BA in Religious Studies in Nashville United States | Vanderbilt University

The Department of Religious Studies has a core objective: to provide students with comprehensive education about diverse religious traditions, exploring their characteristics, historical development, and societal roles through both individual and comparative approaches. The curriculum emphasizes understanding religions within their cultural and social frameworks, while analyzing their significant influence on personal and collective worldviews. Students can pursue a Religious Studies major, minor, or Honors track, with specialization options in African-American Religious Traditions, Buddhism and Asian Religious Traditions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
The Religious Studies program introduces students to multidisciplinary foundational knowledge before equipping them with diverse analytical frameworks, theoretical approaches, and interpretive methodologies. Through comparative studies, majors gain insight into shared elements across faiths while appreciating historical distinctions between traditions. Graduates leave the program with refined analytical abilities and structured approaches to understanding religion's profound impact on human existence—valuable competencies for navigating our interconnected, multicultural global society.