Departmental Brochure
 Students explore the most fascinating, enigmatic, and intellectually challenging aspect of human life. Religious insight has inspired art and literature, sculpted cultural values and politics, sent countless people to the battlefield - and given meaning to individuals and communities.
At the heart of the religious studies department is a committed faculty of teacher-scholars - Catholic theologians, scripture specialists, and scholars of Judaism and Asian religions. Faculty approach their subjects from a variety of perspectives. One class may focus on a close reading of the Bhagavad Gita, another on the social context for the development of New Age religions, and still another on the literary links among the Gospels.
The department's theological offerings explore faith's search for understanding through such topics as the nature of God, the foundations of ethical life, feminist theology, and the possibility of faith after the Holocaust. However, the educational goals are the same: critical thinking, clear expression, mature judgment - the habits of a thoughtful person. We don’t have all the answers in religious studies, but we take the questions very seriously.
Religious studies is among the most personally rewarding fields of study. And at Fairfield, the religious studies majors form a small, close-knit group of talented individuals, whose differing perspectives on many issues create the kind of late-night conversations - and arguments - that ground genuine friendship. Majors commonly interact closely with faculty members in the department, both socially and professionally.
One of the ways in which a broader engagement between academic concerns and life in general is encouraged, is through the Canisius Academy. This organization is sponsored by the religious studies department but is open to all students. Members of the Academy, both students and faculty, attend plays, concerts, lectures, and exhibits together several times a semester, gathering after the event to rehash, critique, snack, and socialize, frequently with the participation of the visiting artist or speaker.
As a religious studies major you will receive close attention to your individual academic needs. You will be advised carefully by a faculty mentor as you complete the various stages of the major program. As a senior you may undertake an independent study project, guided by a member of the faculty, which normally culminates in a major research paper or essay. Over the years, a number of the department’s student projects have won some of the College of Arts and Science's most prestigious awards. One recent project, funded by a national award, allowed a student to travel to Nepal in the company of a faculty mentor to study the religious practices of a Tibetan monastery. A distinction available to majors is the Mary Irene Gallagher Medal, one of the University's oldest prizes, awarded for high achievement in religious studies.
Course of Study
The religious studies department offers a 30-credit (10 courses) major and a 15-credit minor program. A minor in Judaic studies or catholic studies are also options (see separate brochures). You begin by completing a foundational course, Introduction to Religious Studies. You then plan a program with a faculty advisor, choosing concentrations in one of the distributions areas while being sure to take at least one course in each: Sacred Texts, Theology and Ethics, History and Tradition, Religion and Society, and Islam and Asian Religions.
Sacred Texts
- Jewish Interpretations of Scriptures
- The Writings of Paul
- Reinterpretation of theNew Testament
- Second Temple Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Theology and Ethics
- Grace and the Christian Life
- Last Things: The catholic Belief in Life After Death
- Theological Ethics: The Foundations of Virtue
- Contemporary Morality: Basic Questions
- Evil
- Theology and the Problem of Culture
- Christian Feminist Theology
- Morality and Law
- Modern Jewish Theology
History and Tradition
- History of the Jewish Experience
- Introduction to Catholicism
- Finding God in All Things: The Spiritual Legacy of Ignatius Loyola
- Voices of Medieval Woman: Silent No More
- The Quest for the Historical Jesus
Religion and Society
- Women in Judaism
- Lay Perspectives on Christian Spirituality
- Faith after the Holocaust
- Catholic Social Teaching
- Non-traditional American Religious Groups
Islam and Asian Religions
- Introduction to Islam
- Buddhist Thought in India
- Hinduism
- Seminar on Tibetan Religions
Faculty
 Alfred F. Benney
Ph.D., Hartford Seminary Foundation
Non-traditional American religions, sacraments
Nancy A. Dallavalle
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
Feminist theology, systematic theology
Ronald M. Davidson
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Asian religions, tribal religions
Elizabeth A. Dreyer
Ph.D., Marquette University
Historical theology, medieval studies, spirituality
Francis T. Hannafey, S.J.
Ph.D., Loyola University, Chicago
Christian social ethics, business ethics
Hugh M. Humphrey
Ph.D., Fordham University
New Testament
Paul F. Lakeland
Reverend Aloysius P.Kelley, S.J., Professor of Catholic Studies, chair
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Liberation theology, church and society
John E. Thiel
Ph.D., McMaster University
History of Christian thought, systematic theology
Raquel M. Ukeles
Ph.D., Harvard University
Islam, comparative Islamic and Jewish law
Ellen M. Umansky
Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies
Ph.D., Columbia University
Judaism, women and religion
Life After Fairfield
The religious studies major prepares you well for the "real world." After graduation, religious studies majors have all the opportunities available to fellow graduates in the humanities and social sciences. Our graduates become teachers, social workers, go on to law or medical school, into business, or on to graduate study in a variety of fields. One recent graduate completed a master's degree at Yale and now teaches in Baltimore; another completed a master's in theology at Boston College and now does social work in Haiti. Still another graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was offered a full scholarship to law school. In religious studies, we find that taking the enduring questions seriously means that the real world will take you seriously.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Francis T. Hannafey, S.J., department chair
Donnarumma Hall 320
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Telephone: (203) 254-4000, ext. 2717
E-mail: fhannafey@mail.fairfield.edu
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