Buddha sculpture from Denison's Asian art collection

Religion is an essential part of humanistic studies in a liberal arts education. The study of religion is one way to establish a view of reality and of the meaning of human existence as individuals and as social beings in relation to ultimate reality.

The goals of the department are to help students:

• understand the nature of religion
• understand both Abrahimic and Asian religious traditions
• develop critical and analytical skills for examining the various religious systems offered in a pluralistic society
• examine their own religious perceptions.

Many religion majors and minors conduct year-long senior research projects, the majority of which are converted into theses for recognition.

The Woodyard Summer Scholar Awards provide six to eight students with scholarships to do individual or collaborative projects in the area of "Religion and Civic Responsibility." These awards provide students an excellent opportunity either to initiate the exploration of a topic, or to explore an area further as part of a senior research or honors project. The research culminates in a major written project.

The Denison Journal of Religion  is published annually by the Department of Religion. All articles are written by Denison students of all majors to promote and encourage intellectual reflection on religious issues.

Professor David Woodyard conducts a religion seminar in Knapp Hall

The question of what one can do with a major or minor in religion is answered by the careers of recent graduates.

Some have sought advanced degrees in the study of religion, either with an academic focus or aimed at a career in a religious profession.

However, the majority of our graduates have sought careers in other fields. Some have gone to law school, business school or medical school. Some work for local social service agencies, with environmental organizations or as teachers. Some work for banks, advertising agencies or stock brokerage firms.

The one constant is that all of them report that the skills in critical thinking, writing and research that they developed as a religion major or minor have been a distinct asset in their careers.