Our department focuses on the in-depth, academic study of five religious traditions—Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. We teach a range of courses on these religions and their complex histories, using a variety of theoretical approaches.
Our majors gain a close knowledge of a particular religion, including both its ancient and modern forms. Students often complete a double major, such as in history, psychology, math or biology.
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Seniors have the option to complete an intensive, self-directed research project related to their specific concentration within the major.
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Because the study of religion is cosmopolitan and cross-cultural, we strongly encourage our majors to spend part of their Amherst career studying in another country.
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Amherst offers research funds for current religion majors, as well as fellowships for alumni who enter graduate school.
Learn MoreThis course introduces students to ways of thinking about personal religion and applies that theoretical framework to the study of a variety of sources in the Bible and beyond.
A systematic Focusing on the history of Christian formulations of Hell, this course explores the variety of ways people have imagined what happens to them after death, how those ideas have developed, and what those ideas can tell us about the people who wrote, read, and talked about Hell.
An exploration of several salient questions concerning the Qur’an, such as: How have Muslims explained the Qur’an’s own proclamation of its supernatural origin and its miraculous quality? How does the Qur’an engage with and respond to the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures?.
The Religion Department is committed to anti-racism in our curriculum, our engagement with students, our scholarship, and our professional lives.