Menu

Religious Studies

What is Religious Studies at UCA?

The academic study of religion is the study religion in any and all forms, without presupposing or prohibiting any and all beliefs. The critical study of religion means learning how religion operates in an increasingly interconnected and global world, and it gives our graduates a boost in their skills of critical analysis, presentation in writing and speaking, cultural understanding, and ability to make valuable connections across so much of what is happening in the world today. We are also proud to be the only state school with a major in Religious Studies in Arkansas. 

We have a small but vibrant major and minor, and our students have gone onto careers in academics, ministry, music and the arts, graduate and law school, banking and marketing, libraries, and museum curating. Our students receive individual attention from our renowned faculty and enjoy the collegiality of their peers in our department student organization (PhiRe Club), as well as have opportunities to participate in our award winning Ethics Bowl program, to conduct internships in areas and industries of their choosing, to present academic papers at undergraduate conferences, and to study abroad in Europe and Asia. 

Feedback from our graduates indicates that they have been more than prepared for their future studies or careers, and they have deeply appreciated the care, attention, and rigor of the Religious Studies program at UCA. We help our students in practical and personal ways, and we give them diverse intellectual and cultural experiences as well as tools to help make the world a better place!

White dome seen through a keyholePathways

We have three distinct Pathways in our major, and students are encouraged to view their major in terms of a specific path, although they also have the flexibility to mix and match courses and clusters across Pathways:

  1. Religion and Self in Society – examines how religion is embedded in who we are and everything we do
  2. Religion in the Professions – emphasizes the practical skills and knowledge that is important to flourish in a variety of career paths, and
  3. Religion and the Arts – shows how religion is vitally interrelated with almost all of human artistic expression; takes advantage of interdisciplinary links with other departments in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 

Learn more