Undergraduate Programs

The academic study of religion examines the religions of the world, including their histories, symbols, structures, beliefs.

It examines religions not only by way of historical and philosophical approaches, but from literary, social, and phenomenological perspectives as well.

Religious studies seeks an empathetic understanding of religious phenomena, and awareness of the diversity of religious traditions in our world.

Many of our students choose to study abroad to gain a more direct understanding of religious diversity.

Courses in philosophy introduce students to the philosophical tradition and develop their skills of critical thinking and expression.

In our examination of the history of philosophy, attention is given to ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, logic, aesthetics, bioethics, philosophy of science, and social and political philosophy with emphasis on their possible application.

In addition to some great introductory courses ...
PAR 101-Philosophical Thinking
PAR 103-Exploring Religions
PAR 115-Introduction to Ethics
PAR 125-Scriptures World Religion

... Check out our featured Spring & Summer PAR courses listed below.

 Spring 2025:

PAR 202: History of Western Philosophy II, Dr. Robert Smithson 
 This course will introduce students to main philosophical questions and themes of the early modern period (from Descartes to Hume). Is there an external world? If so, what is the nature of material objects? How do material bodies interact? How do the material world and the mind interact? Does God exist? The goal is to provide students with a rigorous, non-caricatured overview of the philosophical systems of a variety of philosophers from the early modern period. Students will develop philosophical writing as well as their ability to reconstruct philosophical arguments.

PAR 211: Philosophy of Human Nature,  Dr. Hammad Hussain
 This course will provide a survey and evaluation of past and present theories of human nature, including such topics as nature and culture, freedom and rationality, issues in identity, and theories of education and human development.

PAR 225: Religion and Gender, Dr. Jamie Brummitt

This course introduces students to the study of religion and gender in American history from the 1600s to today. We will examine constructions of gender in Native American religions, Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam from colonial America to the present-day United States

PAR 235: Intro to Old Testament, Dr. Theodore Burgh  This course explores a range of issues and inquiries related to the Bible regarding its nature, origin, composition, history, culture, setting, people, and their stories, and its teachings. Students analyze and analyze approaches to interpreting the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, how it impacts people’s lives, how the study of the text developed, and the reasons for its enduring presence. Students will examine the range of literary genre, symbolic metaphors, figures of speech and religious and theological themes

PAR 317: Epistemology, Dr. W. Heath White

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and related concepts like belief and understanding.  It connects with philosophy of mind, with logic and the philosophy of logic, with philosophy of science, and with social and political philosophy, some small part of which we will explore. Students will deepen their knowledge of epistemological topics, improve their ability to raise questions about what we know and why, understand a range of possible responses to those questions, and develop winsome personalities combined with penetrating acuity in the course of class discussion. 

PAR 378: Caribbean Religions, Dr. Dorcas Dennis

This course is a study of religious and cultural diversity within the Caribbean, with a special focus on non-traditional religions and their interaction with established religions and cultures. It studies the history, belief systems, practices, and rituals of Afro Caribbean religions as well as their dynamic relationship with other religions and the society in the region.

PAR 390: Religion and Technology, Dr. Jamie Brummitt

Can technologies practice religion? Of course they can! This course explores the relationships between religion and technology in the past, present, and future. We will study spiritual machines, like Buddhist robot monks and ancient worshipper statues, as well as digital immortality, UFO religion, relics, and more! This course will help you evaluate modern assumptions about the non-religious nature of technology. We will challenge definitions of technology that only consider it digital in nature. We will also consider how religious technologies are alive. Rethink what you know about religion and technology!

PAR 400: Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Happiness, Dr. Beverley McGuire

What is happiness? How does it relate to notions of pleasure, desire, contentment, or human flourishing? The spring semester's colloquium will explore how happiness has been discussed within a variety of philosophical and religious traditions. The course will allow you the opportunity to research a topic related to happiness, engage in various writing projects throughout the semester, and explore a "happiness activity" throughout the semester, inspired by Sonya Lyubomirsky's The How of Happiness. The course is required of PAR majors in their junior or senior year, and it is open to qualified non-majors. It satisfies the Capstone and Explorations Beyond the Classroom requirement, and it partially satisfies Information Literacy and Writing Intensive requirements in University Studies.

 
Please check your My Seaport for days/times for all PAR spring semester courses.

COMING SUMMER 2025!

PAR 105: Critical Reasoning With AI, Dr. Robert Smithson

Introduction to the principles of proper reasoning through the use of generative AI. Exploration of how to assess the reasoning of AI and how to use AI to improve one’s own argumentation. Study of the contrast between good and bad forms of reasoning as manifested by both humans and AI.
Summer Session II OLASY

PAR 215: Medical Ethics 
 
This course introduces students to the philosophical area of bioethics, the study of right and wrong behavior in the delivery of health care and medical research, through critical reading, discussion, and writing.The primary purpose of this course is to explore some of the ethical issues confronting modern medicine. 
Summer Session I&II OLASY

PAR 225: Religion and Gender, Dr. Diana Heath (formerly Walsh Pasulka)   

In this course we will study Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by examining the relationships between these religions and various technologies. Despite the common assumption that “religion is belief in something,” scholars often study religion as technology by examining the visual, material, and digital cultures of religion. PAR 230 will employ these methods in lectures, readings, and assignments to help you understand that religion cannot be separated from technologies, such as temples, books, statues, objects, images, films, and digital media. We will also explore some of the latest digital data collection methods in religious studies, like radiocarbon dating of artifacts and the preservation of objects.  
Summer Session II OLASY 

PAR 232: ASIAN RELIGIONS, Dr. Beverley McGuire
 
This online and asynchronous course provides a historical and thematic overview of major religious traditions of Asia, including Confucian, Taoist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, and Japanese religions. We will consider ways in which Asian religious practitioners have attempted to understand the nature of the world, human society, and a person's place within them. In examining religious traditions that in many ways seem wholly foreign or “other” in comparison to Western religions, our emphasis will be on the internal logic of each, on the resources that each provides for the construction of meaning, value, and moral vision.  
Summer Session I OLASY

PAR 371: BUDDHISM, Dr. Beverley McGuire 
 
This online and asynchronous course examines Buddhism as a lived religion through its people, places, and practices that continue to be influential today. We will discuss Buddhist ideas and practices as a scholar of religion. The course objective is to identify, describe, and discuss Buddhist people, places, practices, ideas, and traditions. 
Summer Session I OLASY