Undergraduate Programs
The Department of Religious Studies offers an online major and minor as well as specialized concentrations such as in Religion and Nonprofit Leadership.
Faculty & Research
The faculty and students of the Department of Religious Studies at University of Tennessee, Knoxville engage is a wide range of research. We specialize not just in a wide range of geographical areas and historical religious traditions, but also a variety methods and approaches.
Events & Programs
The Department of Religious Studies at University of Tennessee, Knoxville hosts speakers and programs on a wide range of topics including endowed lectures in Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.
Charles H. Reynolds Distinguished Alumnus/a Award
Charles H. Reynolds served as department head from 1980 – 2001. In the wake of his passing on January 25, 2017 [TN Today | Knoxville News-Sentinel] the Department decided to create an award in his honor. Because he stayed connected to many of his former students, we decided to honor a distinguished alumnus or alumna each year. The award is handed out at the Graduation and Awards Ceremony in the spring.
Our 2025 winner is Sean Blevins, an alumnus from the class of 2003.
Religious Studies in the News
- Bryson Awarded Lindsay Young Professorship
Megan Bryson, associate professor in the UT Department of Religious Studies, has been awarded a Lindsay Young Professorship. Bryson is an established scholar of the themes of gender and ethnicity… Read more: Bryson Awarded Lindsay Young Professorship - From ancient texts to modern practices, Daoism provides a profound framework for understanding the world not as broken but as naturally seeking balance
The ‘Three Pure Ones,’ the deities considered the most pure representation of the Dao. Unknown author via Wikimedia Commons Michael Naparstek, University of Tennessee Daoism, China’s indigenous religion, is one… Read more: From ancient texts to modern practices, Daoism provides a profound framework for understanding the world not as broken but as naturally seeking balance - Jenny C. Bledsoe Honored with Distinguished Alumna Award
Jenny C. Bledsoe (‘11), Torchbearer award winner, will receive the 2026 Charles H. Reynolds Distinguished Alumna Award from the Department of Religious Studies. Bledsoe—now a tenured professor and researcher at… Read more: Jenny C. Bledsoe Honored with Distinguished Alumna Award
Upcoming Events
Podcasts
- A Poetics of Nature: Religious Naturalism, Multiplicities, and Affinities
- Partners in Sacred History: The Nonhuman Other in Early Islam
- The Atrocity of Hunger
- Interview with Melissa Wilcox on Queer Religiosities
- Spirit Guide: African Islam, Social Justice, and the Rub of Modernity
- Spirit Guide: Tracy Pintchman on the Goddess Without Boundaries
- Kline Interview with Adam Kotsko: What is Political Theology
- Interview with Marla Frederick on Religion, Race, and Education