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
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Honor Society

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

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Awards

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

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Harry Potter Course

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

Religious Studies News

Pope Francis biographer Austen Ivereigh
Pope’s Press Corps to Speak at Holy Cross Conference on ‘Francis the Pilgrim’
The College of the Holy Cross will host a conference on “Francis the Pilgrim: From Personal Devotion to Papal Diplomacy,” April 11-12, 2018 featuring Pope Francis biographer Austen Ivereigh and Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., senior analyst at Religion News …
Thomas Landy, director of the Rev. Michael C McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture and founder of the Catholics & Cultures Initiative, which explores lay Catholic traditions and practices from around the globe.
Holy Cross Director Shares Holy Week Traditions From Around the Globe
“Comparing traditions during Holy Week gives us a chance to recognize Catholicism as the vivid tapestry of practices and cultures that it is,” said Thomas Landy, director of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture. …
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Holy Cross Religious Studies Professor Says Jehovah’s Witnesses Faith is Often Misunderstood
Tragic murder-suicide cases throughout the country have shined light on the controversial Jehovah’s Witness practice of shunning or disfellowshipping, which in essence is a punishment by excommunication. Mathew Schmalz, associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, offered …