The University of Redlands Religious Studies program is situated within the College of Arts and Sciences, and offers both major and minor tracks that attract a broad cross-section of undergraduates. With historical roots in the American Baptist community, the University, for some portion of its history, required that all students study religion. While religion courses are no longer mandated, departmental offerings continue to play a significant role in the curriculum. Many students elect to fulfill a portion of their general education core by matriculating into one of multiple sections of World Religions offered each term. These introductory courses serve both to engage students in the academic study of religion, and to peak interest in undertaking further coursework. Attracted or intrigued by the department’s explicitly interdisciplinary focus, a representative number choose a full major, a minor, or a cross-disciplinary major – paired with complementary work in Environmental/Health Sciences, Math, Business, Public Policy, History, Music or Art. As a result, in contrast to many small colleges, where curricular constraints have limited the influence of Religious Studies as an independent discipline, the UOR continues to retain a rich faculty core, with a reputation for innovative classroom engagement. While the character of the department has shifted across generations, the program has, by many measures, thrived through encouraging and facilitating multifaceted, cross-disciplinary study.
