Religious Studies Major, B.A.

The Department of Religious Studies is dedicated to the study of religions as historical and cultural phenomena. It examines the history, texts, objects, beliefs, practices, and rituals of a variety of local and global religious traditions. Inherently interdisciplinary in its approach, religious studies explores religions in light of related fields in the humanities and social sciences such as anthropology, archaeology, classics, geography, history, philosophy, political science, and sociology.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the religious studies program, students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of influential terms, approaches, and theories in religious studies
  • Effectively conduct research on a specific topic using the discipline-based methods
  • Communicate research clearly and effectively
  • Demonstrate effective writing skills (clear focus, relevant evidence, coherent organization)

Requirements 

In addition to the program requirements, students must

  • earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
  • complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
  • take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
  • earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

Core Requirements
Six RELI courses, including courses cross-listed with other units18
Two RELI courses numbered 400 or above, including courses cross-listed with other units6
RELI 697Capstone: Undergraduate Seminar3
Total Hours27

Of the nine courses required in the major, students must take at least one course in three of the department’s five subfields listed below.

Religious Studies (RELI) course descriptions.

Introductory and intermediate language courses (RELI 401, RELI 402, RELI 403, RELI 404, RELI 409, RELI 410) are recommended for their usefulness but do not count toward the major in religious studies.

Ancient Mediterranean Religions

RELI 63IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls3
RELI 65IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Myth, Philosophy, and Science in the Ancient World3
RELI 70IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Jesus in Scholarship and Film3
RELI 78IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Reading the Bible: Now and Then3
RELI 80IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Religion and Writing in the Ancient World3
RELI 104IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the New Testament H3
RELI 105Religions of the Greco-Roman World3
RELI 109IDEAs in Action General Education logo History and Culture of Ancient Israel H3
RELI 117IDEAs in Action General Education logo Culture of the Ancient Near East3
RELI 201IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient Biblical Interpretation H3
RELI 205IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sacrifice in the Ancient World H3
RELI 207IDEAs in Action General Education logo Jesus in the Early Christian Gospels3
RELI 208IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Birth of Christianity3
RELI 209IDEAs in Action General Education logo Varieties of Early Christianity H3
RELI 211IDEAs in Action General Education logo Classical Hebrew I: A Linguistic Introduction to the Hebrew Bible3
RELI 212IDEAs in Action General Education logo Classical Hebrew II: A Linguistic Introduction to the Hebrew Bible3
RELI 217IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gnosticism H3
RELI 390Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 411Advanced Akkadian3
RELI 412Ugaritic3
RELI 413IDEAs in Action General Education logo Biblical Coptic and Early Egyptian Monasticism3
RELI 414Syriac3
RELI 504Readings in Hebrew Bible3
RELI 590Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 602IDEAs in Action General Education logo What Is Scripture? Formations of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Canon3
RELI 603IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Bible and Its Translation3
RELI 607Problems in Early Christian Literature and History H3
RELI 608The Messiah and the Apocalypse3
RELI 609IDEAs in Action General Education logo Christianity and Greco-Roman Culture3
RELI 610Readings in the Apostolic Fathers3
RELI 617IDEAs in Action General Education logo Death and Afterlife in the Ancient World H3
RELI/CLAR 375Archaeology of Cult3
RELI/CLAR/JWST 110IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period3
RELI/CLAR/JWST 512IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient Synagogues3
RELI/FOLK 502IDEAs in Action General Education logo Myths and Epics of the Ancient Near East H3
RELI/JWST 103IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Literature H3
RELI/JWST 106IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Early Judaism3
RELI/JWST 206Prophecy and Divination in Ancient Israel and Judah H3
RELI/JWST 503IDEAs in Action General Education logo Exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls H3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Asian Religions-Islamic Studies

