Religion

Religion may be defined broadly as the human quest for, experience of, and response to the holy or sacred. This universal human activity expresses itself in at least three ways: in thought (the intellectual expression), in action (the practical expression), and in fellowship (the communal expression).

These complex religious expressions comprise the subject-matter of the academic study of religion. Specifically, the data of religious study include the literature, stories, myths, histories, doctrines, rituals, ethical prescriptions, and institutional forms of the many and diverse traditions past and present. The academic study of religion is non-sectarian; it does not seek to evangelize or propagate a particular religion. Nevertheless, careful analysis of the data of religion should enrich one's own understanding and commitment and assist in the clarification and development of one's own theological views.

Traditionally, religious studies in American colleges and universities have focused on the Western religious traditions rooted in the Bible. Since the 1970s, however, increasing contact with non-western cultures and religions has broadened the scope of Religious Studies in the universities with more attention being given to non-Christian and non-Jewish traditions. The following survey of the subfields of religious study reflects that change