Through prayer and ritual, pilgrimage and crusade, the practice of religion has shaped everything it has touched, and it continues to mold the human condition today.

Why Religious Studies at Sewanee?

The study of religion is central to a liberal arts education. Courses in religious studies here at Sewanee are designed to raise the central, burning questions that challenge us all: What is the nature of religion? How do human beings express their deepest beliefs, concerns, and faiths? Where do we find and how do we make sense of the sacred? What are our moral commitments and obligations?

From antiquity to postmodernity, China to Chattanooga, religion has shaped the human experience. At Sewanee, you will work with faculty through classes and independent studies to investigate the role of religion and the many faces it presents. The religious studies program benefits from multiple perspectives. By necessity, the study of religion is an interdisciplinary effort that requires investigation of history, culture, values, sacred texts, theology, and philosophical thought.

FIRST DESTINATIONS: Religious Studies MAJORS

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first jobs.

  • Court assistant, Lincoln County Tennessee Courts, Fayetteville, Tennessee.
  • Maternal and child health volunteer, Peace Corps, Guatemala.
  • Youth Corps Team, Episcopal Service Corps, Waialua, Hawaii.
  • Youth director and young adult mentor, St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

A Sampling of Courses

The Many Faces of the Qur'an
Religious Studies

To speak of the Qur'an as a "text" does not begin to address the numerous ways in which it is and has been perceived and experienced for many centuries. While the Qur'an is indeed contained in a physical book, it is also regarded as the eternal word of God, an oral tradition, an historical event, a body of words to be recited for worship, a moral message, a major cultural component of Islamic civilization, and a linguistic accomplishment.

RELG 104
The Spirit and Forms of Anglicanism
Religious Studies

A survey of the history, spirituality, cultures, and practices of church bodies within the international Anglican Communion, including the U.S. Episcopal Church. This course underscores the intellectual heritage of Anglicanism and its distinctive ecumenical role as via media between Protestant and Catholic traditions.

RELG 201
Religion and Animals
Religious Studies

Examine human relationships with non-human animals through the lenses of Buddhism, Christianity, theories, and methods in religious studies. What roles have non-human animals played in these religious traditions and in the lives of students themselves? Students volunteer in animal-related groups (veterinarian offices, animal shelters, and farms, for example) as they find their own voices in this emerging interdisciplinary field.

RELG 305
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Religious Studies

Programs of Study & Related Programs

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Religious Studies

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Philosophy | Website

Meet some professors

Tam Parker
tparker@sewanee.edu

Tam Parker teaches in the area of social ethics, Jewish, and Holocaust and religious violence studies. Parker's current project analyzes the relation of genocidal discourses and the building and dismantling of cultures of atrocity.

Professor of Religious Studies, Chair of Religious Studies
Eric Thurman
etthurma@sewanee.edu

Eric Thurman teaches in the area of Biblical studies, specializing in the New Testament. He also focuses on issues of gender and sexuality in the Bible and its interpretation as well as the relationship between the Bible and the histories of colonialism/imperialism. In his first book, Eric uses the gospel of Mark to discuss the relationship between gender and Roman imperialism in the literary construction of early Christian identity.

Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Sid Brown
sbrown@sewanee.edu

Sid Brown teaches in the area of Asian religions, specializing in Theravada Buddhism. Brown also focuses on religious responses to environmental issues and religious conceptions of relationships between human and other-than-human animals. Brown has been studying Buddhism since 1982. During her years earning a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. and Ph.D. in religious studies, she researched and lived in India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Thailand. Her first book, The Journey of One Buddhist Nun explores the life story and meditation experiences of a modern Buddhist nun in Thailand.

Professor of Religious Studies
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Contact

Tam Parker
Professor & Chair of Religious Studies

tparker@sewanee.edu

Walsh-Ellett 205, Ext. 1539

The Domain: An Immersive Experience

Writing Center
Sharpen your pencils, sharpen your skills

Need help with a paper? The Writing Center provides you with objective peer support and instruction for writing projects. The student tutors represent a wide range of majors, and they can help you at any stage in the writing process—topic development, rough drafts, final drafts, revisions, etc. They’re basically your cheerleader from brainstorming to final draft.

Write On
Stewardship & Sustainability
Hands-on Experience

The Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability offers students myriad opportunities to engage with the outdoors. Whether your passions are natural resources management, food production, animal care, field research, or sustainability, there's a place for you to get your hands dirty on the Domain!

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Women's & Gender Studies
A framework of intersectionality

Our courses seek to make visible and interrogate power relations that result in the marginalization of women, people of color, and others affected by structural injustices. Students learn about the historical and contemporary contributions of women from a global perspective, identify and analyze stereotypes and forms of discrimination related to women and gender, and inquire into the diversity of experiences among women and within the spectrum of gender.

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