Our department expects students to engage religion courses with academic rigor and critical inquiry. To encourage both a breadth and depth of study, the department has a wide range of offerings, both within the western traditions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as well as courses in the major religious traditions of Asia, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Courses explore the historical, social, and political dimensions of these traditions as well as their expression in scriptures, theology and philosophy, ritual, and ethics.