Exploring religious traditions in all of their complexity
Religious Studies Program
We explore religious traditions through comparative, contextual and thematic studies. Our courses are built on the established scholarly tradition of the study of religion as an academic, as opposed to a confessional, pursuit.
The collection “Households in Context: Dwelling in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt” shifts the archaeological perspective from public and elite spaces such as temples, tombs and palaces to everyday dwellings and interactions of families.
A Nov. 16 talk sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the College of Arts and Sciences will shed light on the history of hate movements in the U.S.
“As Roman Catholic Church leaders meet this month for the Synod on Synodality, some women—both nuns and laypeople—have been invited to join the workshop," says Kim Haines-Eitzen.
A new “Religions on the Move” lecture series kicks off Sept. 28 with "'Make the Sound the Creator Is Waiting for Us to Make': Native American Anti-Nuclear Activism."
Interested in a specific religious tradition? Want to learn more about religious rituals throughout history and in the contemporary world? Consider an undergraduate major orminorin religious studies!
Earn honors in religious studies
The honors program is open to religious studies undergraduate majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial part of their senior year to advanced, specialized, independent research and writing of a thesis.
Take a class
Start with "Religion and Ecological Sustainability"(RELST 2273)or "Sensational Religion" (RELST 2276) or take one of the many other courses or seminars we offer.
Apply for a summer fellowship
Given in honor of Gelek Rimpoche the Weiner Family Summer Fellowship supports funding for summer experiential learning and research for an undergraduate student studying Buddhist practice.
The minor is designed to offer students in relevant major fields the opportunity to delve more deeply into religious studies, build an intellectual community around the study of religion, and prepare themselves professionally for academic positions in a religious studies department.
Support religious studies at Cornell
Your support enables the program to enhance the experience for undergraduate students. Gifts can help fund lectures and conferences, student research, distinguished speakers, and other program priorities. We will greatly appreciate and immediately put into use any gift, no matter the amount.