish elements in Science Fiction (REL 2245 Judaism in America).
What Do People Do with a Religion Major?
Students often get asked what they are going to do with a Religion major, or hear the comment “you must be so spiritual!” For the first, our students do many things – they teach, they go into professions such as law or medicine, they do non-profit work and business, they cook. For the second, some of our students are parts of religious communities, but many of them are not. We help students see how religion works in society, which means they learn how societies work – and that is knowledge is a broadly transferable.