ANTH/ASIA/RELI 574Chinese World Views3
ARAB/ASIA/RELI 681Readings in Islamicate Literatures3
ASIA/COMM/RELI 386Dance and Embodied Knowledge in the Indian Context3
ASIA/RELI 180IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Islamic Civilization3
ASIA/RELI 181IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Muslim Societies3
ASIA/RELI 183IDEAs in Action General Education logo Asian Religions3
ASIA/RELI 280Hindu Gods and Goddesses H3
ASIA/RELI 284IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Buddhist Tradition: East Asia3
ASIA/RELI 285IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Buddhist Tradition: Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka3
ASIA/RELI 382IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Story of Rama in Indian Culture–Experiential3
ASIA/RELI 383IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined–Experiential3
ASIA/RELI 384Religion and Globalization in Southeast Asia3
ASIA/RELI/WGST 482Sex, Gender, and Religion in South Asia3
ASIA/RELI 487Mountains, Pilgrimage, and Sacred Places in Japan3
ASIA/RELI 488IDEAs in Action General Education logo Shinto in Japanese History3
ASIA/RELI 489IDEAs in Action General Education logo Animals in Japanese Religion3
ASIA/RELI 581IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sufism3
ASIA/RELI 582IDEAs in Action General Education logo Islam and Islamic Art in South Asia3
ASIA/RELI 583IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion and Culture in Iran, 1500-Present3
ASIA/RELI 584IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Qur'an as Literature3
ASIA 300/RELI 283IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Buddhist Tradition: India, Nepal, and Tibet3
ASIA 301/RELI 286IDEAs in Action General Education logo Premodern Japanese Religions3
ASIA 302/RELI 287IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Japanese Religions3
ASIA 303/RELI 288IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Religions3
HNUR/RELI 592Religious Conflict and Literature in India3
PWAD/RELI 481IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion, Fundamentalism, and Nationalism3
RELI 64IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Reintroducing Islam3
RELI 73IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: From Dragons to Pokemon: Animals in Japanese Myth, Folklore, and Religion H3
RELI 165IDEAs in Action General Education logo Mysticism H3
RELI 184IDEAs in Action General Education logo East Asian Religions3
RELI 185IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women/Gender/Islam H3
RELI 248IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to American Islam H3
RELI 289IDEAs in Action General Education logo Muhammad and the Qur'an3
RELI 381Religions of South Asia3
RELI 385IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Muslims and the Qur'an3
RELI 390Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 474Buddhist Meditation, Mindfulness, and Modernity3
RELI 480IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Muslim Literatures3
RELI 485IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gender and Sexuality in Islam3
RELI 524Ethnographic Approaches to Contemporary Religion3
RELI 580IDEAs in Action General Education logo African American Islam3
RELI 585Religion and Culture of Turkey3
RELI 586IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women and Gender in Japanese Religions3
RELI 590Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Medieval and Early Modern/Historical Studies

ASIA/RELI 180IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Islamic Civilization3
ASIA/RELI 284IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Buddhist Tradition: East Asia3
ASIA/RELI 488IDEAs in Action General Education logo Shinto in Japanese History3
ASIA/RELI 581IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sufism3
ASIA 301/RELI 286IDEAs in Action General Education logo Premodern Japanese Religions3
ASIA 303/RELI 288IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Religions3
GSLL/RELI 218Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages3
GERM/RELI 227IDEAs in Action General Education logo Luther and the Bible3
HIST/RELI 454The Reformation3
RELI 62IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: A History of Heresy: Christian Dissent from the Gnostics to the Pentecostals3
RELI 77IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Martyrs and Warriors: Religion and the Problem of Violence3
RELI 88IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Religion and Society in Historical Novels3
RELI 108IDEAs in Action General Education logo Classic Jewish Texts: From Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls to Kabbalah and Hassidism3
RELI 161IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to the History of Christian Traditions H3
RELI 162IDEAs in Action General Education logo Catholicism Today: An Introduction to the Contemporary Catholic Church3
RELI 163Critical Issues in Western Religious Thought3
RELI 164IDEAs in Action General Education logo Heresy and Inquisition: Religion, Ethics, Marginalization3
RELI 165IDEAs in Action General Education logo Mysticism H3
RELI 166Ideals, Cultures, and Rituals of the University H3
RELI 209IDEAs in Action General Education logo Varieties of Early Christianity H3
RELI 266IDEAs in Action General Education logo Medieval and Renaissance Christian Cultures3
RELI 365IDEAs in Action General Education logo Studies in Christian Theologies and Theologians3
RELI 366Medieval Religious Texts3
RELI 367The Art of Devotion in Medieval and Early Modern Europe3
RELI 368IDEAs in Action General Education logo Race, Sexuality, and Disability in the History of Western Christianity H3
RELI 390Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 450IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sexuality in Jewish Tradition and History3
RELI 465Monotheistic Mysticism3
RELI 565Medieval Jews and the Bible3
RELI 566Islamic and Jewish Legal Literature3
RELI 569Interfaith Marriages and Intimacy in World Religions3
RELI 586IDEAs in Action General Education logo Women and Gender in Japanese Religions3
RELI 590Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 617IDEAs in Action General Education logo Death and Afterlife in the Ancient World H3
RELI 662Advanced Seminar in Contemporary Catholicism3
RELI 668Religion and the Spanish Inquisition: Abrahamic Traditions, Indigenous Religions, and Empire3
RELI/WGST 362IDEAs in Action General Education logo Mary in the Christian Tradition H3
RELI/WGST 371Women Mystics3
RELI 665/WGST 664Body and Suffering in Christian Mysticism3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Religion and Culture

