Program: Religious Studies, B.A.
Double Major Option
Program Description
The Religious Studies major is designed to provide a liberal arts education with an emphasis on the critical study of religion, culture, and society. The Religious Studies major provides an excellent basis from which to pursue careers requiring critical thinking, community engagement, problem solving, communication skills, and awareness of human diversity.
Program Requirements
1. Lower Division Required Courses (6 units)
RS 100 Introduction to Religion, Culture, and Society (3)
Select one course from the following:
RS 101 The Bible (3)
RS 150 Exploring World Religions (3)
RS 240 Approaches to the History of Religions (3)
2. Upper Division (24 units)
a. Required Junior-Level Course (3 units)
RS 395 Theory and Method in Religious Studies (3)
b. Upper Division Electives (18 units)
Choose from any upper division Religious Studies courses through consultation with the department chair. Up to two upper division courses (totaling 6 units) in Jewish Studies (JS) will count toward RS electives. Six units of the study of a foreign language at the university level (or its equivalent) may be used for one 3 unit elective in the major. Consult with the department chair for approval.
c. Proseminar (3 units)
RS 497B Capstone in Religion, Culture, and Society (3)
Total Units in the Double Major Option: 30
Contact
Department of Religious Studies
Chair: Xóchitl Alvizo
Santa Susana Hall (SN) 234
(818) 677-3392
Program Learning Outcomes
Students receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies will be able to:
- Demonstrate basic religious literacy and situate religion and religious phenomena in social, cultural, and historical contexts.
- Critically analyze how religion shapes culture, and culture shapes religion, as they intersect with categories such as gender, race, ethnicity, and class.
- Identify and apply multiple methodological approaches to the study of religious phenomena and apply theoretical frameworks to a specific research problem or question in the academic study of religion.
- Think both empathetically and critically about religious phenomena as a means to construct worldviews and meaning-making and articulate one’s own role and participation in society in light of the cultural differences and commonalities that result from these.