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Undergraduate Programs

Department of Philosophy & Religion

Students can major in Philosophy and Religion with an emphasis in either Philosophy or Religion. Students can also minor in either Philosophy or Religion

The major requires 36 credit hours, while the minor requires 21 credit hours. You can read further about the major requirements and minor requirements in this section.

 

COURSES IN RELIGION

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

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.

Undergraduate Program

Philosophy & Religion, B.A. Our Department of Philosophy and Religion brings together two disciplines, philosophy and religious studies, and encourages interdisciplinary and creative approaches to learning, both here and abroad. Learn More

Minors

Philosophy, Minor Philosophy courses provide you with tools for thinking critically, and our majors go on to successful careers in law, the tech industry and other creative industries. Explore Now
Religion, Minor The academic study of religion examines the religions of the world, including their histories, symbols, structures and beliefs. Discover

Why Major in Philosophy & Religion?

Students are taught vital skills in critical thinking. They are also trained to think ethically and logically about many different spiritual and moral beliefs held worldwide.
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SUMMER 2025 courses

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
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
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
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

FALL 2025 courses

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 PAR courses for Summer & Fall:


Fall 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.

 

PAR 201: HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY I ~ Dr. W. Thomas Schmid  

This course is an introduction to philosophy through the study of its origins in ancient Greece. We will discuss questions that have puzzled and intrigued human beings ever since thinking began—about the relationship of science to understanding human life, about the meaning of freedom, about human desire, and its relation to thinking about happiness, excellence, and friendship.

 

PAR 205: AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY ~ Dr. W. Thomas Schmid 

This class is an introduction to American philosophy through the study of some of its major artists, philosophers, and political thinkers. We will discuss questions that have puzzled and intrigued Americans throughout our history—about the relationship of faith and science to one another, and to understanding human life, about the meaning of freedom and its relation to thinking for oneself, about our country’s ideals, and how we achieve and fall short of them..

 

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

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 230: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ~ Mr. Anthony Whitley

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.

 

PAR 233: African Religions ~ Dr. Dorcas Dennis

This a Basic Studies Course that explores the diverse phenomena of the religious beliefs, practices, material culture, and institutions, indigenous to peoples of sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on the impact of slavery, colonialism, foreign religions, and globalization, and by critiquing post-colonial theories of Africa, religion, and race. Those traditional African Religions will include the Ashanti, Fon, Dogon, Ewe, Igbo, Yoruba, and the Mende of West Africa, and excerpts of the peoples of Central, Eastern, Southern Africa, and the Island nations.

 

PAR 236: Introduction to the New Testament ~ Dr. Diana Heath (formerly Walsh Pasulka)  

“Gospels, Ghost Texts, and the Making of Christian Scripture”

Explore the New Testament alongside the other books that once rivaled it—and the communities who read them.

What did early Christians actually read? This course explores the formation of the New Testament—how certain books became “canon” or official, while others were left out. Alongside the Gospels and letters that made it into the New Testament, we’ll also study apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Thomas, the Infancy Gospel of James, and other writings that circulated widely in the first centuries of the Christian movement.

Students will learn how modern scholars analyze ancient texts using tools like text criticism, literary analysis, and redaction theory. Together, we’ll explore what these writings meant to early communities and how they continue to shape religious imagination today.

 

PAR 312: Ethics of AI ~ Dr Robert Smithson

In recent years, there has been remarkable technological progress on a certain form of artificial intelligence: large language models (LLMs).  This class will focus on ethical questions surrounding this technology, such as: what are the  ramifications of transferring high-level cognitive work from humans to machines? How might LLMs shape how we experience art? How might LLMs shape how we understand ourselves as human persons? Can an AI model have moral values or moral status? Could someone have a genuine friendship with an AI model?  What risks do we face as this technology continues to develop?

 

PAR 345: Philosophy of Science ~ Dr. Robert Smithson

Scientific discoveries and scientific practice itself raise a number of interesting philosophical questions. Why should we think that our best scientific theories are true? Are we justified in making predictions about the future on the basis of observations made in the past? In this introductory course, we will consider how philosophical arguments might be used to assess these and other questions.

 

PAR 400: Power and Democracy in America ~ Dr. Matthew Eshelman

What is power?  Who has it?  What distinguishes legitimate from illegitimate forms of power?  Does democracy in our constitutional republic distribute power evenly across society?  Should it?  If it doesn’t, what factors play the greatest role in concentrating power?  This seminar appeals to research in history, political sociology, and philosophy to try to answer these and other related questions.  

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