History of the Department of Religious Studies
With initial funding from John D. Rockefeller, The University of Iowa took a courageous and innovative step forward when it founded the School of Religion in 1927, some four decades before other public universities took similar action. The founders most basic concern was to incorporate the study of religion, as a prominent and often pre-eminent factor in human culture, within the university curriculum. However, in its last three decades, the School has undergone disciplinary and curricular transformations that reach far beyond the founders’ vision.
The Supreme Court decision of 1963 that banned prescribed prayers and religious exercise from public schools (Abington Township v Schempp) was a landmark event. The decision also opened up the real possibility for the rigorously academic study of religion, which was deemed to be constitutionally legitimate in public institutions. Colleges and universities across the country established religion departments. At that time Iowa was already a recognized leader among state universities. Robert S. Michaelson had become Director of the School of Religion in 1954, and he developed a commitment to cross-cultural studies in religion at The University of Iowa. The University responded to Michaelson’s leadership by expanding the School’s faculty from six individuals in 1954 to fourteen in 1969.
This expansion led to the School’s recognition within the academy as a visible and respected presence among major research institutions that offer undergraduate and graduate programs in the academic study of religion. Most importantly, the School's fundamental approach to scholarship and teaching assumed a more comparative and interdisciplinary orientation. In its curriculum the School expanded well beyond its initial Judeo-Christian focus into the history of Asian religions. These changes in some cases set the pace for monumental changes in the field of religious studies generally speaking.
After 75 years as the School of Religion, and after establishing such a significant tradition within the academy as a major institution among public universities, the faculty have officially changed our name to “Department of Religious Studies.” This change of name signifies a change in both substantive identity and purpose.
Today we define our mission in these words: to advance scholarly inquiry into religion and its influences, and to educate students for responsible citizenship in a religiously pluralistic world by teaching them to think clearly and critically about religion.