The seminar room is unlike any other on campus. Being in the religion house and thinking about how little I knew my first semester freshman year sitting at that table to feeling so much more confident in myself is a really special feeling.
– hannah kiely
Hannah Kiely ’22
Why did you major in Religion?
I majored in Religion because I wanted to study why people practice religion and how it affects them and the world around them.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
In ten years, I hope to be an attorney, eventually returning to Maine and living near the ocean.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
Any class in the religion department that is super specific is always really fun and interesting. Women in Christianity to 1500, Islam and Modernity, and Buddhism in Sri Lanka were my favorites.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
If I could write a book, I think it would be about the chronological journey of female subjectivity from the high Middle Ages to our modern day. A lengthy endeavor to say the least.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
The seminar room is unlike any other on campus. Being in the religion house and thinking about how little I knew my first semester freshman year sitting at that table to feeling so much more confident in myself is a really special feeling.
The first class I took was with Professor Trainor about Christ and Buddha it really engaged me. I felt engaged by both the content and the questions being asked. I was really intrigued so took other classes and followed that thread.
– jake wilson
Jake Wilson ’22
Why did you major in Religion?
I started out not having any ideas of what I’d major in, but I had always been interested in religion, and learning about how other people live and center their lives. The first class I took was with Professor Trainor about Christ and Buddha it really engaged me. I felt engaged by both the content and the questions being asked. I was really intrigued so took other classes and followed that thread.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
Somewhere warmer than Burlington.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
I loved the Jewish Creativity and Ritual Course with Professor Andrus. I think it gives a glimpse of all the different dimensions that religion courses offer. It has interning theoretical base with all these cool readings which challenged the way I thought. But also it gave me the chance to see those ideas in practice as we got to interview an artist and make our own artistic creations as part of the final projects.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
I wish there were more books connecting more theoretical ideas about ritual, community and belief to modern life, so maybe something like that trying to connect modern music or tv shows to a lot of these ideas, showing the way they are interrelated and the ways religion is still a part of of our experience and understandings.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
It was really cool to take a lot of different types of courses in the same place each coming year, and to end with the senior colloquium there. One memory that sticks out is getting that Religion Mug in Professor Borchert’s Interpretations of Religion, this was during COVID lockdown and the class was hybrid, so the mug was a way of providing that together feeling even while behind the screen.
What I loved about every class is that it would usually invite discussions of race, social structures, politics and gender into the classroom, which made it all the more special and interesting to learn about. As a result of that, it granted me the space to think critically about religion in the context of colonialism, globalization, societal norms, and so much more. It also taught me that religion is everywhere and that it intersects with every aspect of our lives, which means it can’t be ignored!
– lena ginawi
Lena Ginawi ’22
Why did you major in Religion?
During my freshman and sophomore year of college, I honestly couldn’t figure out what I wanted to study. However, what felt like a waste of time was honestly a blessing in disguise because I eventually found the major that I truly loved: Religion!! At first, I decided to minor in religion, but as I started taking more REL courses, I realized there was something special about the Religion department and the study of Religion, so I decided to major in it. What I loved about every class is that it would usually invite discussions of race, social structures, politics and gender into the classroom, which made it all the more special and interesting to learn about. As a result of that, it granted me the space to think critically about religion in the context of colonialism, globalization, societal norms, and so much more. It also taught me that religion is everywhere and that it intersects with every aspect of our lives, which means it can’t be ignored!
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I hope to be doing what I love and utilizing the skills that I’ve gained from the religion department to navigate the world. I see myself as a human rights defender in Egypt working against the oppressive and arbitrary arrests and detention of political prisoners.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
This is honestly a tough one for me to answer because I absolutely enjoyed every REL course that I took at UVM. However, if I were to choose a couple, I would say Islam & Race and Religion, Health & Healing! I really enjoyed Islam & Race because it granted me the space to both grapple with my own identity and to think critically about the racialization of religious minorities. I also really enjoyed Religion, Health & Healing because it helped me think about how folks use religion to make sense of illness, death and suffering in the context of colonialism and norms shaped by society.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
I’ve always been interested in the arts and creative modes of expression! More specifically, how folks of color use poetry as a way to reclaim their narrative in a postcolonial and racialized society. So, I would probably write a book of poetry to tell my own story and to reclaim my narrative as a Muslim woman of color.
I would also love to write a book on the Egyptian anti-imperialist movement and the effects of colonialism during the British occupation in Egypt I think it would be super interesting to explore some of the ways it has shaped political identities and social order in postcolonial Egypt.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
I loved going to the back area of the REL department and sitting on the couch until class would start. It was such a comfortable space to be in and it was a good little hiding spot if I wanted to escape from UVM’s busy campus.
I also loved having class in the seminar room! I realized I learn a lot better in smaller classrooms spaces, and it also grants me the opportunity to establish more meaningful connections with my classmates and professors.
I would tell a first-year student taking religion classes not to dream of missing Religion in Popular Culture! This class showed how much religion is in EVERYTHING in such an interesting and relevant way!
-Hannah nathan
Hannah Nathan ’22
Why did you major in Religion?
When I was a freshman selecting a TAP class, the only available class was Religion, Health, and Healing with Professor Brennan. Before the semester began, I wanted to withdraw from the class because I had never learned about religion before and I had a false idea of what the class would be like. By the end of that semester Religion, Health, and Healing was my favorite class and I was excited about taking further religion classes. The next semester I declared Religion as my major when I realized most of the classes offered are equally as interesting.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
Providing service to others.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
I would tell a first-year student taking religion classes not to dream of missing Religion in Popular Culture! This class showed how much religion is in EVERYTHING in such an interesting and relevant way. The final project was also so much fun to do!
