Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies offers courses on the history and philosophy of religions, including their origins, sacred texts, beliefs, rituals, practices, and subgroups. Understanding the role of religion is critical for analyzing the socio-political forces shaping the world today. The rise of militant Buddhism in Myanmar, the role of Evangelicals in US politics, and the struggle for legitimacy among contemporary Muslims are only a few current examples of how religion drives the formation of community and conflict.

Religious Studies Commencement Ceremony

Sunday, June 15, 2025
10:00 a.m.
Location: Straub Hall 156

More Commencement Information

What You Can Do with a Degree in Religious Studies

An undergraduate major in religious studies provides broad training for any humanitarian profession. Recent graduates have gone on to study law, medicine, journalism, work in social service organizations, and pursue an interdisciplinary graduate degree. While gaining knowledge of global religious traditions, you will gain critical reading, analytical thinking, and writing skills that are useful in any career path. Religious studies majors have launched successful careers in:

  • Nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations
  • Community and social services
  • Education
  • Religious organizations
  • Immigrant and refugee services
  • Cultural heritage organizations
  • Print and online media publishing
  • Political action committees
  • Public interest groups
  • Legal aid societies
Benjamin Loy

How Religious Studies Launches Your Career

Religious studies has been a truly foundational part of my journey deeper both into my inner world and the vast world around me. It helped me see the great diversity of human values and experience, filling me with curiosity to always understand more deeply. Religious studies, as a multidisciplinary field, and religion itself are often entangled in many paradoxes. Rather than being a problem, however, such paradoxes are powerful and dynamic tools to continually challenge and interrogate the frameworks and lenses we view the world through. Since graduation, this spirit of deep inquiry has stayed with me both through my months of Arabic study in Jordan and now as I begin to teach in China.

—Benjamin Loy, '22

Our Degree Programs

Students in the Department of Religious Studies can pursue a major or a minor. The religious studies department does not offer a graduate degree. However, students can work with faculty members in other departments to develop an MA or MS in interdisciplinary studies.

qu'ran in a stand

Learn from Experts in the Field

The Department of Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary program taught by award-winning researchers from a variety of departments across the UO, including Middle East and North African studies, medieval studies, and Asian studies. Our faculty members have authored multiple books and regularly conduct grant-funded research.

Students in front of a building in Jerusalem

Get Real-world Experience

Students in the Department of Religious Studies can broaden their horizons by exploring world religions in another country. The UO offers study abroad programs in Jerusalem, Bali, Jordan, and Nepal.

Scholarships and Funding

Students in the Department of Religious Studies can apply for funding from the College of Arts and Sciences, the UO Financial Aid Department, and other sources.

Undergraduate Scholarships

 

Academic Support

Students are strongly encouraged to maintain contact with their academic advisors to discuss their course of study and plan for their careers. Religious studies majors can seek advising through Tykeson Hall or consult the department’s undergraduate advisor.

Undergraduate Advising

Religious Studies News and Events

RELIGIOUS STUDIES - In his 2022 book Creating the Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Study, CAS Professor Stephen Shoemaker explores the age of the Qur'an.
COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGLISH, HISTORY - Six UO faculty members were selected for Fulbright Scholars awards, helping the University of Oregon earn recognition as a top Fulbright producing institution from the U.S. Department of State the 2022-23 academic year. Four of the six Fulbright Scholar recipients have accepted placements for the 2022-23 academic year.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES - A new award is shining a spotlight on the hard work of department leaders at the University of Oregon. The Office of the Provost is recognizing Mark Unno and Gretchen Soderlund as the Outstanding Department Heads of 2022. Both winners will receive a $5,000 award.

All news »


Screening of the film "BELLA"
Apr27
Screening of the film "BELLA" Apr 27 Erb Memorial Union (EMU)
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series - On the nature of chemical reactivity in atmospheric aerosol
Apr28
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series - On the nature of chemical reactivity in atmospheric aerosol Apr 28 Willie and Donald Tykeson Hall
Department of History Coffee Hour
Apr29
Department of History Coffee Hour Apr 29 McKenzie Hall
Dept. of History Seminar Series: “Drowning the Sacred Sea:  Lake Baikal and the Hydroelectric Moment in World History" 
Apr29
Dept. of History Seminar Series: “Drowning the Sacred Sea:  Lake Baikal and the Hydroelectric Moment in World History"  Apr 29 McKenzie Hall
Roots and Rhythms: A Conversation on Afrodescendencia, Indigenous Heritage, and Community Empowerment in Mexico and Puerto Rico
Apr29
Roots and Rhythms: A Conversation on Afrodescendencia, Indigenous Heritage, and Community Empowerment in Mexico and Puerto Rico Apr 29 Lawrence Hall
Virtual Event: Preserving Latinx Stories with NPR's VP of Research, Archives, and Strategy
Apr30
Virtual Event: Preserving Latinx Stories with NPR's VP of Research, Archives, and Strategy Apr 30
Careers Beyond the Postdoc - Academic Teaching Panel
Apr30
Careers Beyond the Postdoc - Academic Teaching Panel Apr 30
Dept. of History Presents: “Trump’s First 100 Days: Now and Then”
Apr30
Dept. of History Presents: “Trump’s First 100 Days: Now and Then” Apr 30 McKenzie Hall
Gender, Race and Empire Symposium
May1
Gender, Race and Empire Symposium May 1 Knight Library
Conversation on Democracy's Future, featuring Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama
May1
Conversation on Democracy's Future, featuring Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama May 1 Ford Alumni Center

All events »