ANTH/FOLK/RELI 428Religion and Anthropology H3
ANTH/FOLK/RELI 688Observation and Interpretation of Religious Action3
CMPL/GSLL 270/JWST 239/RELI 239German Culture and the Jewish Question3
JWST 100/RELI 123IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Jewish Studies3
JWST/RELI 343IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion in Modern Israel3
PHIL 134/RELI 126IDEAs in Action General Education logo Reason, Faith, and God: Philosophy of Western Religion H3
RELI 61IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Religion, Magic, and Science3
RELI 67IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Nature/Culture/Self-Identity: Religion in the Construction of Social Life3
RELI 68IDEAs in Action General Education logo FYS: Charisma in Religion, Science, and Poetry Studies in the Entrepreneurial Imagination H3
RELI 71IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: The Spirit of Capitalism3
RELI 74IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Person, Time, and Religious Conduct H3
RELI 75IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Sacrifice and Surrender3
RELI 76IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Money and Morality: Divining Value in Social Life3
RELI 79IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Human Animals in Religion and Ethics3
RELI 85IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Sex, Marriage, and Family in Religion3
RELI 101Introduction to Religious Studies3
RELI 102IDEAs in Action General Education logo World Religions3
RELI 121IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Religion and Culture H3
RELI 122IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Philosophical Approaches to Religion H3
RELI 125IDEAs in Action General Education logo Heaven and Hell3
RELI 127IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Claims of Science and Religion3
RELI 134Introduction to Religious Ethics H3
RELI 135IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion, Ethics, and Technology3
RELI 138IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religious Freedom3
RELI 222IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Western Religious Thought3
RELI 224IDEAs in Action General Education logo Modern Jewish Thought H3
RELI 225Christian Cultures3
RELI 232Shrines and Pilgrimages3
RELI 233IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion and Violence3
RELI 235IDEAs in Action General Education logo Place, Space, and Religion3
RELI 236IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religious Things3
RELI 246IDEAs in Action General Education logo Supernatural Encounters: Zombies, Vampires, Demons, and the Occult in the Americas H3
RELI 322Theories of Religion H3
RELI 323Social Theory and Cultural Diversity3
RELI 325IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion, Magic, and Science3
RELI 338IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion in American Law3
RELI 352IDEAs in Action General Education logo Anthropology of Christianity3
RELI 390Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 420IDEAs in Action General Education logo Post-Holocaust Ethics and Theology H3
RELI 421IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion and Science3
RELI 425Psychology of Religion H3
RELI 438IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion, Nature, and Environment H3
RELI 522IDEAs in Action General Education logo 19th-Century Critiques of Religion3
RELI 524Ethnographic Approaches to Contemporary Religion3
RELI 525Seminar in Religion and Literature3
RELI 528Rituals and Rhetorics of Religion3
RELI 530IDEAs in Action General Education logo Genealogies of Religion3
RELI 590Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI/SOCI 429IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion and Society3
RELI/WGST 244IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gender and Sexuality in Western Christianity H3
RELI/WGST 424IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gender Theory and the Study of Religion3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Religion in the Americas

