The contemporary field of religious studies contributes significantly to a liberal arts education, cultivating the investigation of religious thought, ritual, spiritual insight, culture, history, and sacred texts.<br><br>The Religious Studies Program is designed to deepen understanding of religion and its manifestations through required interdepartmental exploration: surveying systematic approaches to the field and completing courses in at least two different religious traditions. This approach exposes students to several scholarly and pedagogical perspectives in a variety of religious phenomena, often in a comparative context.<br><br>Brandeis, with its commitment to ethical responsibility, and the wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds represented in its student body, provides a unique context for examining religion with open-minded curiosity and sympathetic understanding.