Religious studies is an interdisciplinary major or minor that draws on courses from multiple departments to give students a broad understanding of the historical, cultural and philosophical principles of the world's religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Classical Greek and Roman religions, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, African and Native-American religions. These diverse belief systems are studied not just for their influence over past generations but also to better understand their role in modern issues.
Religious Studies is not just for students planning to go on to become a priest, rabbi or minister. The program provides excellent preparation for all careers that require critical thinking, logic, analysis and writing skills. Because of the breadth of the subject matter, students graduate with a global perspective, an appreciation for different viewpoints and substantive knowledge about ethics and core belief systems of the past and present.
UWM students in Religious Studies take courses in history, anthropology, philosophy, political science, classics, art history, literature, and more. Many students also complement their major with studies in the foreign language since many religions have traditions and foundations in another language.
Students will also find a very active student organization - the Religious Studies Student Organization. The group brings in speakers and engages with the local community on scholarly topics of interest.
Requirements
The minor requires 18 credits in approved Religious Studies courses, including at least 9 upper-division (numbered 300 and above) credits taken in residence at UWM. Students may take courses in the Religious Studies curricular area (RELIGST) as well as courses from the approved list below. Students must complete coursework from at least two different curricular areas.
In addition, the minor must include courses dealing with two different religious traditions. (RELIGST 101 may not be used in fulfilling this requirement.) The College requires that students earn at least a 2.0 GPA on all UWM courses attempted for the minor. A 2.0 GPA also is required on all minor credits attempted, including any transfer work.
To discuss the minor, please contact Program Director David Divalerio at divaleri@uwm.edu.
Approved Religious Studies Content Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AFRIC 311 | African Religious Thought and Social Organizations (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| AFRIC 312 | The Church in African-American Life (Christianity) | 3 |
| AIS 106 | Anishinaabe Ethnobotany: Plants in Anishinaabe Philosophy | 3 |
| AMLLC 240 | Vampires: From Slavic Village to Hollywood (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ANTHRO 203 | Indigenous Religions (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ANTHRO 305 | The Celtic World | 3 |
| ANTHRO 314 | American Indian Societies and Cultures (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ANTHRO 326 | Peoples and Cultures of South Asia | 3 |
| ANTHRO 351 | Anthropological Theories of Religion | 3 |
| ANTHRO 543 | Cross-Cultural Study of Religion | 3 |
| ANTHRO 544 | Religious Giving in Anthropological Perspective | 3 |
| ARABIC 390 | Islam: Religion and Culture (Islam) | 3 |
| ARABIC 111 | Cultures and Civilizations of the Muslim Middle East (Islam) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 101 | Ancient and Medieval Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 102 | Renaissance to Modern Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 104 | African, New World and Oceanic Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 105 | Asian Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 237 | Northern Renaissance Art | 3 |
| ARTHIST 241 | Introduction to Baroque Art | 3 |
| ARTHIST 251 | Introduction to the Art and Architecture of Latin America | 3 |
| ARTHIST 255 | Survey of Italian Renaissance Painting and Sculpture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 270 | Pre-Columbian Art, Myth, and Legacy (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 281 | Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art | 3 |
| ARTHIST 312 | Minoan and Mycenaean Art and Archaeology | 3 |
| ARTHIST 314 | Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East | 3 |
| ARTHIST 315 | Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 316 | Roman Art and Archaeology (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 323 | Age of Apocalypse: Western European Art after the First Millennium | 3 |
| ARTHIST 324 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art and Architecture (Christianity) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 325 | Early Medieval Art in the West | 3 |
| ARTHIST 326 | Chivalry and Spirituality: French Gothic Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 327 | Caliphs, Emirs, & Kings: Art & Architecture of Medieval Spain (Islam) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 333 | High Renaissance Art in Italy | 3 |
| ARTHIST 371 | African Art (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 372 | Art of the Inca and their Ancestors (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 373 | Art of Ancient Mexico and Central America (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 375 | Art of the Aztec Empire (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 380 | Chinese Painting | 3 |
| ARTHIST 382 | Chinese Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 383 | Japanese Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 386 | Art, Ritual, and Ethnicity of China | 3 |
| ARTHIST 387 | Buddhist Art and Architecture (Buddhism) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 412 | Cities and Sanctuaries of Ancient Greece (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| ARTHIST 431 | Renaissance Architecture in Italy | 3 |
| ARTHIST 474 | Maya Art (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| CELTIC 133 | Celtic Crossings: Overview of the History and Cultures of the Celtic World | 3 |
