Interreligious Studies

Abstract

• Show the study programme profile

  Profile of the study programme

  The religious landscape in Switzerland has been changing for some time. One of the main reasons for this evolution is the growing number of religions represented in the country. Contrary to secularisation theory, what we currently see unfolding is less a return to the established churches that have existed in Europe for centuries than the stabilisation of these same religious groups, and the growing importance of denominations recently introduced into Switzerland through immigrant communities (whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist).

  Religions are thus becoming key social players because, by virtue of their histories, they possess rich reservoirs of practices, institutions and ways of attributing meaning to human life. These reservoirs can, if needed, be useful to society, for example in interreligious discussions or peace education. However, it must not be forgotten that religion can also spark conflict, and it is therefore also necessary to be able to anticipate interreligious dynamics that could trigger destructive forces.

  The programme serves to link the perspectives of theology, religious sciences and self-apprehension as well as analysis of religions based on external factors such as economics, law and literature. This orientation makes the programme unique within Swiss academia. Other features help make this programme particularly interesting, including the study of religious law, a focus on the hermeneutical spaces between religions and, finally, Islamological studies. The programme has been designed to bridge the gap between scholarship and political and social practices. Four religions — Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Asian religions — are of particular importance in this course because they continue to shape the religious landscape today. Historical knowledge, which the Faculty of Theology offers from the Ancient Near East to modern times, forms the basis of research and teaching. The study programme is centred on current events to make the regional and global aspects of religion accessible.

  In this context, the study programme wishes to equip participants with two skills:
  a) The ability to analyse religion as a factor in ethics and social and political change;
  b) Understanding of the fundamental problems that arise in interreligious dialogues and thinking about ways to solve them.

  This study programme is run by the Faculty of Theology but is part of an interfaculty, interdisciplinary network. It is thus open to students from all disciplines.

  Learning outcomes
  The bachelor programme aims to transmit basic knowledge about religions with respect to their history, beliefs, rituals, forms of organisation and the societal practices they espouse, but will also look at religious and ethical law and interreligious relations. Through this curriculum students acquire a wide range of content and methods of understanding both the past and the present.

  Skills
  Programme participants learn to develop and work on historical, legal and theological issues related to religions, and on interreligious dialogue based on the fundamental knowledge acquired. The programme also offers students the opportunity to focus on questions involving worldviews and societal orientations within the framework of a systematic discourse, in the process further developing their own identity.

  Career prospects
  The programme offers career prospects for the following target groups, among others:
  – Specialists needing intercultural skills of a religious nature, such as professionals working in civil administration, the media, NGOs or the intercultural domain;
  – Theologians seeking to specialise in major areas of society and politics, for spheres of activity either within or outside the church;
  – Mediators involved in different interreligious or intercultural fields;
  – Teachers (see «Teacher Education for Academic Upper Secondary Schools»).

Studies organisation

Structure of studies

Curriculum

Admission

Alternatives

Minor study programmes to be chosen