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World Religions

To understand the world, one must understand religion, and understanding religion demands a worldwide perspective. The Department of World Religions offers students the opportunity to study religion as a factor that shapes human culture, history, politics, and economics. Because religions deal with the most basic questions regarding life, love and death, courses in World Religions may also provide students with insights into their own personalities, and open ways of communication between people from different traditions.

Students who complete a major or minor in World Religions enter careers in medicine, law, business, social work, education, and all other professions. Some also go on to become clergy, teach religion or serve in social agencies run by religious organizations.

The department welcomes non-majors into its courses at every level. Many students find that a course in World Religions provides new perspectives on subjects they have explored elsewhere, or that a second major or a minor in World Religions complements their original major.

Faculty and Professional Interests

Peter Gardella — Survey of World Religions; Christianity; religion in the United States; psychology of religion; Bible

James Edwards Jones (Chair) — Islam; African-American religions; comparative religion, socio-cultural theory

Theresa Kelleher — Asian religions; women and religion

Adjunct Faculty

Baila R. Shargel — Holocaust Literature and Film

Norton D. Shargel — Judaism, Hebrew

Wilfred Leonard Tyrrell, SA — Catholicism, Ethics

Yutaka Yamada — Religion and politics in East Asia, Religions of Japan

World Religions Major Requirements

Twelve courses, including:

• Introduction to World Religions
• Seminar or independent study for World Religions majors
• Senior Evaluation
• At least two seminars in the following:
  • Pagans
  • Judaism
  • Christianity
  • Islam
• At least one of the following survey courses:
  • Asian Religions
  • Religions of China
  • Religions of Japan
  • Religions of India
• At least one seminar in the following:
  • Confucianism
  • Buddhism
  • Taoism
  • Hinduism
• Five additional electives that strengthen the breadth and depth of a student’s knowledge of world religions, chosen in consultation with a departmental advisor.

Although not required, the department encourages the study of foreign languages. Manhattanville offers courses in Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, and Latin, all useful for research, preparation for graduate school or serious study of one or more world religions.

World Religions Senior Evaluation

The Senior Evaluation is designed to insure that students develop their capacity for original, integrative thinking and research. Projects undertaken for the Senior Evaluation may take many forms, such as: a standard research paper in a field such as American religion, arts literature and religion, ethics, gender and sexuality, new religious movements, philosophy of religion etc., an internship at a religious organization or social agency, on which the student reflects in a shorter research paper; or an artistic project, entailing both performance and scholarly commentary, on religious themes. In all cases, grading of the senior evaluation must involve at least two faculty members and a conference with the student.

Students register for a onecredit seminar or independent study for World Religions majors in the second term of junior year, or one semester before they intend to do their project. A proposal with a description of the project and bibliography should be submitted to the student’s faculty advisor and the Chair of the department by the end of September in the senior year. The project may be undertaken in connection with a 3000 – level course that the student is taking or as a separate independent study or internship. Throughout the semester in which the project is done, the student and faculty advisor meet regularly; another faculty member then confers with the student and advisor to provide another perspective and to assign a grade.

World Religions Minor Requirements

Five courses, including Introduction to WREL 1014: Introduction to World Religions and at least two 3000 level seminar courses on two different world religions.

World Religions Departmental Honors

Students will receive departmental honors in World Religions if they have grades of A or A in five departmental courses and a grade of A - or A on the work presented for the senior evaluation.

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