B. A. Religious Studies

Gonzaga's Religious Studies Major focuses on an intellectual appropriation of human experience that is religious and moral. It asks questions which connect us to classic texts: what did they mean, how have others been nourished by them, and what might they mean for us and our future. Our major stresses Christianity as an entree to the human situation, but it also requires study of other traditions. It stresses the ways in which religion and culture are and have been intertwined and draws on the disciplines of history, social science, psychology, philosophy, and literature. Tradition and community are basic themes in the course of study. The continuity of reaching up to the communities and texts of the past is concurrent with researching out to the changing demands of our modern and postmodern experience. Our majors are able to approach religious traditions in a faithful and critical manner that encourages them to reclaim their own religious experience and to appreciate the role of religion in history, politics, and letters.

While students are encouraged to formulate a concentration with the major, all majors should have knowledge of one non-Christian religion, a detailed grasp of Christianity (including scriptures, history, theology, and applications), and a critical appreciation of the interaction of religion and society. With these basic tools in place, students may then choose to stress issues of church and ministry or the more general dynamics of culture and religious value.

To discuss a possible major or a minor please contact Dr. Patrick McCormick, Chair at 313-6715 or email mccormick@gonzaga.edu.

A Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in religious studies requires 33 credits: twelve required lower division credits; twenty-one credits from the upper division courses. Majors'may concentrate in specific areas; e.g., biblical studies, theology, ethics, spirituality.

B.A. Major in Religious Studies: 33 Credits

Lower Division

Upper Division

RELI 330 Principles of Christian Morality3 credits
RELI 492 World Rel (or other non-Christian rel) 3 credits
RELI --- Electives 12 credits
RELI 499 Senior Symposium 3 credits