You Don't Have To Wear a Toga
to Study Ancient Rome

And You Don't Have to Be
Religious to Study Religion

Although students from all across the University of Alabama enroll in Religious Studies courses to fulfill their Core Curriculum "Humanities" requirements, some choose to major, double major, or minor in the study of religion. Doing so allows them to examine in greater detail the histories and functions of a wide variety of texts, myths, rituals, symbols, and institutions. In the process, they take small upper-level classes, get to know professors with national and international scholarly reputations, and acquire skills that enable them to describe, compare, interpret, and explain--skills that they will use long after leaving the Religious Studies classroom. And, as home of the Aronov Endowment for Judaic Studies, students in REL can also pursue a minor in studying the history of Judaism.

Apart from requirements that apply to all students in the College of Arts & Sciences, the only prerequisites for Religious Studies students are an interest in cross-cultural work in different historical periods and a curiosity about the many ways that human communities, past and present, have devised for creating worlds in which to live and act.

So, no, you don't have to be religious to study religion at the University of Alabama; you just have to be curious about how cultures work.

Click on "Degrees" in the main menu to learn more about degree requirements, click "Courses" to find course pages for all past classes, or visit each of our faculty members' pages to learn more about their specialties. Or visit the following links to learn more about the field:

The academic study of religion as part of the Human Sciences

"Studying Religion in Culture"