Graduate Program
The graduate program in Religion in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1958. Distinctive to the program are emphases on the interrelation of religion and culture, on methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of religion, and on religious dimensions of such domains as literature, art, history, psychology, and philosophy. Students are encouraged to investigate both the religious dimensions of secular culture (for example, film and art) and traditional religions as cultural phenomena. Religion is explored in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary context, and critical and imaginative thinking about religion as an expression of the human condition is emphasized, along with the methodological strategies involved in undertaking such study. Recognizing that "religion" can be defined in many different ways, the program understands the category "religion" itself as an intellectually problematic and provocative concept, rather than simply as a descriptive historical, institutional, or phenomenological label. The program emphasizes not only the interdependence of religion and culture but also the insights from comparative study of the phenomena, experiences, and theories of religion. Since "western" religion does not exhaust the parameters of the concept "religion," students are required to develop expertise in the history, literature, and practice of at least one "non-western" religion. Special emphases of the program include the relation between theology, philosophy, and contemporary critical theory; religion, psychology, and ethics; feminist theory and theology; religion and aesthetics in historical and contemporary manifestations; religion, ritual, and material culture; as well as discrete historical phenomena and movements in a variety of religious periods and traditions (Judaic, Graeco-Roman, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Native American). Overall, the program requires students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena of religion from the perspective of cross-cultural, historical, and interdisciplinary methods. Further, students are expected to develop an ability to conceptualize, analyze, and organize discrete bodies of material both in terms of a breadth of vision regarding the scope of the study of religion and also in terms of areas of disciplined and focused expertise. For further information on our program please contact our Graduate Secretary, Jackie Borowve, or, Director of Graduate Studies, Joanne P. Waghorne, Dept. of Religion, Room 501 Hall of Languages, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-1170. Phone: (315) 443-3861.