Majors & Minors

Religion

Southwestern’s Religion program introduces students to a variety of global religious traditions, experiences and expressions, with the goal of creating an empathetic understanding of differences.

Contact

Elaine Craddock

Professor & Chair

Email

craddoce@southwestern.edu

Phone

512.863.1963

Elaine Craddock

Professor & Chair

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Religion
Religion (Credit: Southwestern University)

As an academic discipline, religious studies prepares students to better understand, compare, interpret, and analyze the diverse array of human expression known as “religious.” A guiding assumption in religious studies is that religion can and should be subjected to the types of critical analyses that are applied to other areas of the human social world. Religious studies is an inherently interdisciplinary field that utilizes the critical theories and tools from many other academic fields, such as: philosophy, art, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, language studies, literature, politics, economics, cultural studies, gender studies and ethnic studies.



AFTER SOUTHWESTERN

Featured Alumni Stories

Courtney King ’20

A Future CEO

With her sights set on running her own business one day, Courtney King ’20 shares that making the world a better place is at the heart of all her endeavors.

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Jackson Bird ’12

Jackson Bird ’12

Distinguished Young Alumnus

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EXPLORE SOUTHWESTERN

Religion News

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Laura Hobgood

Professor of Religion Laura Hobgood featured in The Atlantic

The article references her book A Dog’s History of the World.

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Eating Animals Panel

Eating Animals: Bringing Religious Perspectives to the Table

An interactive panel discussion exploring the religious intersection of the treatment of animals and our food choices.

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Mister Squinty

Dogs Are Man’s Best Friend, but Cats Are a Pirate’s First Mate

Meet Southwestern University’s Cat Partners club and its furry, feline family.

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EXPLORE SOUTHWESTERN

Religion Events

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Christopher Carter, The Spirit of Soul Food (University of Illinois Press, December 2021)

Environmental Studies Symposium Keynote and Food Tasting, Rev. Christopher Carter, Ph.D., “The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice”

Soul food has played a critical role in preserving Black history, community, and culinary genius. It is also a response to–and marker of–centuries of food injustice. Given the harm that our food production system inflicts upon Black people, what should soul food look like today?

Christopher Carter’s answer to that question merges a history of Black American foodways with a Christian ethical response to food injustice. Carter reflects on how people of color can eat in a way that reflects their cultural identities while remaining true to the principles of compassion, love, justice, and solidarity with the marginalized.

Accompanying the lecture will be three different soul foods, based on Dr. Carter’s recipes, that attendees will share: red beans and rice, vegan cornbread, and peach crisp.

Christopher Carter is an assistant professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego. He is also a pastor within the United Methodist Church and has served churches in Battle Creek, Michigan, and in Torrance and Compton, California.

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The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, & Food Justice

Book signing by Rev. Christopher Carter, Author of “The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, & Food Justice”

This book signing immediately follows the Environmental Studies Symposium keynote address and food tasting by Christopher Carter

Book Signing:
Christopher Carter, The Spirit of Soul Food (University of Illinois Press, December 2021)

About the Book: Soul food has played a critical role in preserving Black history, community, and culinary genius. It is also a response to–and marker of–centuries of food injustice. Given the harm that our food production system inflicts upon Black people, what should soul food look like today?

Christopher Carter’s answer to that question merges a history of Black American foodways with a Christian ethical response to food injustice. Carter reveals how racism and colonialism have long steered the development of US food policy. The very food we grow, distribute, and eat disproportionately harms Black people specifically and people of color among the global poor in general. Carter reflects on how people of color can eat in a way that reflects their cultural identities while remaining true to the principles of compassion, love, justice, and solidarity with the marginalized.

Both a timely mediation and a call to action, The Spirit of Soul Food places today’s Black foodways at the crossroads of food justice and Christian practice.

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