Religion

Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
Department Religion
Academic Division The College
Offerings Major Minor

A woman applies a bindi to a student's forehead

Religion is a major source of inspiration, meaning and controversy in human culture. It informs politics, economics, art, literature and almost everything else making up human culture. We cannot understand human history — or current events — without knowledge of religion.

Home Academics Areas of Study Religion

Religion

Religious studies is by nature an interdisciplinary field, combining methods that are textual and visual, sociological and psychological, philosophical and historical. Its objects of study, religion and the religions, span cultures around the world. They are ancient as well as modern. The study of religion therefore invites students into a field that is as vast as time and space while being of the utmost relevance to life today.

The Religion Department is dedicated to studying religion as a complex and dynamic phenomenon deeply interwoven with other aspects of life and culture. It is an integral part of the liberal arts curriculum of the university. The theories we use and the issues we address cut across the interests of so many other departments that the study of religion can inform a student’s entire course of study.

Students of religion learn to be well-informed and independent thinkers with strong research and analytical skills. The study of it therefore provides excellent preparation for life after W&L, helping students succeed at careers in law, journalism, business, politics, writing, medicine, teaching, counseling and the arts, as well as preparing them for advanced study in religious studies, the humanities or social sciences.

Courses in Religion:

Teach about the world’s religious traditions, introducing students to the thought, beliefs, institutions, symbolic expressions, worship, and social and moral implications of these traditions;
Address big questions of value, meaning and human cares, and assess the ways these are addressed in religious communities;
Explore the interaction of religious traditions with other social and cultural forms;
Introduce students to the various methods employed in religious studies: historical, philosophical and theological, sociological and psychological, textual, hermeneutical and aesthetic, and comparative;
Encourage students to think about religious ways of life tolerantly, sympathetically and yet critically.

Outcomes

Students of religion have gone on to be successful in all walks of life. Some go on to graduate study or train for the clergy, but most pursue careers in areas such as law, medicine, teaching, public service, business ... you name it.

Opportunities

Grants support student research in fields advised by professors of religion. Professors have also welcomed students as summer research assistants through similar university programs.

The department offers interdisciplinary Spring Term Abroad courses for students interested in the subject matter.

Grants from the department have supported student participation in undergraduate research conferences, and students have been invited to support department-sponsored research events.

The greatest opportunity for students is, of course, to be part of an intellectually serious and vibrant community. You will be stimulated in body, heart and mind by engaging with people of utmost interest and concern.

Jeffrey Kosky

Department Head

P: 540-458-8930
E: koskyj@wlu.edu

Kerri Ritter

Administrative Assistant

P: 540-458-8180
E: ritterk@wlu.edu

News

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Washington and Lee University is proud to announce this year's Distinguished Young Alumni Award winners

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2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Washington and Lee University is proud to announce this year's Distinguished Alumni Award winners

2023 Five-Star Distinguished Alumni Awards

Washington and Lee University is proud to announce this year's Five-Star Distinguished Alumni Awards winners

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Terrence Johnson, professor of African American religious studies at Harvard University, will discuss his latest book on March 1.

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W&L Faculty Members Present Papers at 2022 MESA Conference in Denver

Anthony Edwards, Theodore Van Loan and Kameliya Atanasova were featured at the annual event.

Sample Courses

At W&L, we believe education and experience go hand-in-hand. You’ll be encouraged to dive in, explore and discover connections that will broaden your perspective.

REL 153

Jesus in Fact, Fiction & Film

A study of representations of Jesus in history, fiction and film and the ways in which they both reflect and generate diverse cultural identities from antiquity to the present. The course begins with the historical Jesus and controversies about his identity in antiquity and then focuses on parallel controversies in modern and postmodern fiction and film. Readings include early Christian literature (canonical and non-canonical), several modern novels and works of short fiction, and theoretical works on the relationship of literature to religion. In addition, we study several cinematic treatments of Jesus dating from the beginnings of filmmaking to the present.

REL 132

God & Goddess in Hinduism

This course explores the many ways in which Hindus visualize and talk about the divine and its manifestations in the world through mythic stories, use of images in worship, explanations of the nature of the soul and body in relation to the divine, and the belief in human embodiments of the divine in Hindu holy men and women. Topics include: the religious meanings of masculine and feminine in the divine and human contexts; the idea of local, family and “chosen” divinities; and differing forms of Hindu devotion for men and women.

REL 207

Nature & Place

Through a consideration of work drawn from diverse disciplines including philosophy, religious studies, literature, art and anthropology, this course explores a variety of ideas about and experiences of nature and place.

REL 214

Religion & Existentialism

A consideration of the accounts of human existence (faith and doubt; death and being-in-the-world; anxiety, boredom and hope; sin and evil; etc.) elaborated by philosophers, theologians and literary figures in the 19th and 20th centuries. The central figures considered are Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Attention is paid to their significance for future philosophers, theologians, artists and literary figures, and consideration may also be paid to forerunners in earlier centuries.

REL 222

Law & Religion

Drawing on examples from diverse periods and legal cultures, this seminar addresses “law” and “religion” as two realms of life that have much shared history and continue to intersect in the modern world. Several important topics in comparative law and jurisprudence are covered, including authority and legitimacy, the relation between custom and statute, legal pluralism, church-state relations, and competing models of constitutional secularism. A selective survey of legal systems and practices rooted in particular religious traditions is followed by an examination of how secular legal systems conceptualize religion and balance the protection of religious freedom with their standards of equity and neutrality.

REL 387

Visions & Beliefs of W. Ireland

This course immerses the student in the literature, religious traditions, history and culture of Ireland. The primary focus of the course is on Irish literary expressions and religious beliefs and traditions, from the pre-historic period to the modem day, with a particular emphasis on the modem (early 20th-century) Irish world. Readings are coordinated with site visits, which range from prehistoric and Celtic sites to early and medieval Christian sites to modem Irish life. Major topics and authors include Yeats and Mysticism, St. Brendan’s Pilgrimage, Folklore and Myth, Lady Gregory and Visions, Religion in Irish Art, the Blasket Island storytellers, the Mystic Island, and others.

Meet the Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.

Jeffrey Kosky

Head of the Department, Professor of Religion

P: 540-458-8930
E: koskyj@wlu.edu

Professor Kosky’s courses study religion and humanistic inquiry, secularity and Christianity. His research interests include spirituality and contemporary art, the question of happiness, and the borders of philosophy and religion.

Kameliya N. Atanasova

Assistant Professor of Religion

P: 540-458-8797
E: atanasovak@wlu.edu

Atanasova researches the intersection of religion, law and politics by studying the social role of Sufism in the early-modern Ottoman Empire. She teaches Islamic Civilization, Sufism, Islam in America, and Muslims in the Movies.

Alexandra R. Brown

Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor in Bible

P: 540-458-8789
E: browna@wlu.edu

Brown teaches courses on the New Testament and other ancient Christian texts, Bible and film, gender and religion, Christian mysticism, and theory and method in the study of religion. Her primary research is in New Testament, particularly the Pauline letters.

Curriculum Vitae

Emily Filler

Assistant Professor of Religion

P: 540-458-8788
E: efiller@wlu.edu

Filler teaches The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Topics in American Judaism. Her research focuses on modern Jewish and continental philosophy, political and ethical theory, and classical Jewish texts.

Timothy Lubin

Jessie Ball DuPont Professor of Religion

P: 540-458-8146
E: lubint@wlu.edu

Professor Lubin teaches courses on Asian religions and comparative study of religion and law. He researches Hindu religious history, law in ancient Asia, and texts and inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Old Javanese and Old Tamil.