Welcome to the Department of Religious Studies!
The academic study of religion is a vibrant and vital part of OU’s liberal arts curriculum. It is in this discipline that we attend to the ways humans all over the world think about questions of life and death; engage in processes of making meaning, manifesting joy, and of grieving; and create and respond to cultures and institutions of power. Students emerge from our major with a strong foundation in deeply culturally-grounded critical thinking, an ability to interrogate and critique forms of power, and a nuanced understanding of the human condition. Our majors and minors have gone on to pursue careers in a wide variety of fields and professions including especially law, medicine, nonprofit work, and education. No matter what their line of work, our alumni are prepared to honor difference, embrace complexity, and lead with integrity.
It is very important to all of us in Religious Studies to see students develop intellectually, find and follow their intellectual and academic interests, and develop their personal and career aspirations during their undergraduate years. We are a warm and welcoming community of scholars and mentors with a commitment to education as well as to the success of the students who pass through our courses and our doors on the way to becoming educated and critically-thinking citizenry, whatever their career choices. Our commitment to your education is directly linked to our hopes and aspirations for the quality of your life, including the quality of your intellectual life after you leave OU and for years beyond.
We take great pride in our graduation rates; we have no attrition and we invest in the success of our students at several levels. What that means is simply that you're not a statistic. We are interested in far more than checking you off a list or clicking on an online box once you've graduated. We measure success by a host of factors beyond the achievement of a diploma.
Please explore this website to learn more about the Department of Religious Studies at OU. Our faculty offer courses in a variety of specializations leading to a BA degree, and we offer an inviting, welcoming, and rigorous scholarly community. Welcome!
Make Your Mark on the World with a Religious Studies Degree!
Prospective Students: Learn all about the Department of Religious Studies at OU and everything we have to offer.
Make Your Mark on the World with a Religious Studies Degree!
Also, you can check out how to set yourself apart with RELS & Pre-Law or RELS & Pre-Med.
Religious Studies majors and minors: Access more information on degree requirements, scholarships, study abroad, available courses and more on our Religious Studies Student Resources page.
True Family Lecture with Shannen Dee Williams
"Still Mining the Forgotten: The Hidden History and Legacies of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States"
True Family Lecture:
"Still Mining the Forgotten: The Hidden History and Legacies of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States," by Shannen Dee Williams
Wed., Sept. 20 at 5:30 p.m., Sam Noble Museum of Natural History
RELS Sept. 29 Student Lunch featuring Myo Win
"Social Justice for Religious Minorities in Myanmar"
Join us for the Sept. 29 RELS Student Lunch with featured speaker Myo Win, a human rights activist and visiting scholar at OU, who works for social justice for ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar.
RELS Student Lunch
"Social Justice for Religious Minorities in Myanmar"
Myo Win
12:30 p.m., Sept. 29
Robertson Hall 118
"Advancing International Religious Freedom" with Rehman Chishti, MP U.K.
Mon., Oct. 2, 1:30 p.m., Dale Hall 200
The Department of Religious Studies, along with the Departments of Sociology, Economics, and Political Science invite you to hear U.K. MP Rehman Chishti to speak on "Advancing Religious Freedom." The lecture will be held on Monday, Oct. 2, at 1:30 p.m. in Dale Hall 200.
October JuSt Brown Bag Lecture with Rangar Cline
Wed., Oct. 4 at noon, Dale Hall Tower Community Room
Please join us for the October JuSt Brown Bag Lecture with Rangar Cline on "Pilgrimage Souvenirs from the Holy Land: From the Roman Period to the Early Middle Ages" at noon on Wed., Oct. 4 in the Dale Hall Tower Community Room.
Harvard Divinity School at OU
Harvard Divinity School at OU
Join Harvard Divinity School’s Assistant Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Steph Gauchel, to learn more about HDS and the relevance of graduate study in religion in a complex world.
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 16
Robertson Hall 118
Pizza lunch will be provided!
Welcome Back, RELS!
First Student Lunch
Welcome back, RELS! Help us kick off the academic year with some free Hideaway pizza and good conversation. We will catch up with you all and you can hear about all of the good things that will be happening this year in Religious Studies.
12:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1
Robertson Hall 118
RELS End of Year Celebration
The Department of Religious Studies had the honor of celebrating our students – including our scholarship recipients and graduates. 🎓 Congratulations on all of your achievements! We are incredibly proud and can’t wait to see what you do next! 😊
April Religious Studies Student Lunch with Alumna Stacy Minnick
April's Religious Studies Student Lunch will feature RELS alumna, Stacy Minnick, an attorney with DeBee Clark and Weber, PLLC. Join us on Friday, April 28 at 12:30 p.m. in the Religious Studies Conference Room (Robertson 118) for free lunch and to listen to Stacy speak about "Life after a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies: Choosing the Study of Law."
Pujari Foundation Lectureship in Religious Studies with Tulasi Srinivas
"The Fiery Lake: Water, Caste and Gender in a Climate Apocalypse"
A big thank you to Tulasi Srinivas and to all who attended our first Pujari Foundation Lecture in Religious Studies yesterday evening. Prof. Srinivas spoke on her current research during the talk titled "The Fiery Lake: Water, Caste, and Gender in a Climate Apocalypse." It was an enjoyable and educational evening.
RELS Fall 2023 Newsletter
Read all about RELS: where we've been, what's happening, and what's to come in 2023-24!
RELS Featured in Dodge Family College of Arts & Sciences Student Success Center May Newsletter
Check out the feature on the Department of Religious Studies in this month's Dodge Family College of Arts & Sciences Student Success Center newsletter: SSC May Newsletter
The Norman Transcript
OU Taps Harvard Professor to Kick Off New Religious Studies Lectureship
The Norman Transcript
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
"OU Taps Harvard Professor to Kick Off New Religious Studies Lectureship"
Staying with the Question Podcast - "Maps" with Rangar Cline
The OU Arts & Humanities Forum podcast, *Staying with the Question* features our own Prof. Rangar Cline on the subject of maps. Give it a listen!
"Can you tell a story with a map? Host Kim Marshall talks to OU Scholars Rangar Cline, Farina King, and Asa Randall about the possibilities for learning, teaching, and building community using digital, interactive maps that help us make meaningful connections."
Congratulations, Wendy Mallette!
Congratulations to RELS Prof. Wendy Mallette and her colleagues Profs. Mike Sladek (Psychology) and Melinda Chen (Women's and Gender Studies) on receiving the Ed Cline Faculty Development Award. Their approved project will be a Queer Pedagogy Workshop entitled “Teaching Queer Studies at Public Universities: A Workshop on Queer Pedagogy and Socioeconomic Class." Congratulations, Wendy! 🎉
Meet our amazing team of faculty and staff.
We are incredibly proud of our alumni and how they represent us in the world. Learn how they are making a difference and the various religious studies career paths that are possible.
The Department of Religious Studies looks forward to more exciting opportunities for our students and faculty in the future. If you would like to support the Department of Religious Studies, you may visit our OU Foundation page devoted to RELS student enhancement at OU.
OU Department of Religious Studies on Social Media
Follow us on your favorite social media platforms here:
Instagram: oureligiousstudies
Twitter: @OUReligStudies
YouTube: OU Religious Studies
The Religious Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma stands against all forms of bigotry and hatred. In this moment, we are united in our commitments to anti-racism in solidarity with the Black communities in our nation and especially our Black students. As a faculty who study religious diversity and who embody difference, we deploy our intellectual training to challenge bias, discrimination, and hate. Our hearts go out to the families of those whose lives have been taken, and we pledge to link arms with those challenging injustice.
Long before the University of Oklahoma was established, the land on which the University now resides was the traditional home of the “Hasinais” Caddo Nation and “Kirikirʔi:s” Wichita & Affiliated Tribes.
We acknowledge this territory once also served as a hunting ground, trade exchange point, and migration route for the Apache, Comanche, Kiowa and Osage nations.
Today, 39 tribal nations dwell in the state of Oklahoma as a result of settler and colonial policies that were designed to assimilate Native people.
The University of Oklahoma recognizes the historical connection our university has with its indigenous community. We acknowledge, honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this land. We fully recognize, support and advocate for the sovereign rights of all of Oklahoma’s 39 tribal nations. This acknowledgement is aligned with our university’s core value of creating a diverse and inclusive community. It is an institutional responsibility to recognize and acknowledge the people, culture and history that make up our entire OU Community.
