Undergraduate Program

Major Study Requirements

The major requires 33 hours in Religious Studies, of which at least 18 must be at the upper-division level. Required are 230, 232, 263, 264; and 447 or another seminar at the 400 level. In addition to the four lower-division required courses, the student must also take at least one other course in each of the four distributional areas: Asian Religions, Western Religions, Sacred Texts and Religion in America.

In order to provide flexibility of scheduling, the “Asian religions” distributional requirements (263 and another Asian religions course) and the “Western religions” distributional requirements (264 and another Western religions course) may also be met by appropriate pairs of general courses that together cover Asian and Western religions respectively. Thus, for example, the “Asian religions” requirements may also be met by taking two courses, one in Hinduism and one in Buddhism; and the “Western religions” requirements may also be met by taking two courses, each covering one of the three major Western traditions, Judaism, Christianity or Islam.

Classes in Religious Studies are divided among the four distributional areas (classes offered under topics course numbers 247, 347 and 447 are assigned to one of these areas as appropriate). The courses for each area are:

  1. Asian Religions: 107, 407, 408, 438, 440, 442, 448, 453, 457, 481.
  2. Western Religions: 105, 306, 323, 324, 326, 327, 360, 361, 365, 404, 413, 426, 450, 452, 457, 465, 475, 481.
  3. Sacred Texts: 103, 104, 106, 109, 230, 231, 463; 407, 408, 440.
  4. Religion in America: 303, 308, 333, 387, 389, 390, 392, 422, 430, 441, 482, 483, 490, 491.

List of distributional courses is not exhaustive. Topics and seminar courses may also apply.

Dual Major Requirements

Students may combine a major in Religious Studies with another major. For students with such dual majors, the total number of hours required for the Religious Studies major is reduced from 33 to 30, while the other requirements for the major remain the same.

Minor Study Requirements

The minor requires 18 hours in Religious Studies, of which at least 9 must be in courses with a RELG prefix.

Additional Information

With the permission of the Director of the Religious Studies Program, a student may include among courses for a major or minor a limited number of courses in such languages as Classical Chinese, Classical or Biblical Greek, Latin, Biblical Hebrew, Arabic and Sanskrit, when these courses include a study of religious texts and are integrated with a program of advanced studies of sacred texts.

Religious Studies undergraduate courses count with Group II (Humanities) in the Arts and Sciences group requirements. Concentrations in Religious Studies are also offered through the engineering and management colleges.

Honors in Religious Studies

Students wishing to work for Honors in Religious Studies should contact the Director of the Religious Studies Program during their junior year. Honors students sign up for two consecutive semesters of RELG 497, in which they prepare an Honors thesis under the direction of a committee.


Courses

RELG 103. Introduction to Bible. (3)



RELG 104. Beginning New Testament Greek. (3)



RELG 105. Religion and the Arts. (3)



RELG 106. Intermediate New Testament Greek. (3)



RELG 107. Living World Religions. (3)



RELG 109. Biblical Hebrew I. (4)



RELG 230. Hebrew Scriptures. (3)



RELG 231. Hebrew Prophets. (3)



RELG 232. Christian Scriptures. (3)



RELG 247. Studies in Religions. (3 Δ)



RELG 263. Eastern Religions. (3)



RELG 264. Western Religions. (3)



RELG 303. Introduction to Black Liberation and Religion. (3)



RELG 306 / 506. Reformation Era, 1500–1600. (3)



RELG 323. History of the Jewish People to 1492. (3)



RELG 324 / 524. Modern History of the Jewish People. (3)



RELG 326. History of Christianity to 1517. (3)



RELG 327. History of Christianity, 1517 to Present. (3)



RELG 333 / 533. Ritual Symbols and Behavior. (3)



RELG 343. Buddhist Philosophy. (3)



RELG 347. Topics in Religious Studies. (3, may be repeated 3 times Δ)



RELG 350. Religion and Literature. (3)



RELG 360. Classical Christian Thought. (3)



RELG 361. Modern Christian Thought. (3)



RELG 365. Philosophy of Religion. (3)



RELG 389. Latin American Thought I. (3)



RELG 390. Latin American Thought II. (3)



RELG 392. Black Liberation and Religion. (3)



RELG *407. Sanskrit I. (3)



RELG *408. Sanskrit II. (3)



RELG *413. Kierkegaard. (3)



RELG *422. Sociology of Religion. (3)



RELG 426 / 626. History of the Holocaust. (3)



RELG *430. American Religious Communication. (3)



RELG *431. Ch’an and Zen. (3)



RELG *434. South Asian Mystical Traditions. (3)



RELG *438. Indian Buddhist Philosophy. (3)



RELG *440. Summer Seminar in Buddhism. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



RELG 441 / 641. History of Religion in America. (3)



RELG *447. Seminar in Religious Studies. (1-3, may be repeated 3 times Δ)



RELG *448. Seminar in Hindu Tradition. (1-3, may be repeated 3 times Δ)



RELG *450. Spanish Mysticism. (3)



RELG *452. Medieval English Mystics. (3)



RELG 453. Asian Studies Thesis. (3)



RELG *457. Seminar in Islamic Tradition. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)



RELG *463. Seminar in Biblical Studies. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



RELG 464. Seminar in Philosophy of Religion. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ [3 to a maximum of 6 Δ])



RELG 465. C. S. Lewis. (3)



RELG *475. Dante in Translation. (3)



RELG *482. New Mexico Hispanic Religious Arts. (3)



RELG *483. New Mexico Hispanic Ritual. (3)



RELG *490. Black Liberation and Religion. (3)



RELG *491. African-American Religious Traditions. (3)



RELG 497. Independent Studies. (1-3, may be repeated 2 times Δ)



RELG 506 / 306. Reformation Era, 1500–1600. (3)



RELG 507. Teaching World Religions. (3)



RELG 524 / 324. Modern History of the Jewish People. (3)



RELG 533 / 333. Ritual Symbols and Behavior. (3)



RELG 547. Advanced Seminar in Religious Studies. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



RELG 551. M.A. Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 12 Δ)



RELG 560 / 360. Christian Classics. (3)



RELG 626 / 426. History of the Holocaust. (3)



RELG 641 / 441. History of Religion in America. (3)



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