Welcome to Religious Studies

Religion is a universal phenomenon, although expressed in many and varied forms. Indeed, it is arguably the case that religion has been a vital and pervasive feature throughout the entire course of human history. As a university discipline the emphasis of Religious Studies is on the study of religion as human phenomena. It sets out to examine the religious dimension of human existence in all its diversity objectively, systematically, and yet sympathetically.

Most people have experienced, to a greater or lesser degree, the influence of religious thinking, religious practices, and religious institutions. In the contemporary world religion continues to be a significant, if not major factor, in the shaping of people's lives and the determining of political and social outcomes. To study religion is to facilitate a broader understanding of human history and a deeper understanding of human life. The appropriate context for the study of religion is that of critical empathy: neither seeking to destroy nor promote, but rather to describe, analyse and evaluate and, hopefully, arrive at a position of informed understanding.