The undergraduate minor in religious studies requires a minimum of 15 s.h. in religious studies courses, including 12 s.h. in courses taken at the University of Iowa. Students may count up to 3 s.h. of transfer credit toward the minor with approval of the department’s undergraduate committee. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in all courses for the minor and in all UI courses for the minor. Courses for the minor may not be taken pass/nonpass. The minor may be earned through coursework that is offered online.
A number of courses for the minor count toward the GE CLAS Core. Students can identify courses approved for the GE CLAS Core by viewing the course descriptions.
The minor in religious studies requires the following coursework.
Requirements Summary
| Requirements |
Hours |
| Core Area Courses |
9 |
| Additional Coursework |
6 |
Core Area Courses
Students select courses from at least three out of the five core areas for a total of 9 s.h. (typically three courses).
Social Justice, Equity, Inclusion, and Religion
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| RELS:1015 | Global Religious Conflict and Diversity | 3 |
| RELS:1041 | African American Religion and Popular Culture | 3 |
| RELS:1350 | Introduction to African American Religions | 3 |
| RELS:1810 | Happiness in a Difficult World | 3 |
| RELS:2000 | Engaging Religious Diversity for Leadership and Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| RELS:2330 | Wealth, Inequality, and Islam | 3 |
| RELS:3745 | Twentieth- and Twenty-first-Century African American Religion: Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter | 3 |
Religion in History
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| RELS:1001 | Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | 3 |
| RELS:1225 | Medieval Religion and Culture | 3 |
| RELS:1250 | Modern Religion and Culture | 3 |
| RELS:2152 | The Gnostic Religion: Knowledge, Institution, and Salvation | 3 |
| RELS:2775 | The Bible and the Holocaust | 3 |
| RELS:2930 | Digital Media and Religion | 3 |
| RELS:3190 | Medieval to Modern: The Birth of Protestantism | 3 |
| RELS:3385 | Early Modern Catholicism | 3 |
| RELS:3520 | Religious Violence and Nationalism | 3 |
| RELS:4155 | Religious Conflict: Early Modern Period | 3 |
Religion in Global Context
Religion, Values, and Culture
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| RELS:1070 | Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament | 3 |
| RELS:1080 | Introduction to the New Testament | 3 |
| RELS:1702 | Religion in America Today | 3 |
| RELS:1903 | Quest for Human Destiny | 3 |
| RELS:2260 | Hard Cases in Healthcare at the Beginning of Life | 3 |
| RELS:2265 | Hard Cases in Healthcare at the End of Life | 3 |
| RELS:2272 | Gods and Superheroes: Mythologies for a Modern World | 3 |
| RELS:2877 | Sport and Religion in America | 3 |
| RELS:3431 | Gender and Sexuality in East Asia | 3 |
Special Topics and Current Events
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| RELS:1050 | Big Ideas: Introduction to Information, Society, and Culture | 3 |
| RELS:2122 | The Place of Animals in the Hebrew Bible | 3 |
| RELS:2674 | Food, Body, and Belief: A Global Perspective | 3 |
| RELS:2980 | Religion and Contemporary Popular Culture | 3 |
| RELS:3055 | Death, Dying, and Beyond in Asian Religions | 3 |
| RELS:3267 | Dissent and Rebellion in Islamic Societies: Was There an Arab Spring? | 3 |
| RELS:3325 | Bioethics and Religious Diversity | 3 |
| RELS:4893 | Classical Arabic: Vocabulary, Syntax, and Grammar | 1-3 |
| RELS:4930 | Internship in Research on Rights and Remedial Justice | 1-3 |
| RELS:4960 | Individual Study: Undergraduates | arr. |
Additional Coursework
Students select an additional 6 s.h. from any core area list or any other religious studies course to reach the required minimum of 15 s.h.
