Religious Studies Minor

Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus

The Religious Studies minor program is designed for students who want to enhance their understanding of the great religious traditions of the contemporary world and some of the social issues involving these religions. Interested students are invited to contact the Philosophy Department Office for more information and application forms.

Program Learning Objectives

1. Demonstrate general knowledge of how various disciplines approach religious phenomena and be able to apply a variety of methodological frameworks to data in the field of Religious Studies.
2. Develop basic religious literacy regarding the literary expressions, worldview, historical formations, ritual & practice, sacred texts, material world, and engagement with contemporary issues for several world religions representing diverse cultural backgrounds.
3. Analyze how a religion interacts with the culture to which it belongs, explaining how it shapes and is shaped by its surrounding society.
4. Demonstrate how religions inform, shape, and shed light upon contemporary issues, concerns, and debates.
5. Show how religious diversity contributes to overall diversity on the planet and specifically how Religious Studies advances student obtainment of Cal Poly’s Diversity Learning Objectives.
6. Analyze how religions can both contribute to and detract from the productive harmony between groups (convivencia).

Minor Requirements and Curriculum

• At least half of the units must be from upper-division courses (3000-4000 level).
• At least half of the units must be taken at Cal Poly (in residence).
• No more than one-third of the units will be taken with credit-no credit grading (CR/NC), not counting courses with mandatory CR/NC. Departments may further limit CR/NC grading if desired.
• A minimum 2.0 GPA is required in all units counted for completion of the minor.