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Undergraduate Programs in Religious Studies

Academic Options Coursework Advisor
BA in Religious Studies Coursework Dr. Brady DeSanti
Minor in Religious Studies Coursework Dr. Brady DeSanti

Interdisciplinary Minors with Religious Studies Coursework

Islamic Studies Interdisciplinary Minor Coursework Dr. Ramazan Kilinc
Native American Studies Interdisciplinary Minor Coursework Dr. Beth Ritter

Why study Religion?

Religion is a major source of inspiration, meaning, and controversy in human culture, informing history, politics, economics, art, and literature. It rivals trade as a major trans-national force across the globe. One cannot hope to understand world history and literature — or current events like Middle East politics, the recent insurgencies in Thailand, the genocide in Sudan, or US presidential elections — without knowledge of religion. Debates over science and religion, as well as religion and law, are often front-page news.

Throughout history, inquiry into religions has inspired and troubled artists, musicians, filmmakers, and writers — including T.S. Eliot, Dante, Toni Morrison, Tagore, Tupac Shakur, Euripides, Rumi, William Blake, Margaret Mead, John Updike, Tolstoy, Leonard Bernstein, John Coltrane, George Lucas, Einstein, Gandhi — among countless others. Religious ritual and belief are also among the most powerful forces uniting past and present, shaping memory and identity from generation to generation, and across millennia.

What can I do with my Religious Studies degree?

Majoring in Religious Studies can provide excellent training for a variety of careers, such as:

  • Law
  • Teaching
  • Counseling
  • Business
  • Journalism
  • Politics
  • Writing
  • Medicine
  • The arts

Our department encourages students to become well-informed and independent thinkers prepared to learn and engage in scholarly research techniques — including collection of information and distillation and analysis of data with the help of critical skills and methods.

This major requires students to pay close attention to the facts through careful and unprejudiced reading of texts, have an open attitude toward sources, and make close observation of individual and group behavior. Students also apply critical analysis and interpretation of literary and material data, based on appropriate theoretical and methodological tools, and communicate findings and conclusions clearly and effectively through expository and analytical writing and oral presentation.

The department faculty seeks to develop in students a number of important, valuable, and transferable skills required by any profession or position.

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Misconceptions About Religious Studies

1. You have to be religious to study religion.

While there are colleges and universities where studying religion is closely tied to belief, UNO is not one of them. Studying religion is similar to studying English, History or Philosophy. Another way to think of it is like this: To study Art History, do you need to be an artist? Of course not - being interested in Art History is enough. The same is true of studying religion.

2. Someone will try to convert me, or change my religion.

The study of religion isn't about preaching from a particular religious perspective; it's about pursuing understanding and knowledge of an extraordinarily complex feature of human existence.

3. Studying religion is impractical.

Like most Liberal Arts majors, Religious Studies doesn't prepare you for a specific job in the same way that being an engineering major prepares you to be an engineer. However, studying religion can develop strong, cross-cultural understanding and critical analysis that will serve you well in any career.

Contact Us

  • Religious Studies Office
  • 205 ASH
  • 6001 Dodge St | Omaha, NE 68182-0298
  • Phone: 402.554.2628
  • Email: unoreligion@unomaha.edu

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