Why study Religion at MC?

Studying religion at Maryville College means learning to understand a complex and rapidly changing world. Religion majors grapple with enduring questions about what it means to be human and they study the rich variety of responses that different human cultures have produced, from the Bible to the teachings of the Buddha. But studying religion also means seeking meaning in the world today: it means contemplating your own place in the universe, understanding why some religious people commit their lives to social justice and others commit violence, examining religious pluralism in the United States, and traveling to any number of our study abroad sites–from India to Argentina to Ghana–to encounter new religious worlds. And religion majors learn skills that are most prized by today’s employers: independent research, precise speaking and writing, and an understanding of diversity.

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Meet a Recent Grad

Photo of alumni Sam Phillips, who recently graduated with a degree in Religion, standing next to alumni Matt Frease.

Sam Phillips ’19

Currently: Chaplain Resident at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown Hospital

After MC, Sam decided to pursue a Master of Divinity at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. Now ordained as a Chaplain Resident at the Winship Cancer Institute, he states he will have the required APCE units to become a board-certified chaplain after his residency year.

Sam credits MC for preparing him well for seminary by fostering “a culture of allowing and becoming … to be curious about myself and the world around me.” He added that studying Religion at MC, as well as the emphasis placed on building the skills of critical and creative thinking, encouraged him to seek nuance in a complicated world and be “realistic and curious about how we can then make change on the largest possible scale.

 

Professor of Philosophy and the Ralph W. Beeson Professor of Religion
Dr. William Meyer
Professor of Philosophy and the Ralph W. Beeson Professor of Religion
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Professor of Philosophy & Religion
Dr. Andrew Irvine
Professor of Philosophy & Religion
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Chair, Division of Humanities, Professor of Religion
Dr. Phillip Michael Sherman
Chair, Division of Humanities, Professor of Religion
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What can you do with a religion major? If the recent experience of our graduates is any indication, virtually anything! Our faculty are creative and passionate teachers who hold our students to high standards, ensuring that they graduate able to enter the workforce prepared to perform. Our graduates have gone on to become ordained clergy, lawyers, leaders in non-profit organizations, successful business men and women, and social workers; they include a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, a Presbyterian Church liaison to the United Nations, the director of a dance studio, and social service coordinators in Guatemala, Tanzania, Nashville, and Austin, TX. Many have been accepted into the most competitive graduate and professional schools in the country, including the University of Chicago, Yale, Vanderbilt, Emory, and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Studying religion can open up exciting and surprising career paths, and at Maryville College, our faculty and professional career counseling staff can help you find the right opportunities for success in meaningful work.

Students who studied religion at Maryville College have gone on to become, among other professions:

  • Teachers
  • Ordained clergy
  • Lawyers
  • Leaders in nonprofit organizations
  • Business men and women
  • Social workers

Job Placements

Acadia Healthcare
Blount Memorial Hospital
First Presbyterian Church of St. James
Hopkinsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Los Angeles Youth Network
Riverside Community Care

Graduate School/Seminary Placements

American University
Asbury Theological Seminary
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work & School of Theology and Ministry
Boston University
Columbia Theological Seminary
Duke Seminary
Emory University
Louisville Presbyterian Seminary
Memphis Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary, New York
University of Chicago Divinity School
University of Edinburgh
University of Leeds
University of Tennessee
University of the South
Vanderbilt University

Students successfully completing the program of study will:

  1. Demonstrate a working knowledge of some of the critical methods in and major approaches to the study of religion
  2. Explain the beliefs and practices, historical developments, and major contemporary concerns of the world’s major religious traditions. Analyze carefully, think critically, and write coherently about religious traditions, whether one’s own tradition or other traditions
  3. Understand some of the central themes of Christianity as well as the diversity within the Christian tradition. Demonstrate familiarity with biblical literature (preferably both Hebrew Bible & New Testament) and other religious texts, some of their major themes and characteristics, and contemporary issues related to the study of religious texts
  4. Analyze carefully, think critically, and write coherently about religious traditions, whether one’s own tradition or other traditions. Understand the central themes of Christianity as well as the diversity within the Christian tradition, both of which are exemplified by different historical communities, theological outlooks, and ethical positions
  5. Demonstrate a working knowledge of some of the critical methods in and major approaches to the study of religion

 

The Major in Religion consists of 44 hours in religion and related areas. Transfer students bringing 45 or more credit hours in transfer are exempted from HUM 299, with the result that the major requirement is reduced to 43 hours.

Required courses include:

Major and Major-Related Courses

REL 162: Approaches to the Study of Religion (3 hrs)
REL 212: World Religions (3 hrs)
REL 228: Introduction to Christian Theology (3 hrs)
REL 344: Explorations in Biblical Studies (3 hrs)
REL 348: Explorations in the History of Religions (3 hrs)
REL 351: Senior Study I (3 hrs)
REL 352: Senior Study II (3 hrs)
HUM 299: Issues in Professional Development (1 hrs)
HUM 347: Research in the Humanities (1 hrs)

One course selected from the following list:

REL 209: Religion in the Southern Appalachians (3 hrs)
REL 211: The American Religious Experience (3 hrs)
REL 325: Sociology of Religion (3 hrs)

Either of the following courses:

REL 326: Contemporary Theology (3 hrs)
REL 346: Explorations in Christian Thought and Culture (3 hrs)

Two courses from the following list:

PHL 326: Philosophy of Religion (3 hrs)
PHL 329: Modern Critiques of Religion (3 hrs)
PHL 348: Comparative Philosophy (3 hrs)

One of the following courses:

HIS 242: World Civilization from Earliest Times to 1500 C.E (3 hrs)
HIS 243: Modern World History: 1500-Present (3 hrs)
PHL 211: American Philosophy (3 hrs)

An additional 6 credit hours coursework

6 hours in Religion
Or
3 hours in Religion
And
3 hours in Philosophy

 

The Minor in Religion consists of 15 hours.

Required courses include:

Minor and Minor-Related Courses

15 hours in religion, including no more than two 100-level courses

In addition to required courses for majors and minors, Maryville College students take classes in the Maryville Curriculum, a core program of general education. Consisting of 51 credit hours, the Maryville Curriculum ensures that students see their major in a wider context and develop the basic communication, quantitative, and critical thinking skills that are needed for success in college and career.

You may also be interested in:

Appalachian Studies

International Studies

Medieval Studies

Philosophy

LatestNews & Events

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Expanding Horizons at Maryville College now taking applications

Expanding Horizons, billed as “a theological institute for high school youth,” will take place June 21-26 on the Maryville College campus.

Parks Cowan Initiative to strengthen liberal arts at Maryville College

John and Peggy Cowan have established the Parks Cowan Initiative for the Liberal Arts, a Maryville College faculty development program.

Dan McClellan to lead Maryville College Cummings Conversations

The Maryville College Cummings Conversations, public lectures about issues of faith, will feature Biblical scholar Dan McClellan Feb. 1-3.

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