BA in Religion
The Religion Department at GW is highly regarded for our excellence in teaching. Students benefit from individualized attention and build relationships with faculty. This is a department where all of our majors work closely with professors and benefit from small class sizes. Religion majors regularly publish their theses in peer-reviewed journals and are accepted into top graduate programs in law, medicine, and religious studies.
Many students choose to double major or minor in Religion alongside their major in subjects such as History, International Affairs, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology/Anthropology. Our students successfully combine pre-med requirements with our flexible major and minor requirements.
The BA in Religion curriculum begins with an survey course about the world's major religions and ends with the senior capstone. Along the way, students take a required course about theories and methods in religious studies, in addition to six electives chosen from across Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religions. Our diverse and exciting course offerings cover topics such as:
- Buddhist meditation
- Chinese religions
- Confucian literature
- Daoism
- Christianity
- Ethics
- Hinduism
- Islam and politics
- Judaism
- Violence and peace
- Women and gender
"Every major should take at least a few religious studies courses throughout college. The Religion Department gives students the ability to think insightfully about what is going on in the world and how religion influences political and social movements across time. This is a skill that has served me well across disciplines, internships, extracurriculars and jobs."
Anyu Silverman
BA '19
Capstone
All religion majors must complete REL 4101W: Senior Capstone Seminar in the Fall semester of their final year. During the course, students refine and consolidate what they have learned throughout their studies.
As the capstone is also a Writing in the Disciplines (WID) course, material includes significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression.
Departmental Honors
Students interested in earning special honors in religion to be noted on their transcript must:
- Meet Columbian College requirements for Special Honors
- Be declared religion majors and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 in courses in the major
- Meet specific requirements for their major
- Receive a minimum grade of A- in REL 4101W: Senior Capstone Seminar
Course Requirements
The following requirements must be fulfilled:
The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs.
Program-specific curriculum:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| REL 1003 | Introduction to World Religions | |
| REL 3901 | Thinking About Religion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches | |
| REL 4101W | Senior Capstone Seminar | |
| Electives | ||
| 21 credits in seven Religion (REL) courses taken in accordance with the following requirements: | ||
| At least one elective course must be in the Abrahamic traditions, and at least one elective course must be in the non-Abrahamic traditions. | ||
| At least two REL courses taken at the 3000-level or above, excluding REL 3901 and REL 4101W. | ||
| Special topics courses (REL 2990 and REL 3990) count toward the major and can count toward the Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic traditions elective requirement if approved by the major advisor. | ||
Required Courses Schedule Notes
Students planning their schedules around the degree requirements for both the Religion Major and Minor should note that REL 3901 Thinking About Religion will only be scheduled during Spring semesters and REL 4101W Senior Capstone Seminar will only be scheduled during Fall semesters.