• Check out the link for the College's highlighting of "the Moravian Effect" -- two alums, Rachel Kleiner and Hanna Yang, speak about the impact of Profs Radine and Denton-Borhaug in their lives:

    http://www.moravian.edu/default.
    aspx?pageid=5342

  • We want friends of the Moravian Religion Dept. to know about Dr. Naraghi’s latest activities.  He has been featured no fewer than 5 times as a prominent speaker on BBC Persian: see the weblink below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/tv/2011/04/000001_ptv_pargar.shtml

    This news program is seen by 10 million (yes!) people in the Farsi-speaking world.  He has spoken on the modernization of Islam, and will be speaking soon on Islam and euthanasia, among other topics.  His presentation is having a decided effect on many listeners, so much so that he is being inundated with emails from around the world. Each time Dr. Naraghi is introduced on this program, 10 million Farsi- speaking people around the world hear the name of Moravian College!

  • Congratulations to the ELEVEN graduates in 2011-2012 from the religion department: these students all made oral presentations and/or presented posters at Moravian College Student Scholarship Day, 2012, including: Sahar Tabshi, Sanjin Varga, Naiomi Gonzalez, Daniel Oberman, Christine Bauer, Justin Miranda, Cynthia DaPra, Eddie Flaherty and Benjamin Teel. In addition, congrats to Karen Duld and Ren Wylder, our two additional graduates who did Honors. Well done!
  • Religion Dept. 2011 Graduates Nina Patton, Kat Steinly, Mike Santos and Mike Accurso, all have received full scholarships for graduate studies. See more news about our graduates in News and Opportunities.
  • Congratulations to Christine Bauer, '12, who was accepted into the Masters in Medical Humanities at Drew University.
  • Congratulations to Naiomi Gonzalez, recipient of the Theta Kappa Alpha award for excellence in Religious Studies. Naiomi has received a full scholarship plus a fellowship to begin Masters of Divinity Studies at Brite Theological School in Texas.
  • For two years in a row, Religion Dept. faculty were recently awarded the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award -- '11 to Kelly Denton-Borhaug and '10 to Don St. John.
  • Congratulations to Religion Major Seniors Naiomi Gonzalez, Karen Duld and Cindy DaPra. All three presented papers at the Muhlenberg Social Justice Undergraduate Conference, and Karen additionally presented a paper at the competitive LVAIC Women's Studies Undergraduate Conference -- this past spring, 2012.
  • The Religion Department is in its second year in the new spaces that were renovated on the first floor of Comenius.

Welcome!

What we do. . . Students who major or take one or more courses in the Religion Department will increase their capacities in the following areas:

In the Department of Religion, faculty and students study the religious traditions of the world and explore the nature and function of religion in human experience. Through multidisciplinary methods engaging text, theology, ritual, belief, culture, history and more, we investigate the ways religion enriches and complicates the lives of people as a major source of people's values, ideals and practices. Students are encouraged to bring their own questions to the building of skills in thinking and reading, speaking and writing, and how to approach and understand cultures radically different from their own. Our study helps us learn to listen and understand the differences in and between people.

Religion majors and minors go on to become teachers, pursue law, diplomatic, social and counseling services, journalism and business, while others pursue careers as religious leaders or become active in the non-profit sector, and still others to graduate school in a variety of diverse arenas. Many Moravian religion majors choose to double-major, to make themselves even better equipped for a wide variety of options post-college.

Most recently, our graduates are involved in pursuits such as these below:
--beginning a United Church of Christ Year of Service Program in Carlsbad, CA;
--working as an Admissions Counselor in our own Moravian College Office of Admissions;
--pursuing a MA program at Tel Aviv University in Israel on the "Archaeology and History of the Land of the Bible";
--working as "Program Director" at The Lincoln Center for Family & Youth in Audubon, PA, a non-profit human service organization serving children, adults and families;
--beginning a 3 year residency training at Crozer-Keystone Health System, after graduating from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine.
--pursuing an MA program at Drew Univeristy in Medical Humanities, a program that develops professionals who understand and can convincingly synthesize the ethical, historical, and practical aspects of medicine as they relate to the implementation, control and dissemination of health care.
--pursuing Masters of Divinity Degrees at such places at Drew University and Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.

We celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates in a wide variety of areas!

The program in religion is pluralistic and multifaceted. Sacred texts studies are complemented by offerings in theology, ethics and history. Students have the opportunity to study Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, the religious traditions of Native America, and more, as well as to explore the interaction between religion and the contemporary world. We also encourage study abroad (both long-term and short term), internships, and other learning and service opportunities that will expand upon course study in the classroom.

Pursuing your own questions. . . All religion majors have the opportunity to focus on a particular theme, question or issue that they will independently research during one semester of their senior year. See the following for a description of this past year's senior projects. We are very proud in the department to have seen many of our seniors graduate with honors. In addition, one of our graduates, Kat Steinly, won the prestigious "Alumni Prize in the Humanities" award in 2010, one of the highest awards Moravian grants for student excellence. Many of the graduates from our program have gone on to receive full scholarships for graduate studies.

Find out more. . . Both current and prospective religion majors are encouraged to check out the "News and Opportunities" link for an update on upcoming happenings in the Dept. of Religion. Come and join us on one of our "Second Thursdays," when faculty and students in the Religion Department meet over an informal dinner to catch up and participate in some sort of program together. If you think you might be interested in learning more about our department, feel free to contact one of our faculty by email or phone. Join our facebook page: Moravian College Religion Dept and help us to stay in touch!