Religious Studies

Religious Studies: Major, Minor

The study of religion is a quintessential task of a Catholic, Jesuit college. It invites you, in an academic context, into a long tradition of theological and historical questions about the nature of humanity in relation to God and to the world, and it engages you in the interreligious and intercultural encounter that is taking place today.

Given the impetus of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), which addressed the relationship between the Catholic Church and other religions, and given our present historical moment, the Department of Religious Studies is committed to integrating the study of Christian theology with the study of the world’s religions.

Through the courses it offers and the structure of its major the department’s approach to the study of religious belief and practice reflects Catholic theological commitments even as it responds to the needs of all students, Catholic and not, who will make their lives in a diverse, interconnected, and religiously pluralistic world.

The department offers a wide variety of courses that enable you to know and understand the Catholic tradition more deeply and to situate that tradition in the larger religious context of today’s world. Equally important, Catholicism has a distinctive religious culture and rich intellectual heritage that ground and support the study of the liberal arts.

As is appropriate in a Catholic, Jesuit academic institution committed to diversity and a mission to think critically, the department offers a range of courses that enable you to understand and to appreciate your own particular tradition, to situate that tradition in the wider context of other world religions, and to discover how diverse religious beliefs and practices are related and relevant to global concerns of poverty, injustice, and an environment in distress.

Our approach to the study of religion affirms that enduring commitments to faith—while always in need of study and discernment—are reasonable, responsible, and essential to human flourishing.

Program Highlights

To major in religious studies at Holy Cross is to undertake an integrated study, both intellectual and spiritual, of four areas central to understanding Catholicism and every faith tradition, namely:

world religions
theology
sacred texts
religious ethics

Honor Society

Academically outstanding majors are invited to join Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious studies.

Awards

The department annually confers two awards to academically accomplished fourth-year students.

Harry Potter Course

A popular religious studies course on Harry Potter has generated national media coverage.

Religious Studies News

Joanne Pierce, professor of religious studies, pictured here during a lecture.

For Today’s Catholics Hell Means ‘the Hopeless Anguish of God’s Absence,’ Says Holy Cross Professor

In an article for The Conversation, Joanne Pierce, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross, traces the conceptual evolution of hell through the Jewish and Greek cultures and their influence on the Christian description of hell or the afterlife, including …

Students gather at the one of the few remaining sections of the Warsaw Ghetto Wall that was erected to seal off the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest ghetto in Poland, on a Maymester trip through central Europe.

Honoring the Past: Students Seek Opportunities to Learn About the Holocaust

“Never forget” is a phrase that’s long been used to remind people, Jews and non-Jews alike, to remember the pain of the Holocaust, which is being commemorated — on campus and around the world — as A Day of Remembrance …

Holy Cross Professor on Why the Label ‘Cult’ Prevents Greater Understanding of New Religions

New religious movements have been a subject of fascination in American popular culture for decades, often portrayed in movies and TV shows as “cults,” which comes with its own implications of brainwashing and authoritarian practices. In an article for The …