Coordinator, Professor Michael Graves

The Certificate in Religions of the World is an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to help students investigate the histories, beliefs, practices, and socio-political contexts of the non-Christian religions of the world in global cultures. The interdisciplinary focus of the program prepares students to understand the diverse human experiences encountered in these religions. By exploring a wide variety of non-Christian religious expressions nationally and internationally, students will become more informed and better equipped Christian citizens as they engage our diverse world in life, vocation, and mission.

Students from any major are eligible for the 24-hour Religions of the World certificate. Students will complete an eight-hour core of courses that investigate philosophical, sociological and theological approaches to world religions. In addition, students will select 16 hours of courses from a variety of offerings from different academic departments. No more than 4 hours may be selected from the Global Christianity category.

Requirements for a Certificate in Religions of the World are 24-credit hours including: 

Core Requirements 8
RELI 225
Major World Religions
RELI 233
Theological Approaches to Religious Diversity
Core Religions4-12
Choose at least one course
RELI 356
The Jewish Tradition
RELI 375
The Muslim Tradition
RELI 395
Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh Traditions
Electives4-12
Students need to take at least four credits of electives. Some courses that may be considered are listed below. Additional courses may be counted on a case by case basis. The syllabus must be presented to the certificate administrator prior to taking the course for approval. 
ARCH 369
Religions of Israel and the Near East
HIST 293
Introduction to Asian Studies
HIST 331
African History
HIST 365
Modern Middle East
PHIL 226
Asian Philosophy
PHIL 227
Asian Philosophy
PHIL 315
Philosophy of Religion
SOC 366
Sociology Of Religion
Total Credits24