Religious Studies Department Statement in solidarity with UVM's Religion Department
December 17, 2020
The Department of Religious Studies at Northwestern University expresses its deepest support of, and solidarity with, the Department of Religion at the University of Vermont. Like many of our colleagues in the academic study of religion and the humanities as a whole, we were dismayed to learn that the University of Vermont has proposed to close UVM’s Department of Religion. Understanding religion is a central part of a broad humanistic education, and will remain so. Like us, our esteemed colleagues at UVM research and teach not just about the religions in which they specialize, but how those religions are intricately intertwined with all aspects of society, culture, economy, law, politics, art, and literature. Departments of religion provide indispensable resources to students at all levels, and the pedagogical needs they fulfill cannot be meaningfully met by other departments. Closing this department would be a profound disservice to the students of Vermont’s flagship public university. We urge the administration to reconsider.