Religious Studies Minor

For a list of courses offered in Spring 2021, please click here. 

The religious studies minor employs an academic approach to religion, stressing its role as an important dimension of human experience in different cultural contexts. The number of hours required for completion of the minor is 15. No courses in other departments are required to complete this minor, but many student do take courses outside of Comparative Studies, as the Religious Studies minor is interdisciplinary and cross‐departmental by design. Up to 6 credit hours of overlap with the GE is permitted. At least 6 credit hours must be at the 3000 level or above. 

I. Core Courses (6 credit hours)

  • RELSTDS 2370: Introduction to Comparative Religion OR RELSTDS 2102.02: Comparative Sacred Texts
  • RELSTDS 3972: Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
     

II. Individual Religious Traditions Courses (3 credit hours—choose one course from the list below)

Courses in this category focus on specific traditions, time periods, and/or geographic regions. Minors should take one course that offers them a robust understanding of a single tradition, period, or region—for example, a course in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; a course in South Asian or East Asian religions; or a course in indigenous, ancient, or newly emergent religions. Courses not listed below may be made to count toward this requirement, with advisor’s approval.

Ancient

  • CLAS 3401: Ancient Greek Religion
  • CLAS 3404: Magic in the Ancient World
  • CLAS 3408: Ancient Roman Religion
  • RELSTDS 2222: From Ishtar to Christ: The History of Mediterranean Religions

Christianity

  • CLAS 3405: Christians in the Greco‐Roman World
  • ENGLISH 2280: The English Bible
  • HISTORY 2220: Introduction to the History of Christianity
  • HISTORY 2221: Introduction to the New Testament: History and Literature 
  • HISTORY 3218: Paul and His Influence in Early Christianity
  • HISTORY 3219: Historical Jesus
  • HISTORY 3227: Gnostics and Other Early Christian Heresies
  • HISTORY 3229: History of Early Christianity
  • HISTORY 3245: The Age of Reformation
  • HISTART 3005: Christian Art
  • HISTART 4421: Medieval Art
  • RELSTDS 4872: Varieties of Christianity

East Asian Religions

  • PHILOS 2120: Asian Philosophies
  • RELSTDS 3673: The Buddhist Tradition
  • RELSTDS 5871: The Japanese Religious Tradition

Indigenous Religions

  • COMPSTD 4822: Native American Identity
  • RELSTDS 3672: Native American Religions

Islam

  • ARABIC 5701: The Qur'an in Translation
  • HISTORY 2351: Early Islamic Society, 610‐1258
  • HISTORY 2375: Islamic Central Asia
  • NELC 3230: Introduction to Shi'i Beliefs and History
  • NELC 3501: Introduction to Islam
  • NELC 3508: Sufism

Judaism

  • HEBREW 2700: The Hebrew Bible in Translation
  • HISTORY 2450: Ancient and Medieval Jewish History, 300 BCE-1100 CE
  • HISTORY 2451: Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History, 700-1700 CE
  • HISTORY 2452: Modern Jewish History, 1700-Present
  • HISTORY 3470: Messiahs and Messianism in Jewish History
  • JEWSHST 2201: Introduction to Jewish Culture, Thought, and Practice
  • PHILOS 3111: Introduction to Jewish Philosophy
  • RELSTDS 3210: Kabbalah and the Jewish Mystical Tradition (cross-listed as HEBREW 3210, JEWSHST 3210)

New Religions

  • RELSTDS 4873: Contemporary Religious Movements in Global Context (cross-listed as INTSTDS 4873)

South Asian Religions

  • PHILOS 2120: Asian Philosophies
  • RELSTDS 3671: Religions of India

 

III. Comparative/Interdisciplinary Courses (6 credit hours—choose two courses from the list below)

Courses in this category are comparative or interdisciplinary in approach, covering multiple traditions and/or themes, and so exemplifying the approach of religious studies as a field. Courses not listed below may be made to count toward this requirement, with advisor’s approval.

African-American and African Studies

  • AFAMST 4342: Religion, Meaning, and Knowledge in Africa

Classics

  • CLAS 3401: Ancient Greek Religion   
  • CLAS 3404: Magic in the Ancient World

Hebrew

  • HEBREW 2367.01: Scripture and Script: The Bible in Contemporary Arts, Media, and Literature
  • HEBREW 3704: Women in the Bible and Beyond

History

  • HISTORY 3045 American Religious History
  • HISTORY 3214: Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the History of Christianity
  • HISTORY 3680: Religion and Law in Comparative Perspective (cross-listed as RELSTDS 3680)

Medieval and Renaissance Studies

  • MEDREN 2666: Magic and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

  • NELC 2680: It's The End of The World!: Apocalypticism in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
  • NELC 3201: Muslims in America and Europe: Migration and Living Between Worlds

Philosophy

  • PHILOS 2120: Asian Philosophies
  • PHILOS 2860: Science and Religion (cross-listed as RELSTDS 2670)
  • PHILOS 5850: Philosophy of Religion

Religious Studies

  • RELSTDS 2102.01: Literature and Religion
  • RELSTDS 2102.02: Comparative Sacred Texts
  • RELSTDS 2222: From Ishtar to Christ: The History of Mediterranean Religions
  • RELSTDS 2670: Science and Religion (cross-listed as PHILOS 2860)
  • RELSTDS 2677: Religion and Environmentalism
  • RELSTDS 3666: Magic in the Modern World
  • RELSTDS 3671: Religions of India
  • RELSTDS 3678: Religion and American Culture
  • RELSTDS 3679: Popular Culture and World Religion
  • RELSTDS 3680: Religion and Law in Comparative Perspective (cross-listed as HISTORY 3680)
  • RELSTDS 4873: Contemporary Religious Movements in Global Context (cross-listed as INTSTDS 4873)
  • RELSTDS 4875: Gender, Sexuality, and Religion

Sociology

  • SOCI 3467: Sociology of Religion

Minors in Religious Studies are encouraged (but not required) to fulfill their GEC foreign language requirement in a language relevant to one of the traditions represented in the minor program (for example, Arabic for Islam, Greek for Christianity, Chinese or Sanskrit for Buddhism, Hebrew for Judaism).

If you have questions about the minor, or have found a course that you think might work for the minor but does not appear on the lists above, please contact Emily Carpenter at carpenter.438@osu.edu.

Some links on this page are to .pdf files.  If you need these files in a more accessible format, please contact religion@osu.edu. PDF files require the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader software to open them. If you do not have Reader, you may use the following link to Adobe to download it for free at: Adobe Acrobat Reader.