Our goal in Religious Studies is to help our students understand and appreciate the broad role religious experience plays in human culture. The academic investigation of religious experience is a component of a liberal arts education and has an important function at a college sustained by the Franciscan and Catholic traditions.
As Siena students engage in the critical study of religion in our courses, they gain an appreciation of the various religious traditions of the world. Department members guide students as they explore the significance of human existence in its relation to the sacred, and alert them to the importance of religious beliefs and practices in the political, social, aesthetic, and economic arenas.
Our courses are designed for all students, regardless of their personal religious stance, and they approach religious experience from cross-cultural, multidisciplinary and global perspectives.
All students are required to take one course in the Department of Religious Studies (RELG 101 through RELG 181). It is recommended that the course be taken during the freshman or sophomore year. Transfer credits in religious studies may count towards the core requirement.
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