About Religion, Society and Culture

For many years, we operated under the name “Department of Religion”. In 2021, it was decided to shift that to “Department of Religion, Society and Culture”. These three phenomena — “religion”, “society”, “culture” — have always been overlapping and interpenetrating. Our name change is intended to reflect that fact, and to clarify the academic approach of the Department.

Department strengths

Small class sizes. Students are individuals, not numbers — you really get to know your professors, and they you!
We place a premium on teaching well: Dr. Michele Murray has won the University’s Turner Award for teaching and Dr. Daniel Miller has won the teaching award for the humanities division. Learn more about your professors.
Several Religion, Society and Culture courses are cross-listed to offer credits in Classical Studies, Drama, Education, History and Global Studies, Liberal Arts, Philosophy and Psychology. See the Academic Calendar for more details on courses.
Visits to places of worship (such as synagogues, monasteries, Hindu and Buddhist Temples, etc.) can be part of our courses.
Religion, Society and Culture courses help students develop their research and writing skills — very highly valued in today’s job market!

Where can this lead me?

Knowledge of religions will help you understand different cultures and philosophical points of view. Religion is an inescapable component of daily news, whether it be religiously motivated violence, the political influence of religion or the latest influential decree from a religious leader.

Here’s a small sampling of the various careers where knowledge of religions can give you a tremendous advantage:

Law
Business
International trade
Publishing
Writing
Journalism
Television
Museum curatorship
Library science
Teaching at the primary and secondary level
Teaching at the university level
Pastoral roles
Travel
Foreign and domestic community outreach and service
Historian
Politics

Check out what some of our grads said.

Events and clubs

BU Religion Association (B.U.R.A.) was created for students studying in the Religion, Society and Culture Dept. and those interested in the academic side of religion. Students from all departments and programs are welcome to attend meetings and events. Currently, B.U.R.A. is dormant, waiting for one or more Religion, Society and Culture Dept. students to revive it.