Requirements

Religion Major

The major consists of nine courses.

Required Courses
REL 1101Introduction to the Study of Religion1
REL 3390Theories about Religion1
Select one course on texts and traditions in each of the following four geographic areas a,b
Middle East and North Africa1
REL 1150
Introduction to the Religions of the Middle East
REL 2208
Islam
REL 2232
Approaches to the Qur'an
REL 2237
Judaism Under Islam
REL 3333 Islam and Science
South and Southeast Asia1
REL 2219 Religion and Fiction in South Asia
REL 2220
Hindu Literatures
REL 2221
Religious Cultures of India
REL 2222
Early Buddhism
REL 2223 Mahayana Buddhism
REL 2280
Goddesses, Gurus, and Rulers: Gender and Power in Indian Religions
REL 2288
Religion and Politics in South Asia
REL 2808 Islam in Asia
REL 3209
Religion on the Move: Migration, Globalization, and the Transformation of Tradition
Ancient Mediterranean1
REL 2213
Fictions, Fakes, and Forgeries: How Narratives Shaped the Religions of the Ancient
REL 2214
A History of Anti-Semitism
REL 2215
The Hebrew Bible in Its World
REL 2216
The New Testament in Its World
REL 2230
Human Sacrifice
REL 2235
Gender and Sexuality in Early Christianity
REL 2239
Judaism in the Age of Empires
REL 3325
Deadly Words: Language and Power in the Religions of Antiquity
Modern Europe and North America1
REL 2201
Black Women, Politics, Music, and the Divine
REL 2250 Modern Christian Thought
REL 2251
Christianity
REL 2252 Marxism and Religion
REL 2257
Christian Sexual Ethics
REL 2253 Gender, Body, and Religion
REL 2271
Spirit Come Down: Religion, Race, and Gender in America
REL 2500
New Religious Movements in the United States
REL 2520
Popular Religion in the Americas
REL 2530
Jesus in the Modern Imagination
REL 2540
The History of American Christianity
REL 3310 Religious Toleration and Human Rights
Select two courses on thematic approaches a,b2
REL 2207
Modern Jewish Identities
REL 2212
Religion and Science: Couples Therapy
REL 2214
A History of Anti-Semitism
REL 2219 Religion and Fiction in South Asia
REL 2220
Hindu Literatures
REL 2221
Religious Cultures of India
REL 2230
Human Sacrifice
REL 2235
Gender and Sexuality in Early Christianity
REL 2236
Religion, Nature, and the Environment
REL 2252 Marxism and Religion
REL 2253 Gender, Body, and Religion
REL 2257
Christian Sexual Ethics
REL 2280
Goddesses, Gurus, and Rulers: Gender and Power in Indian Religions
REL 2288
Religion and Politics in South Asia
REL 2500
New Religious Movements in the United States
REL 3209
Religion on the Move: Migration, Globalization, and the Transformation of Tradition
REL 3310 Religious Toleration and Human Rights
REL 3325
Deadly Words: Language and Power in the Religions of Antiquity
REL 3333 Islam and Science
Select an elective course in religion at any level c1
REL 1013
God and Money
REL 1014
Heretics: Dissent and Debate in the History of Religion
REL 1027 Astral Religion
REL 1142
Philosophy of Religion

Religion Minor

A minor consists of five courses.

Required Courses
REL 1101Introduction to the Study of Religion1
REL 3390Theories about Religion1
Select any three Religion courses 3

Additional Information and Department Policies

  • No more than one first-year writing seminar may be counted toward the major.
  • Typically, up to three courses taken at another college or university may count toward the major with departmental approval. One credit taken at another college or university may count toward the minor with departmental approval. 
  • With departmental approval, an independent study (intermediate, advanced, or honors) can be used to satisfy the elective course requirement for the major.
  • In order to enroll in REL 3390 Theories about Religion, a major normally is expected to have taken four of the nine required courses.
  • Courses that count toward the major or minor must be taken for regular letter grades (not Credit/D/Fail).
  • Each religion course required for the major or minor must be passed with a grade of C- or higher.
  • Majors and minors may not double-count courses with another department or program.

Honors in Religion

Students contemplating honors candidacy should possess a record of distinction in departmental courses, including those that support the project, a clearly articulated and well-focused research proposal, and a high measure of motivation and scholarly maturity. At the start of the first semester of their senior year, honors candidates enroll in REL 4050 with a faculty member who has agreed to supervise the project. If the proposal, due toward the end of the first semester, is accepted, the student goes on to enroll in REL 4051 for the second semester in order to complete the project.

Information for Incoming Students

Because the Religion Department at Bowdoin does not require students to take REL 1101 Introduction to the Study of Religion in order to enroll in its intermediate or upper level courses, there is more than one entry point into the department's curriculum.

REL 1101 Introduction to the Study of Religion, is comparative in approach and lays out the theoretical contours of the field. Since it is an excellent preparation for intermediate and advanced level courses in the department, potential majors should enroll in it as early as possible. Students are introduced to a theme or topic in at least two religious traditions and to various methodologies and specialized vocabularies employed in the field.

The Religion Department has begun to offer an additional 1000-level course every year. This year, that course will be in the spring semester. Finally, first-year students are welcome to enroll in our 2000-level courses. The Religion Department at Bowdoin is one of the few departments that regularly offers courses at the 2000-level in which students closely examine a particular topic or area (e.g. Christianity, Buddhism, Bible, Islam) in any one semester, and many students do begin with a 2000-level course.


This is an excerpt from the official Bowdoin College Catalogue and Academic Handbook. View the Catalogue