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

From left, George Levesque, dean of academic affairs in Yale College and secretary for Yale’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; award winners Sarah Demers, Christine Hayes, and Pam Schirmeister; and Pericles Lewis, dean of Yale College.

Phi Beta Kappa honors two celebrated Yale teachers and a long-serving academic dean

April 25, 2025
Two members of the Yale faculty — Sarah Demers, a professor of physics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Christine Hayes, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Religious...
Laura Nasrallah

Laura Nasrallah - One of two FAS faculty honored with 2025 ACLS Fellowships

April 21, 2025
Two FAS faculty have been awarded fellowships by the American Council of Learned Societies to support and recognize their excellence in humanities and social science research...

Passover pop-up exhibit at Sterling teaches visitors about Jewish tradition

April 13, 2025
A number of haggadot and Passover-related books from Yale’s collections were on view for students, faculty and visitors on Wednesday afternoon in the Gates Classroom at...