MISSION STATEMENT: The Department of Religious Studies is committed to excellence in active research, undergraduate teaching, and the full range of faculty service from departmental to international. Its purpose is to research and teach an understanding of religious phenomena both historically and in contemporary societies around the world, to strengthen students’ analytical reading and writing skills, and to prepare students for a range of careers through our distinctive Nonprofit Leadership Concentration. Our Departmental goals in brief are vibrant, effective teaching and good post-graduation student placement, exceptional research, grant, and publication productivity, and a strong record of service, outreach, and community engagement.
The study of religion explores profound questions about human identity and relationships—both personal and societal—with themselves, their communities, the world, and the unknown. Religious studies encompasses a wide spectrum of texts, traditions, environments, ceremonies, social structures, ethical frameworks, and narratives, spanning from local practices to global phenomena. Religious knowledge, aspirations, and commitments have influenced and been influenced by human endeavors such as politics, law, family dynamics, social movements, public policy, education, and international relations. Importantly, the academic study of religion does not presuppose any religious affiliation but underscores the significance of understanding religious people, traditions, and practices to comprehend the full complexity of humanity.
Our department boasts faculty expertise across diverse scholarly methodologies, including textual analysis, literary theory, history, ethnography, law, philosophy, environmental ethics, and anthropology. Noteworthy strengths include North American religions and cultures, environmental spirituality, and non-profit leadership. Recent additions to our faculty have expanded our focus to include expertise in Great Lakes Anishinaabe knowledge, spiritualities, and cultural practices. This breadth of scholarship equips our faculty to impart invaluable skills to students for exploring human history and culture.
At MSU’s Department of Religious Studies, undergraduate learning is a top priority. Our majors and minors benefit from close mentorship with leading scholars in the field. The curriculum offers opportunities to delve deeply into specific religious traditions or to explore thematic courses that examine diverse aspects of religious studies. Most courses have no prerequisites, though some advanced seminars may require instructor permission.
Students in our department receive comprehensive training that prepares them for a wide array of careers. Graduates have successfully pursued paths in the non-profit sector, law, medicine, education, human resources, journalism, politics, and the arts, among others. Through our courses, we foster critical thinking, close reading, and effective oral and written communication skills. Graduates emerge with concrete abilities crucial for diverse professions, equipped to lead informed lives and contribute to a society enriched by its historical and cultural diversity.
Declaring a Major
To study religion is to develop cultural knowledge that will be of value both to you and to your future employer. We also have a Concentration in Nonprofit Leadership that’s unique at Michigan State University, that will appear on your official transcript, and that gives you additional career options available only as a Religious Studies major at Michigan State University.
Nonprofit Leadership Concentration
In order to provide a career track for our majors, the Department of Religious Studies has developed a Concentration in Nonprofit Leadership, the first Religious Studies Department in the United States to do so. We have alumni working in the non-profit sector now, and jobs openings in non-profit organizations continue to rise, according to MSU’s CERI employer survey, and account for more than ten percent of the US economy. Your Nonprofit Concentration requires only four courses, all of which count toward a B.A. in Religious Studies. The four courses may include REL185 Intro to Nonprofits, REL 210 Religion and the Environment, REL 485 Religion and Nonprofit Leadership, REL 493 Internship, and REL 499 your senior thesis project. This is the only such Nonprofit Leadership Concentration at MSU, and one of the only such opportunities in the United States.
To declare your major, all you need to do is send an email with your intention along with your PID number via your official MSU email address to rs@msu.edu, and cc: Prof. Amy DeRogatis, Department Chair, at derogat1@msu.edu. We will make sure you’re officially enrolled, and Prof. DeRogatis will be happy to meet with you to go over your requirements for our primary, secondary, or additional minor, along with our one of a kind Nonprofit Leadership Concentration.
Declaring a Minor
To declare your minor in either Religious Studies all you need to do is send an email with your intention of declaring a minor, along with your PID number via your official MSU email address to rs@msu.edu and cc: Prof. Amy DeRogatis, Department Chair and advisor, at derogat1@msu.edu. They’ll make sure you’re officially enrolled, and Prof. DeRogatis will be happy to meet with you.