The University will be closed December 19, 2024 to January 5, 2025. If you need assistance during that time, please call 1-855-OWU-1842 and leave a detailed voicemail along with your contact information. One of our colleagues will respond to your call as soon as possible.
If you would like to make a 2024 gift, please make your gift before midnight on December 31.
The Religious Studies Interdisciplinary Major is designed for students whose interests in religion intersect with their work in other disciplines, such as Literature, Fine and Performing Arts, Psychology, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Environmental Studies, or Sociology & Anthropology, or other career interests, such as those in law, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, refugee work, ministerial work, community-based work and relations, and non-profit organizations.
You have the opportunity to connect one-on-one with faculty to pursue your research interests and create new knowledge.
You may present your research at the annual Student Symposium.
Religion and English major Thomas Owings '14 used a Theory-to-Practice grant to travel to West Virginia, Alabama, and Illinois to study the mechanisms of religious narrative in Protestant denominations and their impact on social identity.
The OWU Connection provides a variety of opportunities for all students to go global. Travel-Learning Courses combine classroom study with travel to areas of the world where you may study how the issues you discuss in class really come to life. Or you can use a Theory-to-Practice Grant to explore a topic anywhere in the world.
Interdisciplinary Religious Studies students have studied and pursued research projects in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Daniel Delatte '19, Leslie Melton, Eli Reed '19, HannahJo Grimes '20, Adedayo Akinmadeyemi '19, Lisa Hp, Cara Harris '18 and Anna L. Davies '19 with Father Martin Magill, a priest and peaceworker in Northern Ireland. Their trip was funded by a Theory-to-Practice Grant.
Build your experience and connections to the professional world with internships both on and off campus. Interdisciplinary Religious Studies majors have held internships in OWU's Chaplain's office, Delaware and Columbus-area churches, nonprofit organizations, and other ministries.
The Merrick Lecture series brings a visiting renowned scholar in religion or philosophy to OWU every year. In addition to a lecture, the scholar leads a discussion with a small group of students.
Faculty and their classes travel to institutions relevant to the subject matter of their classes. Faculty have taken students to the Holocaust Memorial in Detroit, Buddhist meditation centers, and the Hindu Hare Krishna temple in West Virginia.
Beeghly Library has many uncommon and valuable 19th-and early 20th-century works on religion. In addition, students have access to the library of the nearby Methodist Theological School in Ohio.
The Ralph W. Sockman Award was established in 1985 to honor students who have shown excellence in the study of religion. The award is determined both by academic record and by an independent paper or project in the study of religion.
Dominic Mejia is a graduate student at Boston University School of Theology on a full tuition scholarship and living stipend. He says, "The academic rigor and personal relationships I developed with my professors helped prepare me for graduate level theological education. In particular, the OWU Religion department gave me the skills necessary to clearly and concisely write."
Makenna Huff '15 used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to follow an approximately 500 miles across northern Spain along the Camino de Santiago. The path is a Christian pilgrimage route to the tomb of St. James, dating back to the Middle Ages.
Students can help plan and execute the May Baccalaureate ceremony for seniors, in which reflections are presented about the spiritual journey of learning throughout college and life. Above, Jude Fahoum ’17 participates in the ceremony.
Peale Chapel is a favorite place among students to find peace and reflect on personal faith journeys. The interfaith chapel is located on the third floor of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center.
The Interfaith House (IF) and House of Spiritual Athletes (HSA) are living-learning Small Living Units for students committed to religious studies and issues of morality in everyday life.
HannahJo Grimes '20 attends a lecture at Queens University Belfast comparing sectarianism in Northern Ireland to race relations in America. Grimes used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to fund her research.
Mollie Marshall '19 has served in several leadership roles for Interfaith Service Teams, such as Reflections Leader and Logistics Leader.
Eli Reed '19 attends a lecture about The Troubles in Northern Ireland while visiting Fitzroy Presbyterian Church in Belfast.
Reverend Steve Stockman gives a lecture in Belfast about peace and reconciliation studies. Six OWU students attended by using a Theory-to-Practice Grant.
Religion students often utilize the Theory-to-Practice Grant program to study conflict resolution, peace, and religious life in Northern Ireland.
