Welcome

The Yale Department of Religious Studies, established in its present form in 1963, is one of the leading scholarly communities dedicated to the study of religion. Our faculty research religions from around the world in an effort to understand the role of religions as social movements, textual traditions, sensory cultures, and arbiters of value.

The Yale Department of Religious Studies maintains strong ties to a number of other departments in Yale College and the Yale Graduate School. Faculty and students in Religious Studies programs are able to take advantage of Yale’s rich resources, including six major research libraries. One of the world’s finest libraries for the study of religion is located at the Yale Divinity School. The Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies share some faculty, and have strong ties, but are distinct entities with separate degree programs.

The Department is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for all of its students, faculty, and staff. Nothing is more important to the quality of intellectual community we share. The Department takes concerns about misconduct and other forms of discrimination very seriously, and the University maintains a number of resources to address questions concerning them:

            Sexual Misconduct Response at Yale
            Office of the Provost-Title IX
            Office for Equal Opportunity Programs

News

Gene Outka

Gene Outka ’62 B.D., 1937-2023

May 3, 2023
Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling made the following announcement today. —— It is my sad duty to inform you that Gene Outka ’62 B.D., Dwight Professor Emeritus of...
Wayne A. Meeks

In Memoriam: Wayne A. Meeks

January 17, 2023
  Wayne Atherton Meeks, Woolsey Professor of Biblical Studies, Emeritus, an influential scholar who helped shape contemporary New Testament and Early Christian studies,...
Christine Hayes

Christine Hayes Awarded Honorary Degree at the Faculty of Theology at Lund University

December 16, 2022
Congratulations to Christine Hayes for being awarded an honorary doctoral degree in Theology by Lund University in Sweden. The Swedish press release can be found here. The...