History of Religions

History of Religions is an interdisciplinary program that examines how people shape and interpret religion through various media in order to engage it in the world. The program fosters knowledge about people by analyzing the ways in which billions use religion to lead and evaluate their lives within U.S. pluralism and across the world. The course of study prepares students to navigate and manage difference successfully by enhancing students’ powers of observation, awareness of context, logical thinking, and practice of informed and respectful interaction. A student comment on the academic study of religion in the College at Drew: “Professionally, it strengthened my cultural competence, which is an essential skill for working in diverse environments.”

Our Curriculum
The History of Religions academic approach to the study of religion originated in the late nineteenth century. Today’s updated curriculum retains the original methods of history and comparative study while engaging multiple disciplines in the humanities and social sciences to explore cultural, social, historical, artistic, political, philosophical and ethical dimensions of religion in the world. It is committed to pluralistic inquiry and, as a liberal arts course of study, it is nonsectarian.