Philosophy & Religion

We are a joint philosophy-religion department, offering a major and minor in both Philosophy and Religion.

If you choose to pursue a course of study in our department you will find:

• Class sizes that facilitate meaningful student-to-teacher and student-to-student interactions.
• A curriculum that requires you to have an active role in shaping your educational experience.
• An approach to philosophy and religion that promotes cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary studies.
• Opportunities to assist with faculty research and contribute to other faculty and departmental projects.

The department includes philosophy and religious studies, with several members teaching and researching in both areas of inquiry. The program promotes interdisciplinary approaches, whether between philosophy and religion or with other complementary majors. Our Comparison Project enacts interdisciplinarity through a public program in comparative philosophy of religion and local lived religion.

In addition to philosophy and religion, scholarly strengths lie in the fields of philosophy of education, critical race theologies, post-colonial biblical studies, philosophy of mind, and Japanese philosophy. But it is our innovative and dynamic teaching that sets us apart, be it through immersive role-playing pedagogies, creative artistic-representation pedagogies, or the facilitation of digital stories about the religions of Des Moines.

Our six full-time faculty members are dedicated to creating an exceptional learning environment, one that fosters effective collaboration, critical and creative engagement, empathetic understanding, and personal and social responsibility.