Student Spotlight: Amanda Sivik


"I believe there are so many benefits to studying religion at Ashland University.  Religion is a fundamental part of the lives of the majority of people in the world.  There are so many different opinions and stances on current issues that involve personal religious beliefs.  I have my set of beliefs that I began to make as a child and continue to develop as an adult.  It is a great benefit to be aware of the beliefs and opinions of people of different religions here on campus and all around the world.  Religion was a fundamental part of the founding of my country and being educated about it is crucial for understanding and appreciation."


-Amanda Sivik, May 2016

Minor in Religion


Whatever your major, a minor in Religion goes well with everything (like ketchup!).


Why is everyone talking about studying Religion?

  • You get a Religion minor in only 12 credit hours! 
  • You have probably already completed one Religion class as part of the Core 
  • Courses for the Religion minor may also meet Core requirements (See below) 
  • Of course...There's also the Religion major.

Many of our Religion Courses Fulfill the Humanities Core Requirement


REL 220 Taking Human Life
REL 240 Jewish Religious Traditions
REL 250 Understanding Islam in Today's World
REL 308 Political Theology
REL 340 Religion & the Civil Rights Movement in America


World Religion Classes, many of which fulfill Border Crossing Requirement


REL 107 Exploring World Religions
REL 250 Understanding Islam in Today's World
REL 341 World Christianity, Culture & Mission
REL 307 World Religions East & West


Many Religion Courses Fulfill the Historical Reasoning Core


REL 230 Hist. of Early Christianity
REL 231 Hist. Medieval & Reformation Christianity
REL 232 Hist. of Modern Christianity
REL 233 Hist. Religions in America

What I learned from Stanley Hauerwas

It’s a great privilege to know and be known by Stanley Hauerwas, the pre-eminent American theologian of our time. On the occasion of his retirement, I joined a terrific group of his students, former students, and fellow-theologians for a celebration of his life and work at an event called “The Difference Christ Makes.”
 
That celebration made me want to reflect on everything I’ve learned from Stanley Hauerwas. There’s too many to name, but here are six of them:
 
1. The smallest moral unit is the community, not the individual.
Hauerwas has been a relentless critic of what Notre Dame philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre calls “the Enlightenment Project” which, in our day, is the common heritage of various forms of political liberalism (on both the left and the right). The Enlightenment taught us that morality comes down to individual decisions and the actions of an individual conscience. The picture is of rootless, tradition-less autonomy (literally a “law unto oneself”); who we are is who we have made ourselves to be when we neutrally stood before a range of moral options. I first learned the flaws of this picture from Hauerwas. Our characters are formed through numerous sources, many of which are beyond our control. We recognize human contingency in our dependence on others.