Academic Program

CRC Group 2003-2004

Comparative Religion and Culture Academic Program

The program in Comparative Religion and Culture aims to provide students with an experientially rooted and academically informed introduction to religions across a number of distinct cultural settings.

CRC is distinguished by its experiential approach, its interdisciplinary academics, and its emphasis on self-critical participation in the learning process. CRC emphasizes deepening sophistication and self-critical awareness in the understanding of religions, by training students simultaneously in philosophical and anthropological approaches.

Students are regularly taught by local scholars and practitioners whose way of teaching is often as instructive as its content.

Through the yearlong sequenced seminars in Comparison: Theory and Method (4 credits) and Comparison: Practice and Critique (4 credits), students learn and reflect upon philosophical and anthropological approaches to the study of religion. Completion of the “comparison seminars” is considered equivalent to the Junior Seminar, and satisfies the prerequisite for the senior year Independent Study Semester.

In addition to these two seminars, students take coursework specific to each country’s major religions (16 credits for 4 courses) and an area studies course each semester (8 credits for 2 courses).

All courses offered are required courses for a total of 32 credits for the academic year.