Religious Studies
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Major Requirements
Liberal Studies Requirements
Schedule of Classes
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To inquire about this program:
Admission Office | 312-362-8300
The Department of Religious Studies offers students the opportunity to explore the religious dimensions of life and culture. These dimensions are found in the culturally embedded narratives, beliefs and practices of particular religions as well as encounters with realities perceived to be ultimate or sacred. Through myth, symbol, ritual and doctrine, these religions not only provide order and meaning, they also carry capacities to challenge and transform individuals and societies. Intellectual and social maturity requires understanding the unique contributions, both positive and negative, of the religious traditions of the world to culture and consciousness. It also requires coming to terms with questions of ultimacy. The department offers courses with a comparative, thematic, or ethical focus, as well as courses in specific traditions.
Areas of study in the department of Religious Studies include the Standard Concentration, Cultural Studies in Religion and Religion, Ethics and Social Justice.
The department is committed to DePaul's Catholic, Vincentian heritage, and invites all its majors to take advantage of the unique opportunity to explore the history, culture and thought of the Roman Catholic tradition. Departmental majors will find a deeper understanding of Catholic Christian worldviews in courses offered by the department as well as those in the Catholic Studies Program. The Vincentian and Catholic background of DePaul University are expressed in a distinct institutional identity, which respects engaged pluralistic inquiry toward all religious traditions. The department is committed to offering a wide range of courses investigating various world religious traditions, great and small, as well as the international, urban character of Chicago itself. The department makes its multicultural commitments evident through rich offerings in the Roman Catholic tradition, other monotheistic systems, and religions of Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Religious Studies at DePaul reflects the international, urban character of Chicago itself. Today, the whole world lives in Chicago. Here, there are more Thai Buddhists than Episcopalians, more Muslims than Jews. Among the Christian community, there are distinctions between Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. There are also many Hindu Temples and one Zoroastrian center; active and practicing communities among the Bahai's, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and many others; and a host of interreligious organizations. All of this amid further differentiations by race and ethnicity, city and suburb. Students can take advantage of this broad range of opportunities through a variety of interdisciplinary programs, special classes, and courses offered at Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
