Religious Studies, Minor

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. All students must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.00 in all departmental and UI courses for the minor. Coursework for the minor cannot be taken pass/nonpass.

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 Hours
Core Area Courses 9
Additional Coursework 6

Core Area Courses

Students select one course from at least three different core areas for a total of 9 s.h.

Social Justice, Equity, Inclusion, and Religion

Course # Title Hours
RELS:1015Global Religious Conflict and Diversity3
RELS:1041African American Religion and Popular Culture3
RELS:1350Introduction to African American Religions3
RELS:1765U.S. Latina/o/x Religions3
RELS:1810Happiness in a Difficult World3
RELS:2000Engaging Religious Diversity for Leadership and Entrepreneurship3
RELS:2330Wealth, Inequality, and Islam3
RELS:3745Twentieth- and Twenty-first-Century African American Religion: Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter3

Religion in History

Course # Title Hours
RELS:1001Judaism, Christianity, and Islam3
RELS:1225Medieval Religion and Culture3
RELS:1250Modern Religion and Culture3
RELS:1430The Bible Matters: Biblical Studies for Our Modern World3
RELS:2775The Bible and the Holocaust3
RELS:2930Digital Media and Religion3
RELS:3190Medieval to Modern: The Birth of Protestantism3
RELS:3385Early Modern Catholicism3
RELS:3520Religious Violence and Nationalism3
RELS:4155Religious Conflict: Early Modern Period3

Religion in Global Context

Course # Title Hours
RELS:1130Introduction to Islamic Civilization3
RELS:1404Introduction to Asian Religions3
RELS:1506Introduction to Buddhism3
RELS:1670Korea in the World3
RELS:2852Women in Islam and the Middle East3
RELS:3655Zen Buddhism3

Religion, Values, and Culture

Course # Title Hours
RELS:1070Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament3
RELS:1080Introduction to the New Testament3
RELS:1702Religion in America Today3
RELS:1903Quest for Human Destiny3
RELS:2260Hard Cases in Healthcare at the Beginning of Life3
RELS:2265Hard Cases in Healthcare at the End of Life3
RELS:2272Gods and Superheroes: Mythologies for a Modern World3
RELS:2353Love: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, and Art3
RELS:2877Sport and Religion in America3
RELS:2947Quest II: Sex, Love, and Death3
RELS:3431Gender and Sexuality in East Asia3

Special Topics and Current Events

Course # Title Hours
RELS:1050Big Ideas: Introduction to Information, Society, and Culture3
RELS:1997Harry Potter and the Religion of Fandom3
RELS:2122The Place of Animals in the Hebrew Bible3
RELS:2674Food, Body, and Belief: A Global Perspective3
RELS:2980Religion and Contemporary Popular Culture3
RELS:3055Death, Dying, and Beyond in Asian Religions3
RELS:3267Dissent and Rebellion in Islamic Societies: Was There an Arab Spring?3
RELS:4893Classical Arabic: Vocabulary, Syntax, and Grammar1-3
RELS:4930Internship in Research on Rights and Remedial Justice1-3
RELS:4960Individual Study: Undergraduatesarr.

Additional Coursework

Students select an additional 6 s.h. from any core area listed above or any other religious studies course to reach the required minimum of 15 s.h.