Religious Studies

Religious communities, practices and institutions are powerful components in human societies. Understanding their motivations and structures can help produce meaning and search for solutions to major challenges in the contemporary world.

The Religious Studies program at The University of Edinburgh allows a deepening engagement with theory and method in religious studies, while encouraging in-depth study of one or more religious traditions. This combination of theoretical know-how with studies in specific traditions equips you to make sense of, appreciate and compare religion in a cross-cultural perspective.

You can study:

• Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Indian traditions
• indigenous religions of Africa, North America and East Asia
• new age and Afrodiasporic traditions, particularly those in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Sanskrit, Arabic or Persian (subject to availability) through our expertise in Asian Studies and in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

Career opportunities

This program is designed to provide a strong foundation for postgraduate research in the field or for employment in a range of areas requiring critical analysis and empathetic understanding.

Courses include:

• Theory and Method in the Study of Religion

• Approaches to Research in Divinity and Religious Studies

• Approaches to Research: Religious Studies

• Religion and the New African Diaspora

• New Age Spirituality in Contemporary Culture