Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts will introduce a Religious Studies Program as an undergraduate minor effective when the winter 2002semester begins in January.

This is the first Religious Studies Program at a public university in Southeast Michigan. Lawrence Scaff, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, has appointed Dr. Arthur Marotti of the English department as Director of Religious Studies, while nearly 40 faculty members will form a Religious Studies affiliated faculty.

"As a political scientist, I am well aware of the great affect that the world's religions have had upon major world events and on the daily lives of people throughout the ages. This new Religious Studies program will help students learn the significance of religion to humanity, and will enhance our understanding of the cultures of the world," said Scaff.

Religious Studies will be a 21-credit minor -- incorporating courses that address religious issues from every discipline. "Metro Detroit's rich and diverse population and religious backgrounds will play a key role in the study of religion at Wayne State. The program will not proselytize; it will be a rigorous academic study of religion," said Marotti.

Courses in the program will cover a broad range of topics and disciplines from anthropology to Slavic languages with stops in sociology, political science, philosophy and history among other departments. The Religious Studies curriculum will include courses on the African religious experience, studies of Dante, Augustine and Petrarch, surveys of Jewish history, a study of the Holocaust and examinations of Islamic Art and Architecture. Courses will examine various religions' roles in literature as well as the role of religions, cults and myths in society.

The program's director is already planning a major conference slated for next fall entitled, "From Religious Toleration to Civil Tolerance: Religion and the State from Antiquity to the Present."

Further information on the program is available on the web at cla.wayne.edu/religiousstudies.

Wayne State University is a premier institution offering more than 350academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.