| CLASSIC 170 | Classical Mythology (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| CLASSIC 201 | Introduction to Greek Life and Literature | 3 |
| CLASSIC 202 | Introduction to Roman Life and Literature | 3 |
| CLASSIC 274 | Ancient Egyptian Civilization (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| CLASSIC 301 | The Life and Literature of Classical Athens: Herodotus and Dramatists | 3 |
| CLASSIC 302 | War and Politics in Ancient Greece | 3 |
| CLASSIC 303 | The Life and Literature of the Roman Empire | 3 |
| CLASSIC 370 | Hittite Myth and History (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| CLASSIC 351 | Ancient Greek Religion (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| CLASSIC 390 | Egyptian Mythology (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| COMPLIT 231 | Literature and Religion: | 3 |
| ENGLISH 454 | Milton (Christianity) | 3 |
| GEOG 333 | Muslim Geographies: Identities and Politics (Islam) | 3 |
| GLOBAL 371 | Rethinking Global Security | 3 |
| HEBREW 201 | Third-Semester Hebrew (Judaism) | 4 |
| HEBREW 202 | Fourth-Semester Hebrew (Judaism) | 4 |
| HEBREW 301 | Modern Hebrew Literature I in Hebrew (Judaism) | 3 |
| HEBREW 302 | Modern Hebrew Literature II in Hebrew (Judaism) | 3 |
| HIST 175 | East Asian Civilization to 1600 | 3 |
| HIST 131 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 201 | The Ancient World: The Near East and Greece (Buddhism) | 3 |
| HIST 202 | The Ancient World: The Roman Republic and Empire | 3 |
| HIST 274 | Ancient Egyptian Civilization (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| HIST 280 | Islamic Civilization: The Formative Period, ca. 500-1258 (Islam) | 3 |
| HIST 282 | The Modern Middle East in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries | 3 |
| HIST 284 | Buddhism Across Asia (Buddhism) | 3 |
| HIST 303 | A History of Greek Civilization: The Greek City-State | 3 |
| HIST 304 | A History of Greek Civilization: The Age of Alexander the Great (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| HIST 307 | A History of Rome: The Republic (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| HIST 308 | A History of Rome: The Empire (Indigenous religions) | 3 |
| HIST 318 | Medieval Civilization: The High Middle Ages | 3 |
| HIST 319 | The Era of the Crusades (Christianity) | 3 |
| HIST 329 | The Roman Catholic Church, 1500 to the Present (Christianity) | 3 |
| HIST 330 | The Papacy in History (Christianity) | 3 |
| HIST 358 | The Jews of Modern Europe: History and Culture | 3 |
| HIST 364 | The Holocaust: Anti-Semitism & the Fate of Jewish People in Europe, 1933-45 | 3 |
| HIST 370 | Topics in the History of Religious Thought: | 3 |
| HIST 379 | Introduction to Jewish History | 3 |
| HIST 380 | Buddhism: A Cultural History (Buddhism) | 3 |
| HIST 386 | Africans in World History: Communities, Cultures, and Ideas | 3 |
| HIST 393 | History of Mexico | 3 |
| HIST 452 | History of Religion in American Life to 1870 | 3 |
| HIST 453 | History of Religion in American Life Since 1870 | 3 |
| HIST 454 | God at the Movies: American Religion in Fiction and Film | 3 |
| HIST 594 | Methods and Theory in the Historical Study of Religion: | 3 |
| ITALIAN 333 | Dante's Divine Comedy in Translation (Christianity) | 3 |
| JEWISH 100 | Introduction to Judaism (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 101 | Jewish Culture in America: History, Literature, Film (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 230 | Bible Stories (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 231 | Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 235 | The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 261 | Representing the Holocaust in Words and Images (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 331 | Topics in Biblical Literature: | 3 |
| JEWISH 332 | Women in the Bible (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 358 | The Jews of Modern Europe: History and Culture (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 368 | Jewish and Christian Responses to the Holocaust (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 379 | Introduction to Jewish History (Judaism) | 3 |
| JEWISH 411 | Old Testament Texts: | 3 |
| JEWISH 449 | Modern Jewish Thought (Judaism) | 3 |
| LATIN 306 | Readings in Latin Literature: | 3 |
| PHILOS 204 | Introduction to Asian Religions | 3 |
| PHILOS 207 | Religion and Science | 3 |
| PHILOS 250 | God, Faith and Reason | 3 |
| PHILOS 304 | Buddhist Philosophy (Buddhism) | 3 |
| PHILOS 350 | Introduction to the Comparative Study of Religion | 3 |
| PHILOS 431 | History of Medieval Philosophy (Christianity) | 3 |
| PHILOS 461 | Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism (Islam) | 3 |
| PHILOS 474 | Contemporary Religious Thought: | 3 |
| PHILOS 475 | Special Topics in Indian Religious Thought: | 3 |
| POL SCI 215 | Ethnicity, Religion and Race in American Politics | 3 |
| RUSSIAN 361 | Russian and Slavic Folklore | 3 |
Letters & Science Minor Advising
Advising for the minor takes place within the department by a faculty member or staff member. Follow the steps using the "Declare a Minor" button on the department’s website which may include instructions on how to select a faculty advisor if there is more than one to choose from.
Students who already have an L&S college advisor because their degree plan is in L&S can discuss the minor with them as well since they will be familiar with any minor in L&S. Students who are working on a degree from a UWM college other than the College of Letters & Science will not need an L&S college advisor for just a minor and one will not be assigned. These students should work with the faculty or staff advisor they receive as part of the minor declaration process or contact the department directly for assistance.
Applicants who have not started classes at UWM yet who wish to declare a minor should wait until they are registered for their first UWM classes and then can declare the minor using the “Declare a Minor” button on the program’s website. If you have questions about the minor before then, contact let-sci@uwm.edu.