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Religious Studies

Purpose of the Program in Religious Studies:

  1. to expose students to the issues and problems involved in, and to the nature of the questions raised by, the study of religious phenomena and ideas;
  2. to enable students to approach, in a methodical way, the study of the major religious traditions living today for the purpose of encountering and understanding the life and the expression of religion through the various religions of the world;
  3. to introduce them to the distinctive features of one or more religious traditions and to the methods for their systematic study.
The course offerings of the Religious Studies Department fall into the following five areas:

  1. World Religions
  2. History of the Christian Tradition
  3. Biblical Studies
  4. Theology -- Philosophy -- Ethics
  5. Religion, Society and Culture.
Areas of Religious Studies to which courses belong are indicated by the area number below the course description.

Three-Year General Religious Studies

Eligibility for graduation in the General Religious Studies program includes fulfillment of the following requirements:

  1. Successful completion of a minimum of 30 term courses including Faculty of Arts Group requirements with an overall cumulative average of at least 60% and a cumulative major average of at least 65%.
  2. At least ten term courses must be in Religious Studies including RS:

Four-Year General Religious Studies

Eligibility for graduation in the Four-Year Religious Studies program includes fulfillment of the following requirements:

  1. Successful completion of a minimum of 40 term courses including Faculty of Arts Group requirements with an overall cumulative average of at least 60% and a cumulative major average of at least 65%.
  2. At least 14 term courses must be in Religious Studies including RS:

Honours Religious Studies

Eligibility for graduation in the Honours Religious Studies program includes fulfillment of the following requirements:

  1. Successful completion of a minimum of 40 term courses including Faculty of Arts Group requirements with an overall cumulative average of at least 60% and a cumulative major average of at least 75%.
  2. At least 20 term courses must be in Religious Studies including RS:

Honours Religious Studies (Applied Studies Co-op)

A student may combine an Honours Religious Studies program with Applied Studies Co-op. The requirements in Religious Studies are identical to the Honours requirements listed above except the overall number of term courses in Religious Studies is 16 rather than 20. See the Applied Studies requirements.

Religious Studies Joint Honours Program

The Religious Studies Department offers Joint Honours programs with the following Departments:

Anthropology
Classical Studies
English
Environment and Resource Studies
French
Germanic and Slavic
History
Music
Philosophy
Psychology
Social Development Studies
Sociology

The requirements in Joint Honours programs are the same as the Honours program, except the overall number of Religious Studies courses is 14 instead of 20. The RS 490 requirements may be waived for students who choose to do their senior honours essay in the other Department. There will be consultation between the Undergraduate Officers of the two Departments.

Minor Program in Religious Studies

Successful completion (65% average) of a minimum of ten term courses from at least four of the five areas of Religious Studies. The sequence of courses is to be determined in consultation with the Undergraduate Advisor of the Department.

Note For All Programs

Students at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University may, with the permission of their advisor, take courses in Religious Studies at either University. For details regarding registration procedures and courses available at Wilfrid Laurier University, consult the Undergraduate Officer, Religious Studies.


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Last modified: 21/06/96 09:14