ANTH/FOLK/RELI 342African-American Religious Experience3
ASIA/RELI 445Asian Religions in America3
JWST/RELI 107Introduction to Modern Judaism3
JWST/RELI 143Judaism in Our Time3
JWST/RELI 243Introduction to American Judaism3
JWST/RELI 444/WGST 448Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Judaism3
RELI 60IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Religion and Racism3
RELI 66IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Buddhism in America: From the Buddha to the Beastie Boys3
RELI 69IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Judaism3
RELI 72IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Apocalypse Now? Messianic Movements in America3
RELI 140IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion in America H3
RELI 141IDEAs in Action General Education logo African American Religions H3
RELI 142IDEAs in Action General Education logo Catholicism in America3
RELI 151IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion in Latin America3
RELI 235IDEAs in Action General Education logo Place, Space, and Religion3
RELI 240IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion, Literature, and the Arts in America H3
RELI 241Messianic Movements in American History3
RELI 242IDEAs in Action General Education logo New Religious Movements in America3
RELI 245Latina/o Religions in the United States-Mexico Borderlands H3
RELI 246IDEAs in Action General Education logo Supernatural Encounters: Zombies, Vampires, Demons, and the Occult in the Americas H3
RELI 248IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to American Islam H3
RELI 332IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Protestant Tradition H3
RELI 338IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion in American Law3
RELI 340Liberal Tradition in American Religion3
RELI 345IDEAs in Action General Education logo Black Atlantic Religions H3
RELI 390Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
RELI 423Ethnicity, Race, and Religion in America3
RELI 441IDEAs in Action General Education logo Religion in Early America H3
RELI 442History of Religion in America since 18653
RELI 443Evangelicalism in Contemporary America H3
RELI 446Christian-Jewish Relations throughout the Ages3
RELI 448IDEAs in Action General Education logo Native and Christian: Indigenous Engagements with Christianity3
RELI 501IDEAs in Action General Education logo The History of the Bible in Modern Study3
RELI 540Mormonism and the American Experience3
RELI 541IDEAs in Action General Education logo Evangelicalism from a Global Perspective H3
RELI 542Religion and the Counterculture H3
RELI 580IDEAs in Action General Education logo African American Islam3
RELI 590Topics in the Study of Religion (based on topic)3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Special Opportunities in Religious Studies

Honors in Religious Studies

Students majoring in religious studies (including double majors) with a grade point average of 3.5 or above in department courses and 3.3 grade point average overall and who will have successfully completed at least one course numbered 400 or above on a topic in religious studies that is related to the proposed thesis may choose to write an honors thesis. Candidates for graduation with honors in religious studies are to be enrolled in RELI 691H in the fall and RELI 692H in the spring semester of their senior year. RELI 691H and RELI 692H count toward the major as courses fulfilling subfield requirements. Students should submit applications for the honors program to the department’s director of undergraduate studies by the end of February during their junior year. Consult the department’s director of undergraduate studies for details.

Study Abroad

Professor Jodi Magness directs archaeological excavations in Israel during the summer. Students are welcome to participate. Other courses through the Study Abroad Office can count towards the major and minor in religious studies as well.

Undergraduate Awards and Honors

The department presents three awards at the end of each academic year: the Bernard Boyd Fellowship, the Bernard Boyd Memorial Prize, and the Halperin-Schütz Undergraduate Essay Award.

The department also inducts qualified majors into the Religious Studies National Honor Society, Theta Alpha Kappa.

Department of Religious Studies

Visit Program Website

125 Carolina Hall, CB# 3225

(919) 962-5666

Chair

Barbara Ambros

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Brandon Bayne

bayne@unc.edu

Student Services Manager, Registrar

Myra Quick

quick@unc.edu