Colorado College Religion Department

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Major and Minor Requirements

The major in Religion consists of at least 10 courses in Religion, including:

1. Three 100-level courses in particular traditions, at least one of which must be chosen from religions originating in Asia (160, 170, 180) and at least one of which must be chosen from religions originating in the Middle East (120, 130, 140). These courses introduce students to basic skills and concepts in the academic study of religion, such as critical methods for the close reading of texts, the relation between religious beliefs and practices and their historical and cultural contexts, and basic elements of religion including myth, ritual, devotion, theology, and ethics.

2. Two 200-level courses on topics in religious studies. These courses include material from two or more religious traditions, examine different interpretive approaches within a tradition, or compare patterns of the formation of religious identity or institutions in various traditions.

3. Three 300-level courses in advanced study of a topic or tradition. These courses carry prerequisites and demand greater depth of reading and higher quality of writing. Students will typically conduct independent research in the completion of a major project.

4. One course in biblical studies (111, 112, 211, 212, 213). The Bible is a central religious and literary text in the Western tradition and informs the music, literature, visual art, moral codes, architecture, political rhetoric, and social discourse of the cultural context in which our students are located.

5. Seminar in Theory and Method (302). This seminar examines theories about the origin and function of religion, as well as leading methods of religious studies, through close reading of classic and contemporary texts. Enrollment is limited to junior and senior majors.

We strongly recommend that majors gain proficiency in a foreign languague, classical or modern. We further recommend that majors take a course in the study of religion in the social science division.

Honors

The Department awards the graduation honor of Distinction in Religion for superior achievement in a Senior Thesis or culmulative excellence in departmental courses.

the Department also awards the Hastings Prize each year to the student who writes a major work on the scholarly interpretation of religion.

MINOR IN RELIGION

The minor in Religion consists of a minimum of five courses, distributed as follows and chosen in consultation with an advisor in the department:

1. Two 100-level courses in particular religious traditions.

2. Two 200-level courses on topics in the comparative study of religion.

3. One 300-level course in advanced study of a religious tradition for which the student has completed the prerequisite at the introductory level.