* Spring 2021 courses *
The increasing religious diversity of today’s societies calls for better interaction among persons of different religions. Whether you live here or abroad, and whether you take a job in the public or the private sector, you will work for, with, or on behalf of employers, colleagues, clients, customers, students, or patients of different religious persuasions. Interreligious Studies will enhance your ability to use your skills and your knowledge in your professional life, to say nothing of your personal life.
Few Americans have the education and the practical training to work with religion in a socially engaging way. In the Interreligious Studies program, you will think critically and intentionally about religions, not only as beliefs, but also as forms of community at least as important as race, ethnicity, nationality, and other kinds of human collectivity. You will examine the ways in which religious communities influence one another, come into conflict, and find themselves transformed by their encounters and dialogues.
The Interreligious Studies minor emphasizes
- recognition of differences as well as similarities, with profound respect for religious diversity,
- promotion of healthy, peaceful, and mutually enriching interreligious relationships,
- commitment to the common good, and
- appreciation for the importance of religious pluralism, especially the kind of pluralism that emphasizes the civic good.
This program is interdisciplinary, considering concepts, themes, and issues through the application of various lenses, the practice of distinct approaches, and wide exploration of pertinent materials.
Requirements for the IRST minor
Students wishing to minor in Interreligious Studies must take a total of 15 credits from at least two but preferably three disciplines. You may earn three of your 15 credits in an internship with one of our faith-based community partners (e.g., Auberle, the Immigrants and International Initiative of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Catholic Charities, and Elliance). Six of the credits should be earned in two of the following courses:
IRST/THEO 325 |
Religious Diversity and Dialogue |
IRST/THEO 203 |
Hinduism and Buddhism |
IRST/THEO 264 |
Religion & Global Conflict |
IRST/THEO/JWST 283 |
Judaism, Christianity and Islam |
IRST courses
You will have the following course options besides. We encourage you to consult with one of the program’s directors or advisors about which courses and internships best complement your major and further your goals.
African Studies
AFST 204 |
Approaches to Black and African Theologies |
IRST/AFST 281 |
African Religions |
Communication & Rhetorical Studies
IRST/COMM 220 |
Approaches to Rhetoric, Religion, and Society |
COMM 414 |
Rhetoric, Religion, & Society |
COMM 467 |
Rhetoric of Religion and Nonviolence |
History
IRST/HIST 171 |
History of Christianity |
International Relations
IR 303 |
The Politics of Immigration |
Jewish Studies
JWST 271 |
Anti-Semitism |
JWST 275 |
The Jewish Experience in America |
Public Health
PHBA 311 |
Public Health and Epidemiology |
PHBA 423 |
Perspectives in Global Health |
PHBA 428 |
International Pharmacy Services |
Philosophy
PHIL 203 |
Philosophy of Religion |
IRST/PHIL 219 |
Christian Philosophy |
PHIL 228 |
Buddhist Philosophy |
IRST/PHIL 253 |
Native American Philosophy |
IRST/PHIL 315W |
Thomas Aquinas |
IRST/PHIL 331 |
Zen Philosophy |
PHIL 402W |
Confucianism and Zen |
PHIL 408W |
Confucianism: Philosophy of Change |
IRST/PHIL 450W |
Islamic Philosophy |
Political Science
POSC 101 |
Catholic Thought, the State and Security in the Modern World |
POSC 314 |
The Theological-Political Problem |
IRST/POSC 407 |
Terrorism |
Psychology
IRST/PSYC 260 |
Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality |
PSYC 280 |
The Art of Happiness: Wellbeing in Theory and Practice |
PSYC 356 |
Psychology of Peace and Conflict |
Sociology
SOCI 233 |
Sociology of Catholicism |
SOCI 275 |
The Jewish Experience in America |
SOCI 304E |
Islamic Culture in Spain |
IRST/SOCI 333 |
Sociology of Religion |
Theology
IRST/THEO 202 |
Christianity, Embodiment, and Violence |
THEO 204 |
Approaches to Black and African Theology |
IRST/THEO 210 |
Buddhist–Christian Dialogue |
IRST/THEO 216 |
Religion, Media, and Pop Culture |
THEO 230 |
Global Diversity: Churches and their Cultural Contexts |
IRST/THEO 232 |
Faith and Atheism |
THEO 245 |
God, Money, and Power |
IRST/THEO 246 |
Contemporary Perspectives on the Common Good |
THEO 270 |
Eastern Christianity |
THEO 271 |
Anti-Semitism |
IRST/THEO 281 |
African Religions |
Nursing
UPNS 290 |
Contemporary Public Health Issues in Africa |
UPNS 324 |
Cultural Applications in Clinical Practice |
UPNS 357 |
Population Health |
For more information…