Religious Studies

While some students who major in religious studies go on to graduate school in the field or to the ministry, many more follow postgraduate paths in other directions. All the skills and abilities developed by the
religious studies degree program are both adaptable and in demand by employers and graduate schools. The multi-disciplinary, multicultural perspective found in departmental courses enhances the critical thinking and strong communication skills that are honed by a challenging academic program.

Careers

Religious studies graduates have gone on to successful careers in business, medicine, teaching, law, the foreign service, counseling, journalism, and many other fields.

Some of our recent graduates have worked with:

American Red Cross, Lowcountry Division
Bali Children’s Project in Indonesia (volunteer)
An agricultural project for the Peace Corp in Tanzania.

Graduate Programs

Others are enrolled in the following:

Tulane University (Medieval Studies)
Boston University (Religion and Culture)
Tibet University (Language and Literature)
University of Virginia (Religious Studies)
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (Chinese Medicine)
University of Georgia (Islamic Studies)
Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary (Christian Theology)
University of Washington (Comparative Religion)
University of Alabama (American Studies)
Naropa University (Buddhist Studies)
University of Colorado (History of Religions)
Duke University (Religion and Modernity)

Employing an academic approach to the study of religions, we examine beliefs and rituals from comparative, cross-cultural, historical and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Active Learning Opportunities

Internships. By engaging in either faculty-guided fieldwork or mentored internships, you can learn firsthand how immigrant religious communities adapt to the American landscape, interact with it, and contribute to a new American identity. Within a short walk or drive from campus, you’ll find many opportunities.

Established in 1749, Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim was the first Reform Jewish congregation in the United States and is housed in the oldest surviving active Reform synagogue in the world.
The local Buddhist community is centered at the Charleston Tibetan Society, there is a Hindu temple in Columbia, and Native American pow-wows are held in nearby Summerville.
Yoruba festivals and ritual ceremonies take place in the Oyotunji African Village in Beaufort, the only traditional African village in North America.
Virtually every Christian denomination, from Presbyterians to Latter Day Saints, from Roman Catholics to Christian Scientists, and from Methodists to the Society of Friends, is represented in the Charleston
community, including the only French Calvinist congregation in the country.
Some historically significant local sites include Emanuel A.M.E, the oldest A.M.E. church in the South; St. Mary’s, the first Roman Catholic Church in the Carolinas and Georgia; and First Baptist, the oldest
Baptist church in the South.

Tutorials. Through these individualized courses you can investigate new areas, explore more deeply an area that catches your interest, or integrate religious studies with another discipline. Recent research
titles include:

“Sadhana in Vajrayana Buddhism”
“Goddesses and Women in the Hindu Tradition”
“Death and the Afterlife in Native American Religions”
“Voodoo and the Media”
“Luther and Erasmus on Freewill”
“Celtic Animism”
“Women’s Rights in Islam”
“Changing Perceptions of Medicine and Witchcraft”

Bachelor’s essays. These year-long research and writing projects are usually done during senior year. It’s essential to work closely with faculty in determining both the topic and design of your project.

Study abroad. Through a College of Charleston bilateral exchange program, you can enroll at Bath Spa University, the University of Nottingham in England, or the University of St. Andrews in Scotland for
either fall or spring semester.

Guest speakers. You have the opportunity to hear and meet scholars from other universities who annually visit campus.

Chrestomathy. Each year, department faculty nominate excellent student essays for publication in Chrestomathy, the College’s journal of outstanding undergraduate research.

Religious Studies Club. Open to all College students, this group sponsors movies and guest speakers, arranges field trips to local sites of religious interest, and organizes other events. The club recently presented a panel discussion on holy war and convened speakers on the near-death experience.

Learning Resources

The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston maintains an archive of primary and secondary source material of nearly 4,000 holdings and encourages scholarship, research and presentations by scholars and students. It is also a museum and cultural center.

The South Carolina Historical Society's extensive archives make it the world’s most important private repository of South Carolina history. Genealogists, authors, lawyers, scholars, and filmmakers all draw upon its collections.

The Addlestone Library offers an excellent selection of primary and secondary sources on all major world religion traditions; many major research journals in religious studies are in the journal collection. It also has an excellent video collection of films related to religious studies, and a diverse set of database sources specifically for on-line research in religion as well as opportunities for accessing classroom
resources through electronic reserves.

“I researched Christian Exodus, a politically active religious group whose members have immigrated into South Carolina to build political power. What began as part of a paper for a class on new religious movements turned into a larger project. I presented the paper at a regional meeting of the American Academy of Religion. I’m the only scholar/student to study this group, and so I’ve become something of an expert and have been contacted by state newspapers for background information. This experience really prepared me to move on to a top graduate program in the field. I’ve since been accepted by and have started work at Duke University’s graduate religion program.”

Michael Altman ’06