Students research various religious traditions during a Wintersession course in UM's new Religious Studies major.
Thanks in part to his roots as a Southern Baptist, junior Thomas Chandler from Thaxton already feels called to the ministry. And while he doesn’t need to major in religious studies to pursue his career, his course work has taught him a lot about other religious traditions—and a lot about himself.
With more people at UM becoming environmentally aware, it was just a matter of time before that awareness showed up in the curriculum. That day arrived in the fall of 2008, with the introduction of a new academic minor in environmental studies.
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The roles of the Virgin Mary and Fatima in medieval Christianity and Shiite Islam, respectively, are explored in a new book written by a University of Mississippi assistant professor of religion.
Abortion, gay marriage and religion in the public education system are among the most controversial topics in American religion and politics. Seldom, however, does anyone look outside our own borders and culture for perspective on these issues. How do Buddhists in Japan treat the issue of abortion? What tensions exist between religious traditions and alternative forms of marriage in India? What role does religion play in public schools in France? These are the types of questions Laurie Cozad is tackling in research for an upcoming book called Enforcing Heaven: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Religion and Politics.
“The purpose of this book is to get at these three intense public debates in the U.S.,” said Cozad, Croft Institute associate professor of religion. “What kinds of cultural assumptions govern the debates and discussions on these issues? This question is best answered through a comparative analysis with similar debates and discussions in other countries.”