Religious Studies, Bachelor of Arts (769)
Program Coordinator
Sophia R. Arjana, sophia.arjana@wku.edu, (270) 745-3841
The academic study of religion provides the student with the methodological orientation necessary to comprehend the central beliefs, ethical practices, ritual systems, and social institutions of diverse religious traditions in their historic, contemporary and global contexts. Study in this field is multicultural and comparative, examining the patterns of life and moral worlds of societies past and present, our own as well as others. The student learns to probe for the structure, function and meaning of religion through those rites of passage, sacred narratives, faith communities, and codes of behavior that give meaning to human existence.
Program Requirements (31 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
The major in religious studies requires a minimum of 31 semester hours and leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree. At least four hours must be at the 400-level. A minor or second major is required. The thirty-one hours must be distributed as follows:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Category I: World Religions | ||
| RELS 102 | World Religions | 3 |
| Category II: Religious Traditions | ||
| Select three courses from the following: | 9 | |
| Buddhism | ||
| Hinduism | ||
| Judaism | ||
| Christianity | ||
| Islam | ||
| Confucianism | ||
| Daoism | ||
| Category III: Comparative Approaches to the Study of Religion | ||
| Select one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Religions of Asia | ||
| World Religious Literature | ||
| Christians, Jews, and Pagans in the Greco-Roman World | ||
| The Meaning of Life; Atheism to Zen | ||
| Religions of the Middle East | ||
| Women and Religion | ||
| Religion and the Environment | ||
| Category IV: Electives | ||
| 9 of the 15 hours must be in RELS: the remaining 6 should be selected from the following pre-approved list (or other courses approved by the Department Chair) as well as from the departmentally - approved study abroad courses. 1 | 15 | |
| Anthropology of Religion | ||
| Medieval Art & Architecture | ||
| Islamic Art and Architecture | ||
| Mythology | ||
| Dante’s Divine Comedy and Its Influences | ||
| Age of the Reformation | ||
| The Crusades: West Meets East | ||
| Medieval Philosophy | ||
| Psychology of Religion | ||
| Religion in Society | ||
| Category V: Senior Seminar | ||
| RELS 496 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| Total Hours | 31 | |
| 1 | 9 Hours must be in religious studies courses; Students may count up to 1 year of language sequence in Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, or Latin, or other languages approved by the Department Chair. |
Finish in Four Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| COMM 145 or ENG 100 | 3 | ENG 100 or COMM 145 | 3 |
| HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 | MATH 109 (or higher) | 3 |
| Colonnade: Natural & Physical Sciences | 3 | Colonnade: Natural & Physical Sciences with lab | 3-4 |
| RELS 102 | 3 | Religious Traditions Course | 3 |
| Religious Studies Elective | 3 | Colonnade: Social & Behavioral Science | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| RELS 200 | 3 | ENG 300 | 3 |
| Religious Traditions Course | 3 | Colonnade: Connections (Social & Cultural) | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | Religious Traditions Course | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | Religious Studies Elective | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| Religious Studies Elective | 3 | Religious Studies Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Connections (Systems) | 3 | 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | Colonnade: Connections (Local to Global) | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | General Elective | 1 |
| RELS 496 | 1 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| Religious Studies Elective | 3 | 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Minor Course | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 120 | |||