Welcome to the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, one of the leading departments for the academic study of religion in North America. Our purpose is to cultivate scholarly inquiry and encourage public knowledge into the ways religion shapes cultures and societies around the world.

Our faculty are top teachers and field-leading researchers whose scholarship is internationally recognized. We have clusters of expertise in Religion in the U.S. and Latin America, Ancient Mediterranean Religions, and Islam in South Asia, and we have additional strengths in theory and method for the study of religion (including ethnographic methods), material approaches to religion (including archaeological, art historical, and codicological methods), secular studies, and comparative ethics. We also run the Institute for the Study of Antiquity and Christian Origins (ISAC), an endowed research institute that advances faculty and graduate research and public programming related to the historical study of early Christianity, ancient Judaism, and origins and receptions of the Bible.

The department offers an undergraduate Minor and Major. The Major culminates in the Bachelor of Arts degree and students may choose from two tracks, Comparative Religious Studies or Religion in Public Life. Undergraduate training in Religious Studies prepares students for a wide range of career paths that require training in analytical research, writing, and communication skills as well as intercultural understanding. Our graduates have gone on to Masters and Ph.D. programs in Religious Studies, law schools, medical schools, seminaries, and careers in education, social work, communications, public health, business, and international relations, among many others.

The department is also home to a rigorous and competitive graduate program, which leads to a Ph.D. and has four areas of concentration, Ancient Mediterranean Religions, Religion and Society, Religion in the Americas, and Religions in History. Our graduate students regularly win competitive internal and external fellowships and awards, and many go on to faculty positions at universities around the world.

Each year, the department hosts numerous public events. To stay updated on coming events and other departmental activities, please follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, or Instragram.