When you take courses in the IU School of Liberal Arts Religious Studies program, you’re really choosing to study how people create meaning, build communities, and shape everyday life through beliefs, rituals, and traditions. You’ll explore how religious communities worship, define right and wrong, respond to life’s biggest moments, and influence history across the globe.
Your courses might take you into Christianity’s development, Islam in America, yoga in today’s cultural and economic landscape, or the many ways religion intersects with politics, family life, health care, and social change. Whether you’re drawn to ancient traditions or modern movements, you’ll find classes that challenge you to think in fresh and engaging ways.
Indianapolis becomes part of your classroom, offering firsthand experiences in one of the most religiously varied cities in the Midwest. You might visit the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, take part in a Wiccan autumn equinox ritual, share an evening meal during Ramadan, or join Tibetan monks in chanting at the Indiana Buddhist Center—experiences that bring your coursework to life.
You’ll learn from professors who are not only experts but engaging teachers who create space for real conversation—where you can ask questions, test ideas, and connect what you’re studying to your own goals. You’ll strengthen your ability to reason clearly, interpret texts and ideas with precision, speak confidently, write with clarity, and make thoughtful judgments.
Insightful skills that open doors
Religious studies expertise opens far more doors than people often expect. You develop the ability to think clearly, communicate effectively, and understand how people and communities create meaning in their lives—skills that translate across many fields. People with this background work in public health, nursing, social work, education, nonprofit leadership, business, technology, public affairs, and community engagement. Others continue to graduate study in religion, theology, law, public policy, medicine, or creative writing, or move into teaching, ministry, politics, the arts, and roles that call for cultural awareness and strong ethical reasoning.
Minor in Religious Studies
This minor gives you the chance to explore how people around the world search for meaning, build communities, and shape everyday life through their beliefs and practices. You’ll examine how religions evolve over time and how they influence worship, moral values, food, clothing, conflict, peacebuilding, and life’s major milestones, while also reflecting on the ethical and philosophical questions that matter most to you.
The minor is flexible and easy to tailor to your interests. You can choose from focus areas such as Religion and Health, Religion and International Studies, Religion, Gender, and Sexuality, Religion, Ethics, and Politics, American Religious History, or Christianity and Culture. No matter which path you choose, you’ll build valuable skills—critical thinking, cultural analysis, moral imagination, persuasive writing, confident communication, and the ability to work well with people from different backgrounds.
The minor pairs easily with other majors at IU Indy to give you an edge in fields like public health, nursing, social work, public affairs, education, business, technology, and nonprofit work. Graduates also pursue advanced study in religion, theology, law, public policy, medicine, and creative writing, as well as careers in teaching, acting, politics, ministry, and community-focused roles.
More information
For questions, contact the Religious Studies Program director, Rachel Wheeler.
