The Department of Religious Studies is operated on behalf of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ by the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Religion, formerly ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Theological College. The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Religion was officially launched in the Spring of 2010, bringing together faculty and staff resources into one administrative unit, while retaining religious and theological studies as distinct academic programs.
The Department of Religious Studies was established in the early 1970s to fill a gap in religious studies at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. Religion had been taught at the University since ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ held its first classes in 1842, but almost exclusively to train students as ministers.
The 1960s saw increasing interest among undergraduates in the study of world religions, and the Department was created to make the academic resources of the Theological College available to students in the Faculty of Arts and Science for the first time.
The College, in turn, soon expanded its complement of faculty to provide adequate coverage in areas of specialization required in the field. All faculty members in the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Religion teach in the Department of Religious Studies.
As at other universities, the approach to religious studies at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is non-confessional, pluralistic, and multidisciplinary. Faculty come from a variety of religious and intellectual backgrounds.
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