Frequently Asked Questions

Seminars are multi-week online classes where a religious studies expert guides a small group through assigned readings. They feature weekly lectures, an online community forum, and optional exercises. Seminars are 50% off for members.

Guest lectures are one-off events where leading experts in the study of religion give 45 minute talks, followed by an audience Q&A moderated by Dr. Andrew Henry. Guest lectures are pay-what-you-want for non-members. Members can attend live for free and get full access to our past recordings.

Guided Readings are drop-in reading groups where a scholar walks students through a significant or sacred text. They are for members only, and can be joined live or watched later as a resource for independent study.

You will get lifetime access to the course material and live recordings. When the course ends we will share a download link for all lectures videos and course materials. We don't archive our forums, but we will keep it going as long as it follows our Community Guidelines. 

No.

Our seminars are designed to accommodate different levels of availability and commitment. Most students spend 2-4 hours a week, but some choose to go deeper with optional readings and assignments. Since you have lifetime access you can always come back for deeper engagement. 

No. The Religion Department is not affiliated with any religious tradition or institution. We are an academic organization dedicated to the critical and scholarly study of religion. Our instructors come from a variety of intellectual and personal backgrounds, but we approach the subject from a non-confessional perspective.

The critical study of religion is an academic approach that examines religion as a human phenomenon— something people create, perform, and interpret within specific cultural and historical contexts, expressed through institutions, rituals, texts, and other social constructs.

Importantly, the critical study of religion doesn’t mean criticizing religion. It means asking analytical questions about how religion works in the world: Who speaks in its name? To whom? With what authority, and to what end? 

Rather than treating the phenomena of religion as timeless or essential, we study how they operate, with curiosity and critical reflexivity.