2023-2024 BSC Catalog Updated_UG ONLY_FINAL[82]

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
125
SN 390
SO 190
SO 290
SO 340
at least a 2.500 grade point average on all coursework at the College
Religion
Bachelor of Arts
Kelsey Grissom, Keely Sutton
Religion is a fundamental part of the human experience and an inextricable dimension
of thought, belief, ethics, politics, society, culture, and the arts. The discipline of
religious studies asks how different cultures have put together the worlds in which they
live. Areas of inquiry include the history of local and global religious traditions,
spiritual dimensions of human experience, religious dimensions of culture, and the
place of religion in society. Ultimately, the study of religion helps students to
understand the complex processes by which individuals and groups create meaning for
themselves and imbue those meanings with power.
Religious studies are inherently intercultural and interdisciplinary, and creativity and
connection are encouraged. The department of religion offers courses on topics such as
the ethics of war and peace, saints and sainthood, religion and violence, the cultural
context of the Hebrew Bible, the history of Christian thought, religion and the
construction of gender, and representations of religion in art, music, and film. The
department also offers opportunities to study Hebrew and organizes engaged learning
experiences in the Birmingham area through visits to local religious communities and
service-learning projects. All of these offerings share a common focus on inquiring into
the religious worlds that humans create.
Religion students are frequently motivated by concerns about social justice, curiosity
about both familiar and unfamiliar cultures, an interest in religious experience and
practice, and a general desire to understand people more fully. Because the academic
study of religion teaches such valuable and transferrable skills as critical and creative
thinking, effective and purposeful communication, and rigorous research, religion
majors and minors are prepared upon graduation to pursue a variety of vocations:
graduate work in religious studies or theology, social work, public health, law,
medicine, business, and more.
Upon completion of the religion major, students will be able to
• demonstrate a significant familiarity with at least one religious tradition,
recognize its diverse manifestations in particular cultural contexts, and engage in
informed discussion of its history and practices
• interpret “textual religion” and apply the methodologies (linguistic, literary,
sociological, historical, rhetorical, or ideological) that relate to the critical
interpretation of sacred texts and religious writings
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2023-2024