Philosophy & Religion (BA)

A Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy & Religion at Lindenwood University requires 36 credit hours of Religion courses, including core classes in religious traditions and a senior thesis project. Students also have the flexibility to choose Religion electives at the 200, 300, and 400 levels to complete the degree.

Like every Lindenwood student, you must also complete the General Education requirements of the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Studying philosophy and religion at Lindenwood University prepares you for a wide variety of careers by familiarizing you with the world's major intellectual traditions, both philosophical and religious. Philosophy explores what is real, what we know, how we should think, and how we should act, while religion reflects on the many ways that communities have constructed and articulated the meaningfulness of human life. As a philosophy and religion major, you will study the ideas and beliefs that make our world what it is today, and you will learn to better understand yourself, your neighbor, and your world.

Why Philosophy and Religion?

Our program and its faculty represent a variety of scholarly interests in philosophy and religion. Philosophy and religion majors develop valuable skills in thinking carefully and communicating clearly about complex issues, and they tend to score higher in standardized exams for graduate school and professional programs. Studying philosophy and religion can also lead to greater personal fulfillment.

Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living," and Jesus noted that "the truth will set you free." The philosophy and religion program offers a number of different curricular options for you to examine your life, pursue the truth, and meet your educational and professional goals. Career opportunities with a Philosophy and Religion degree, fall into many different categories. These include teaching, research, clergy, government, legal professions, policy development, diplomacy, humanitarian services, and many more.

The Philosophy & Religion program prepares you for success in any career by helping you analyze and evaluate the most important questions humanity has asked. What is it to be human, natural, or divine? Can we discover or achieve purpose, knowledge, and meaning? How ought we to think, act, and organize ourselves together? These are the sorts of questions explored within our program, which involve a multi-disciplinary engagement with the basic beliefs grounding a wide range of subject matter, including the historical, social, psychological, economic, legal, and scientific.

Our program is designed to help you achieve the following important advantages:

• Sought-after Skills. You will acquire critical reading, writing, and thinking skills, as well as oral communication and team-building skills, which are essential to success in other disciplines and the workplace.
• Personal Fulfillment. According to Aristotle, all people "by nature desire understanding," and in seeking understanding, we seek the "kinds of causes and principles whose science is wisdom." Therefore, the study of philosophy and religion is a natural, rewarding, and even necessary part of human existence.

Philosophy & Religion prepare you for a wide variety of careers that are fulfilling, engaging, and influential.

Philosophy Careers

Philosophy is quite unlike any other field. It is unique both in its methods and in the nature and breadth of its subject matter (American Philosophical Association). The “relevance of philosophy teaching to all areas of academic study is one of the most distinctive characteristics of the subject” (UNESCO, 2011). In its rigorous development and use of logic it “enhances, in a way no other activity does, one’s problem-solving capacities” (American Philosophical Association). Moreover, philosophy develops skills necessary for dealing with an increasingly global and interconnected world. “Philosophy develops the capacity to see the world from the perspective of other individuals and other cultures; it enhances one’s ability to perceive the relationships among the various fields of study, and it deepens one’s sense of the meaning and variety of human experience” (American Philosophical Association).

Religion Careers

A major in Religion offers intellectual excitement. It also offers broad access to many career options. Indeed, the study of religion has broad value because it has an international component, deals with values, and speaks to contemporary issues. All these make it very meaningful as preparation for a variety of vocational and professional opportunities.

Students choose to major in Religion for many different reasons. Most do not intend to pursue a professional career in ministry or in the academic study of religion.

A recent survey of graduates who have majored in Religion shows that they have pursued diverse careers. This underscores the fact that a Religion major is valuable in its own right but can also function as excellent preparation for a variety of occupations.

• 35% are professionals of various kinds -- city managers, bankers, engineers, journalists, etc.
• 19% are in a variety of ministerial professions -- clergy, directors of religious education, etc.
• 14% are educators -- teachers, college professors
• • 8% are in legal professions -- attorneys, judges
• • 18% are medical professionals -- doctors, dentists, or other health professionals
• • 6% are in other fields

About two-thirds of the majors graduating in 2007 were planning to attend graduate or professional school; and nearly one-half of the majors were headed to medical school.

Studying philosophy and religion will prepare you for a wide variety of careers by expanding your engagement with the world’s major philosophical and religious intellectual traditions. Philosophy explores what is real, what we know, how we should think, and how we should act, while religion reflects on the many ways through which communities have constructed and articulated the meaningfulness of human life. You will not only learn what you can do but also what you should do.

Major Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following option:

• PHRL 34600 Philosophy of Religion

Logic Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:

• PHRL 21000 Practical Logic for Daily Life
• PHRL 21001 Traditional Logic
• PHRL 21002 Symbolic Logic

Ethics Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:

• PHRL 10000 Moral Life
• PHRL 10200 Philosophy of Love
• PHRL 21200 Ethics & Human Action
• PHRL 21201 Ethics, Media, & Technology
• PHRL 21202 Bioethics
• PHRL 30000 The Natural Law

Investigating Diverse Religious Traditions Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:

• PHRL 22200 African Diaspora and African American Religions
• PHRL 31601 Islam and the West
• PHRL 31602 Religions of India
• PHRL 31603 Religions of China

Philosophy & Religion Elective Coursework

21 credit hours of additional PHRL courses with at least 12 of these credits at or above the 30000 level courses. Students may also pursue an interdisciplinary course of study and substitute 9 credit hours of relevant coursework within the following interdisciplinary frameworks, or another proposed framework with the approval of the department head:

• Art and Literature
  • Any ARTH, ENGL course at or above the 20000-level, CINE 37000, or COM 37600.
• Economics, Political Science, Public Health
  • Any ECON, MGMT, PHS, or PS course at or above the 20000-level, or COM 10200.
• History and Culture
  • Any AST, CSP, HIST, or IR course at or above the 20000-level.
  • Any GEO course at or above the 30000-level.
• Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Any CSC or MTH course at or above the 20000-level.
• Natural Sciences
  • Any BSC, CHM, ESC, or PHY course at or above the 30000-level.
• Social Science
  • Any GEO, GS, PSY, or SOC course at or above the 30000-level.

Culminating Experience Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following options:

• PHRL 40000 Senior Project
• PHRL 40100 Philosophy & Religion Internship

Students who have a second major or are completing another for-credit credential that requires a comparable culminating experience may submit a request to the program to waive this requirement and, if approved, substitute an additional PHRL course at or above 30000-level course.
No duplication of coursework is permitted within the program.