Religious Studies
Choose Religion Studies for interdisciplinary inquiry into the traditions, beliefs and practices that shape our world
Among major forces that inspire human culture, commitments and actions, religion offers unique insight into why people today – and throughout the ages – behave and think as they do.
The Religion Studies Concentration rewards your interest in the history, texts and practices of faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.
Religion Studies are anchored by APU’s Cardinal Newman Chair. Held by Dr. Kevin Jones, a systematic theologian specializing in grace and the implications of theology in the public sphere, the Newman Chair is the only endowed position of its kind in Alaska.
Religion Studies is one of five optional academic tracks within your BA in Liberal Studies. It attracts students like you who are eager to pursue historical context as well as textual and comparative studies. Departing from the perspective of a believer seeking to know whether a faith is “true,” the Religion Studies Concentration investigates origins and practices and how they combine to contour our world.
Religion Studies engages you in active learning from your earliest time in the concentration. Intentionally small classes and a close-knit group of peers promote critical and constructive thinking about texts, people and events that define faith traditions. Deepen your classroom knowledge by taking part in a Liberal Studies Travel Course, where past destinations have included Rome, the Holy Land and Greece. Explore interrelationships between religion and the natural world by enrolling in an Eco-League educational exchange.
Your junior practicum experience lets you apply classroom knowledge to a real-world project. You’ll work with your Liberal Studies academic adviser in your senior year to design a capstone project that distinguishes you as an emerging professional skilled in research, analysis, divergent thinking, and oral and written communication.
Religion Studies prepares you for advanced study as well as for professions like law, teaching, human services, politics, and public communications, among others.
Courses in the Religion Studies Concentration include:
- Church East and West
- Feminist Theology
- Paul’s Life and Letters
