Religion - Smith College

Religion from Smith College is a Campus Bachelor Religious Studies degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. Religion courses at Smith are critical and comparative, interdisciplinary and cross-cultural. They examine the nature and function of religious phenomena in the past and present of many cultures. They provide opportunities to analyze systems of belief and patterns of religious behavior, the history of religious traditions, the functions of religion in society and various forms of religious expression such as myth, ritual, sacred story, sacred texts, liturgy and theological and philosophical reflection. In the department's view, a student's personal religious perspective is not a consideration for entering or for successfully completing a course in the department. It is not unusual, however, for a student's interest in religion studies to be motivated by personal, existential questions?the perennial questions of human existence. There is no better way for a person to work out her own answers than by studying the distillations of insight found in the world's religious traditions. The research interests of our faculty are reflected not only in the classes that we offer, but also in the speakers, artists, activists and religious leaders that we invite to Smith. Over the years, we have hosted many of the major religious thinkers and scholars of the world. Some of the past speakers and events include: "The Bhakti Movement: India's National Religion in Text and Image," a lecture by John Stratton Hawley, Barnard College The international seminar Buddhism in Mongolia: Rebirth and Transformation The symposium The Shaping of Many Islams: Struggle Over Authority Between God, Texts and People "Reflections on Korean Buddhist Literature," a lecture by Robert Buswell, UCLA "'Lost' Between Memory and History: Writing the Holocaust for the Next Generation," a lecture by Daniel Mendelsohn "Love of God, Love of Neighbor: Martha and Mary in the Middle Ages," a lecture by Amy Hollywood, Harvard University A visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso View more details on Smith College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Religious Studies courses.