Religion

Professors: Anderson, Haus, Maldonado-Estrada, Petrey (Chair)

Religion is a powerful and dynamic force, influencing and shaping the world in which we live in diverse and complex ways.  In the Department of Religion at Kalamazoo College, students learn about what it means to define religion as a field of inquiry.  We offer traditions-based courses in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, other religions of South and East Asia, and religious traditions in the Americas.  We also offer courses on particular questions and methods, including religion and science, sexuality studies, women and feminist studies, material culture, transnationalism, and commodification.  In all of our courses and in our own areas of research, we are committed to investigations of religion and religious experiences from a variety of angles, including questions of theology, history, linguistics, sociology, anthropology, texts, and philosophy.  We examine religion in a comparative context, recognizing that religion reflects and is braided throughout economic, cultural, and political dimensions of human experience.  The study of religion is challenging and invigorating because of the intersections and exchanges that unfold across different disciplines, traditions, and faith commitments.