Religion

Cynthia R. Chapman, Johnston Frank Professor of Religion, Chair
Corey Barnes, Robert S. Danforth Associate Professor of Religion
Joyce K. Babyak, Associate Professor of Religion
Emilia Bachrach, Assistant Professor of Religion
Cheryl Cottine, Assistant Professor of Religion
Andrew Macomber, Assistant Professor of Religion
Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, Presidential Scholar in Islamic Studies, Professor of Religion
Shari Rabin, Associate Professor of Religion

Visit the department webpage for up-to-date information on department faculty, visiting lecturers, and special events.

The Religion Department’s curriculum trains students in globally engaged critical interaction with enduring topics in religious studies. Students explore religious meaning and values, history and cultures, systems of thought and practice, approaches to self and world, and the power dynamics at play in the interaction of the above. Employing various religious studies methodologies, our courses challenge students to think both critically and charitably and equip students with the skills necessary to understand and communicate effectively across differences, in diverse settings, and to various audiences.

The Religion Department offers courses at all curricular levels. Our first-year seminars and 100-level courses introduce students to multidisciplinary approaches within religious studies through specific themes, regions, or traditions. Our intermediate (200-level) courses have no prerequisites and offer focused treatments of the complicated and intersecting realities of religion as a lived and historically enduring phenomenon. Advanced seminars (300-level) provide immersive engagements with narrowly-defined topics of broad significance, cultivating depth of knowledge and skills. Our capstone courses (400-level) further refine this knowledge and these skills through faculty-mentored and peer-supported individual projects.

The Religion Department curriculum embodies the balanced breadth and depth of a multidisciplinary liberal arts education. The flexible pathways through the religion major and minor complement well a variety of other disciplinary pursuits. The transferable skills and knowledge gained through the religion major and minor prepare students for a range of career and educational pursuits, from law to medicine to environmental advocacy to publishing industries.

See information about Research, Internships, Study Away, and Experiential Learning (RISE).

Transfer of Credit

Students wishing to transfer credit toward the religion major are advised to provide the department with as much information about the transferred course as possible (including the syllabus, papers, and exams). The department will not normally count more than two full courses of transfer credit toward the major and does not normally accept transferred courses to satisfy distribution requirements in the major. Students should seek preapproval from the chair for coursework they intend to take elsewhere and transfer to Oberlin.

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Majors and Minors

Courses

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