The Department of Religion Studies, is a department that offers a multi-religious curriculum to the systematic and scientific study of religion and adheres to the basic principles of religious tolerance, religious plurality, and religious inclusion.

Our modules are designed to offer students an extensive and in-depth knowledge of the sociological, historical and comparative phenomenon of religion and examine its role from various social contexts and religious traditions. The content outline of our courses is planned to equip students with the capacity to study and critically engage with religion from a wide range of theoretical approaches, research methodologies, and hermeneutical/textual traditions.

All these approaches, methodologies and hermeneutical/textual traditions are fashioned in a manner that seeks to add value and to contribute positively to addressing an array of contemporary issues, both at local and international levels. 

Our modules are therefore designed to help students acquire:

• A sound knowledge of the various religions of the world and those mainly practised in (Southern) Africa. These include but are not limited to African Christianity, African Traditional Religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, etc.
• The appreciation and recognition of the necessity of inter-religious dialogue, which seeks to foster respect for various religious traditions and expressions as practised in Africa, and engrained within the global context.
• A sound knowledge of the nature and role of religion in society and the various subdivisions of religion (e.g. sociology of religion, philosophy of religion, psychology of religion, etc.).
• The competence to examine, meaningfully engage, and contribute to the various scholarly/academic debates and contemporary issues around the role of religion towards the transformation of society (e.g. human rights issues, racism, xenophobia, ethnicity, gender equality, religious experience and culture, religion and ethics, religion and development, etc.).

The Department of Religion Studies offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Our undergraduate courses are designed to produce well-rounded, open-minded and research-ready students who can effectively pursue post-graduate studies in Religion Studies, Theology and other fields of study. Our post-graduate programmes are designed to produce innovative students, competent researchers, and well-informed academics who can meaningfully contribute to global knowledge and scholarship through their research expertise and aptitudes. Since our modules are cross-disciplinary, they also cater for students from other fields of study, such as Education, Philosophy, Anthropology, Gender Studies, Law, etc.