OpportunitiesDepartment of Religion

At Gustavus you are encouraged to explore your own beliefs, challenge your preconceived notions to deepen your wisdom, and develop a greater understanding of the beliefs of others. This work is best done in community with people on and off campus. To that end, the Religion Department offers many opportunities to broaden and deepen your understanding of religion and spiritual cultures and practices.

The Religion Department is a vibrant community of learners, exploring issues that are relevant to today and aimed at cultivating a life built on deep thinking and an understanding of one's place in the grand narrative of human experience.

Discover Opportunities with Religion

  • Events The Department offers weekly and monthly co-curricular events, bringing together students and faculty around shared interests and questions in theology, ethics, philosophy, and history. Events include FIKA (coffee and conversation), reading groups, special guests, public lectures, and movie screenings, as well as festive annual occasions:

    • December - Student Thesis Presentations
    • April - "Big Questions" dinner and conversation series
    • May - George Hall Dinner and Awards ceremony

  • Undergraduate Research In addition to the senior capstone research thesis project required for the major, students may connect with faculty who are active in their own research and writing. Students may also utilize the Atla Religion Database, an index of articles, reviews, and essays. Some students choose to get involved with the discipline's national organization or regional affiliates Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, or the AAR Upper Midwest Region. Students are also encouraged to present their research in such forums as NCUR.

  • Study Away The significant influence religion has on cultures and history means students can (and are encouraged to) deepen their learning by traveling outside the United States. Faculty can help you select a program and classes that fit your interests and meet graduation requirements. Religion faculty members have recently led trips to Germany and have conducted their own research in Latin America, the UK, and Israel.

  • Community-Engaged Learning Throughout the year there are opportunities to connect with the broader community. This includes trips to religious sites and communities of different traditions around Minnesota, the on-campus Exploring Religious Questions series offered each spring semester, as well as getting involved with the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics, held each summer.

  • Student Organizations From small group gatherings to large events, the Chaplains' Office supports Gustavus students to gather in a variety of settings to participate in a wide range of different activities as they explore their faith and spirituality together with their peers. The Religion Department supports a chapter of the Theta Kappa Alpha honors society.

  • Careers and Graduate School If you are pursuing graduate studies in religion, the Department offers a senior thesis seminar, with topics based on your interests and guided by one-on-one faculty support. Our students have graduated from Gustavus prepared for top seminaries or graduate schools, including Princeton, Yale, the University of Chicago, and the University of Minnesota. Most students apply the knowledge and skills as a solid foundation for a wide variety of careers from public policy and business to scholarship and the clergy.