The Department of Religious Studies approaches the world's religious traditions and contemporary religiosity as historical and cultural phenomena, employing a variety of methods and theoretical perspectives. In addition to studying the beliefs and practices that comprise religion in its historical and contemporary forms, the Department's curriculum includes courses that contextualize religions in relation to the arts, popular culture, politics, gender, science, ethics, and secularism.

The following programs are available in the Department of Religious Studies:

1. Major in Religious Studies

2. Minor in Religious Studies

3. Joint Major in Religious Studies

4. Honours in Religious Studies

5. Joint Honours Degree in Religious Studies

The Bachelor of Arts requires the successful completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours. A student must meet the requirements for a departmental Major, Minor, or Honours program and also meet the Program Regulations – General and Honours Degrees for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. A student is therefore advised to consult with the Admission to the Bachelor of Arts General Degree Programs regulations, the Program Regulations - General and Honours Degrees which also includes the Bachelor of Arts General Degree Components, The Major Program, and The Minor Program regulations. Information regarding honours programs is available at Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree Regulations as well as under each department’s regulations.

A student is strongly encouraged to consult with an academic advisor to discuss available programs and requirements in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences including the Core Requirements, The Major Program, The Minor Program, and the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree Regulations. A student is advised to declare a program of study, including a Major and a Minor, before completing the first 45 credit hours of study. Information about declaring a Major and Minor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is available at www.mun.ca/hss/programs/undergraduate/ideclare.php. Information regarding advisors for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is available at www.mun.ca/hss/about/contact/liaisons.php.

Religious Studies 1000 is a basic courses which introduces students to the academic study of religion. Religious Studies 1040 and 1041 (Introduction to Chinese), Religious Studies 1050 and 1051 (Introduction to Biblical Hebrew), Religious Studies 1060 and 1061 (Sanskrit Language Study), are courses which fulfil the language requirement in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Religious Studies course descriptions are found at the end of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences section under Course Descriptions, Religious Studies and are designated by RELS.

Students pursuing a major in Religious Studies are advised to choose their program in consultation with the Department. Students are required to take a minimum of 36 hours in Religious Studies, including:

1. at least 3 credit hours at the 1000 level;

2. at least 12 credit hours at the 2000 level;

3. at least 18 credit hours at the 3000 level or higher; and

4. at least one of Religious Studies 4001, 4002, 4812.

A student pursuing a Major in Religious Studies is encouraged to successfully complete Language Study (LS) courses offered by the Department in order to fulfill the Bachelor of Arts Language Study (LS) Requirement and as preparation for advanced studies in Religious Studies.

1. A minimum of 24 credit hours in courses in Religious Studies is required, including at least 9 credit hours in courses at the 3000 level or above.

2. With the exception of the Language Study (LS) courses (1040, 1041, 1050, 1051, 1060, 1061), no more than two 1000-level courses can be counted as credit towards a minor.

As an alternative to a minor, a student may choose to complete a major in Religious Studies and a major in another eligible program in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Joint Major Program requires 3 fewer credit hours in each participating major as prescribed in each program’s Calendar entry. For the joint major in Religious Studies, a minimum of 33 credit hours shall be required in clause 1. under the Major in Religious Studies and only 3 additional credit hours in clause 6. under the Major in Religious Studies above.

1. Students planning to complete further work in Religious Studies should bear in mind that an Honours degree is the normal requirement for admission to Graduate Schools.

2. Students planning to complete an Honours Degree of Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Religious Studies must comply with the General Regulations for Honours Degrees, and must complete at least 60 credit hours in Religious Studies courses of which at least 36 of these 60 credit hours must be at the 3000-level or above. In addition, the 60 credit hours must include the 36 credit hours in course requirements to fulfill the Major in Religious Studies and a further 24 credit hours in Religious Studies, including one of Religious Studies 4998 (a comprehensive examination in the area of their specialization) or Religious Studies 4999 (Honours Essay).

3. Students considering Honours should arrange their program at the earliest opportunity, normally before the beginning of their fifth semester at the University.

4. Students will normally be required to have a reading knowledge of a language basic to their area of specialization.

5. In each case the program of studies leading to an Honours degree will be determined in consultation with the Head of the Department of Religious Studies, or delegate, keeping in mind the needs and interests of the individual student.

6. A student pursuing an Honours in Religious Studies is encouraged to successfully complete Language Study (LS) courses offered by the Department in order to fulfill the Bachelor of Arts Language Study (LS) Requirement and as preparation for advanced studies in Religious Studies. Students whose area of specialization requires a knowledge of Greek must successfully complete Classics 1130 and 1131. In such cases these courses may be substituted for 6 of the 60 credit hours required for an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Religious Studies may be combined with another subject in a Joint Honours program. Such a program may be arranged in consultation with the Head of the Department of Religious Studies and the Head of the other Department concerned. In accordance with the general regulations for the Joint Honours Program, and, while fulfilling the Graduation Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours), the program must include not fewer than 42 and not more than 51 credit hours in courses approved for each of the Subjects of Specialization, including the comprehensive examination and/or the Honours essay, of which at least 27 shall be at the 3000 level or above in each of the Subjects of Specialization. Further, the total number of credit hours which may be applied to the degree cannot be fewer than 120.

In addition to completing the normal requirements for a Bachelor of Arts and one of a Joint Honours, Honours, Major or Minor in Religious Studies, students may elect to complete requirements for the International Bachelor of Arts (iBA). As part of the minimum 120 credit hours, a student may use eligible credit hours in Religious Studies to jointly satisfy other requirements of the iBA degree. When selecting courses, a student is encouraged to consult with an academic advisor early in the program, to consider Table 2 Possible Course Sequencing for the International Bachelor of Arts (iBA) (First 60 Credit Hours), and to consider Religious Studies courses listed in Table 3 International Studies (IS) Designated Courses. Up to 12 credit hours in Religious Studies IS courses may be used towards the International Studies (IS) Courses Requirement.