Preparing students for a global society | FYI News for Faculty & Staff

With new undergrad major in religious studies, the U joins the national conversation.

The diversity and enthusiasm of the students who are coming to the program and declaring the major is exciting! Two weeks after the major was officially approved I had approximately 10 inquiries from students.
??????Muriel Schmid, Director, Religious Studies

The Board of Regents in July approved a new religious studies undergraduate major for U students that will help prepare them to live and work in a pluralistic and global society. Through the program,?students will receive the analytical tools they?ll need to interpret events and public discourse, taking into account religious references, ethical values, and cultural identities. Today, the study of religion is an intrinsic part of the education of?students who are interested in the global world. Religious?studies minors?are now in place at?Utah Valley University, Utah State University, and Westminster College. With its new program, the University of Utah is?joining this important dialogue.?

The initiative to develop a religious studies undergraduate major at the U began in?in 2005, when? Muriel Schmid, an assistant professor in the Department of Languages and Literature and director of the new program, first brought together a small group of faculty and administrators to discuss the idea.?This past?July, Schmid was officially appointed director of religious studies and the program was endorsed by the College of Humanities.?

Based on data from?a survey by the American Academy of Religion and the Teagle Foundation,?both of which influenced?Schmid in her?development of the new major,?the following five characteristics are associated with religious studies?majors:

• The major explores more than one religious tradition and engages the phenomena of religion comparatively across and within cultures.
• It promotes a range of approaches to religious phenomena.
• It teaches students to examine and engage religious phenomena?including issues of ethical and social responsibility?from a perspective of both the other and the self.
• It applies theoretical knowledge of religious phenomena to practical contexts, both historical and current.
• The major employs knowledge of religious phenomena and the skills of religious studies in solving complex problems, including those of life, death, love, violence, suffering, and meaning.

?I had?positive encouragement at every level,? says Schmid.?In collaboration with?her colleagues,?she?would?like to add new minors to the major during this first year?Jewish Studies and?Islamic Studies?and establish stronger collaborations with the College of Humanities??new program in peace and conflict studies. She also plans to?include a service-learning course and to develop the public relations elements of the program.

For additional information, see the Religious Studies website or contact Muriel Schmid.

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Source: http://fyi.utah.edu/middle-3/story_18713.html

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