Webster University

As the department's newest faculty member Jason Slone says, "Webster's Religious Studies department doesn't teach religion, it teaches about religion."

Yet in the process, students don't just learn about religious traditions in human societies past and present-they inevitably learn about themselves, too.

The curriculum puts these traditions in their socio-historical contexts. Courses examine religious phenomena in their cultural setting as they relate to social functions, international affairs and personal meaning.

No matter what your background, you're sure to be blown away by what you discover about your fellow humans past and present. You'll study how religious belief has been a major component of every known human society and how it has had a major, controlling influence on all human life on this planet, from song, art and social norms to politics, war and humanitarianism.

Your classmates will include those from your major as well as insightful, explorative students from other majors ranging from art and the humanities to teacher education and finance.

Study Abroad: Buddhist Studies in Thailand

A particularly unique opportunity lies in the Buddhist Studies certificate, a cooperative offering between Webster's home campus in St. Louis and its campus in Thailand. Capitalizing on the strength of Webster's international network, the program features study abroad in Thailand -- and airfare to our international campuses is free to students who have completed a semester at Webster.

There students study the cultural and spiritual roots of their host country, investigating the many ways in which contemporary Buddhists engage their changing social world - through grassroots activism, as well as through art, ritual, philosophy, institutional reform, and political debate.