Religion and the Environment

The ways we interact with the natural world reflect the deep-seated values of the society to which we belong and the experiences of nature we have as individuals. Religion, and the spiritual experiences of individuals that inform religious thought, provide profound insights into how we perceive the world around us and guidance as to how to interact with it. The minor in religion and environment encourages students to integrate religious insights and spiritual experience with the natural and social sciences to better understand how religion and the natural world affect one another. Accordingly, the minor includes coursework in natural and social environmental science along with coursework in religion. Because the minor encourages students to reflect on their own spiritual experience and beliefs as they relate to the environment, it culminates in a capstone experiential course involving environmentally-related service or action along with reflection on the meaning of that engagement.

The minor is offered by interdisciplinary faculty in conjunction with the environmental studies program and the Center for Religion and Environment and is administered by the Center's director.

Requirements for the Minor in Religion and Environment

The minor requires successful completion of the following:

Course Requirements
ENST 101Introduction to Environmental Studies4
ENST 431Practicum in Religion and the Environment2
PHIL 230Environmental Ethics4
Select two of the following:6-8
Climate Ethics
Ethics and the Anthropocene
Religion and Animals
Religious Environmentalism
Religion and Ecology
Greening Buddhism
God and Nature
Creation, Evolution, and God (three semester hours)
Readings in Teilhard de Chardin
Select one of the following:4
Archaeological Resource Management and Policy
Biology and People
Field Investigations in Biology (Field-Based)
General Chemistry (Lab)
Environmental Economics
Foundations of Food and Agriculture
Ecosystems of the Ocean
Sustainability and Global Environmental Change Seminar (ENST 211 and ENST 212 together satisfy this requirement)
Sustainability and Global Environmental Change Field Studies (ENST 211 and ENST 212 together satisfy this requirement)
Freshwater Conservation
Environmental Policy and Law
Environmental Land-Use Policy
Introduction to Forestry (Lab)
Water Resource Policy and Law
Physical Geology (Lab)
Earth Systems and Climate Change
Foundations of Global Warming
Environmental Politics and Policy
Total Semester Hours20-22