Students will demonstrate religious literacy, recognizing and understanding diverse cultural expressions as they appear in contexts of religious traditions, sacred texts, international and domestic politics, the arts, and their own interpersonal relationships.
Students will practice authentic self-reflection and decision-making as they determine for themselves matters concerning belief, practice, values, meaning, and purpose in their lives.
Students will master phenomenological approaches to the understanding of religious and cultural variation, enabling them to engage diversity directly, with both generosity and justice.
Through their work in classes, but also in extra-curricular activities, students will manifest sound professionalism in such matters as time management, attendance, fulfillment of responsibilities, the ability to follow directions, comportment, and courtesy.
The objectives of the religious studies major are best attained in the context of a liberal arts education. The curriculum lets students develop an awareness of the capacity for scholarship, and disciplined and objective thought on the subject of religion.
The program avoids dogmatism as well as unquestioning faith or belief, approaching this area of human inquiry with the same objectivity achieved elsewhere in the humanities: requiring fairness with regard to the evidence, respect for reasonable differences in points of view and the avoidance of any attempts to proselytize.
With differing world cultures coming into contact ever more frequently in every field of endeavor, a religious studies undergraduate degree proves highly relevant. It allows students to discover, examine and gain insight into and sensitivity toward the socio-politico- religious similarities and differences in world cultures.
The religious studies major at Cal Poly Humboldt is unique in its exploratory nature. Courses cover a variety of subjects, offering the opportunity to understand the meaning of religion as it has been developed both culturally and personally.
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