Why Study World Religions?
It is no longer tenable for Christians today to ignore the increasing presence and growth of other religious traditions. Global growth in religious diversity has become a catalyst for reconsidering how to organize democratic societies, reconceptualizing what is means to share a common culture with people from another religious tradition, and reassessing what it means to be a Christian when one’s friends, neighbors, and colleagues adhere to another religious tradition.
The Certificate in Religions of the world aims to address our contemporary world of religious pluralism through four goals. First, students will understand the diversity of beliefs and practices of other religious traditions from the perspective of those who adhere to the respective tradition. Second, students will explore how to think about and engage with other religious traditions and persons through examining scripture and Christian scholarship on the topic. Third, students will gain greater understanding of their own Christian faith through open dialogue with the texts and practitioners of the other religious traditions. Finally, students will articulate the Gospel through the idioms, concerns, and frameworks of other religious traditions to better serve as authentic witnesses to the Gospel in our pluralistic world.
Activities
In pursuit of the certificate’s objectives, students in the certificate will be provided with extra opportunities for inter-religious engagement. Events will change from semester to semester. Examples of events for certificate students include: inter-faith iftar dinner at Islamic Center of Wheaton, participating in the langar at the local Gurdwara, Qur’an-Bible reading group with students from American Islamic College, certificate-student-only meetings with scholars invited to campus.
Requirements
Core (8 Hours)
- RELI 225 – Major World Religions (Every Fall)
- RELI 233 – Theological Approaches to Other Religions (Every Spring)
Elective Units (16 Hours)
Students must take at least one elective from RELI and at least one non-RELI elective. This means students can take 1 RELI course and 3 General Elective (GE) courses, 2 RELI and 2 GE, or 3 RELI and 1 GE.
Religion Courses
- RELI 356 – The Jewish Tradition (Odd Fall Years – ’25, ’27, ’29…)
- RELI 375 – The Muslim Tradition (Even Spring Years – ’26, ’28, ’30…)
- RELI 433 – Comparative Mysticism (Odd Spring Years – ’25, ’27, ’29…)
- RELI 475 – Islam in the United States (Even Fall Years – ’26, ’28, ’30…)
General Electives
The criterion for a general elective is that the majority of the course’s subject matter concerns non-Christian and/or non-Western material. If there is a course not listed, send a syllabus to the certificate director for approval.
- ANTH 116 Cultural Anthropology
- ANTH 118 Understanding People
- ANTH 319 Colonialism and Redemption
- ANTH 353 Culture and Difference
- ANTH 354 Culture in the Contemporary World
- ANTH 364 Linguistic Anthropology
- ANTH 376 Culture Theory
- ARCH 369 Religions of Israel and the Ancient Middle East
- ART 311 History of Art and Architecture I
- BITH 386 Qur’an and Bible
- HIST 231/2 History in Africa
- HIST 291 Introduction to Modern East Asia
- HIST 293 Introduction to Asian Studies
- HIST 331 African History
- HIST 335 The Construction of Modern Japan
- HIST 336 Modern Korea
- HIST 365 Modern Middle East
- IR 155 Comparative Politics
- IR 175 International Politics
- IR 204 Economics and Politics in East Asia
- IR 301/2 Topics in International Politics
- IR 364 East Meets West
- PHIL 106 Global Philosophy
- PHIL 226/7 Asian Philosophy
- PSCI 323 Chinese Political Thought
- SOC 366 Sociology of Religion
- AIS 356 Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
- AIS 367 Holocaust Literature
- AIS 388 Israel/Palestine: Historical and Theological Perspectives
How to Add/Drop Certificate in Religions of the World
You can notify the Registrar’s Office and the director of the Certificate in Religions of the World if you wish to enroll or drop the certificate program.