If you could write any book, what would it be?
A book about events that occurred during the Holocaust, or a book about religion in popular music nowadays!
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
During finals week of Fall 2021 when there were no seats in the library to study, 481 Main Street opened the building for students to have a place to study and provided snacks and coffee. It was the only good part of that final week for me and one of the reasons why I loved being a Religion Major!
I don’t think there’s another major as interdisciplinary, nor do I think any other major makes its students better people. The Religion major has allowed me to expand the information I cherish the most and has made me a more aware, intentional, and passionate member of society.
– Alex Castellano
Alex Castellano ’22
Why did you major in Religion?
I’ve never been a fan of school, and I only originally came to college because my family wanted me to go. But after one meeting with Prof. Morgenstein Fuerst, I was hooked. I don’t think there’s another major as interdisciplinary, nor do I think any other major makes its students better people. The Religion major has allowed me to expand the information I cherish the most and has made me a more aware, intentional, and passionate member of society.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
That’s funny. Honestly, I don’t really think that far ahead, but I hope that in ten years I’m helping people and coming home to a farm far, far away.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
I’ve been dreading this question, because it’s too hard to choose! Probably Islam and Race or Islam and Modernity with IRMF, or African Gods/Western Museums with Prof. Brennan. These classes gave me a tangible method for thinking about imperialism and colonization in everyday life.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
I would love to publish a photography book one day. About what? I’m not sure, but I imagine a book of portraiture of some sort. I like to romanticize the idea of writing a novel, but I don’t think it’s likely.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
Getting my REL house mug at the end of Religion 100 was super special (I even have a video with REL alum Becca Turley!), but I think even more special was spending my Wednesday nights in the seminar room, drinking tea and eating snacks with Prof. Brennan in African Gods/Western Museums. That was one of many moments in which I knew the Religion department was family, and I’m so grateful to have spent my four years here.
In what other major can you peruse the Ramayana, the SattipatthanaSutta, and the Scivias, at the same time? As a religion major, you will have access to the greatest works in translation. What’s more? Religion professors, you must have heard by now are the most caring, talented, and student-centered you can find on UVM campus.
– shuvan shrestha
Shuvan Shrestha is one of our 2021 Outstanding Major Award winners!
Why did you major in Religion?
In what other major can you peruse the Ramayana, the SattipatthanaSutta, and the Scivias, at the same time? As a religion major, you will have access to the greatest works in translation. What’s more? Religion professors, you must have heard by now are the most caring, talented, and student-centered you can find on UVM campus. After taking Professor Trainor’s Comparing Religions, followed by Professor Brennan’s Religion, Sound, Space my first year, I was destined to become a religion major. Yet the question of why you majored in religion, cannot be described fully in words, you will need to sit in a religion classroom to experience for yourself.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
I am deeply worried about the state of K-12 education in Nepal, where I received my own K-12 education. As remnants of colonial atrocities, corporal punishment is widely used in schools today. I hope to push against institutions that value discipline over creativity, rigidity over flexibility, censorship over academic freedom, and unhealthy supervision over trust in students. This needs to change.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
Religion, Sound, Space with Professor Brennan! This was THE class when I think back, what made my first-year UVM experience so great, this is the class. A four-credit class with six other students, a class in which CAS’ public reputation as a “small liberal arts college within a high caliber public research institution” was manifest, in this class we conducted field research, we interviewed local community members and made connections with them, while also learning about ethnomusicology and acoustemology, we recorded the soundscape of Burlingtonwith support from Howe Library’s Multimedia Services, and then we made an entire blog post, in turn receiving compliments aplenty from the local community members. As someone who did not know much about Vermont or even the U.S., interacting with local community members back in my first-year had been a valuable experience, which made me confident to work with local communities later when I undertook the legislative internship position at the Office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders the semester after taking this class.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Nepali Translation. After receiving permission from Professor Andrew George from the SOAS and from the Penguin Press, I undertook the book translation project for Gilgamesh in my junior year. Then pandemic hit… For now, it remains a potential future project. I was interested in the project for several reasons: Professor Chiu’s excellent classes, which piqued my interest in the epic, the fact that I dearly miss reading and writing in Nepali, and the issue of language justice and accessibility.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
I will always remember Professor Trainor’s warm greetings the second I stepped into his office, also his efficacious smile, the invaluable advising sessions, the really comfortable sofa in his office! After meeting Professor Trainor in his first-floor office, I remember walking down the wooden stairway (that creaked!), only then to be heard by Professor Brennan inside her ground-floor office who waved cheerfully–thank you so much, it always brightened up my day.
You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!
I want to thank all my professors; the pandemic has not been easy for anyone. This semester, I attended UVM remotely from Nepal. For a 2:50-4:05pm class, it was 1-3am at night in my time zone. I could have picked another class with a suitable timing, but I really wanted to be in Professor Brennan’s class (again!) for my last semester (which was at 2:05). She recorded her live lectures, and all religion professors were very supportive to meet my academic needs, thank you!
Taking classes during this pandemic and comparing my experience to those of my friends has reminded me how grateful I am for this major and my professors. Being in small classes with professors who know me and care so much about their students has made all the difference. It’s still hard learning online and having the energy to focus on school with everything else going on, but this department has made it much easier.
– LAURA BISBEE-SLADE
Why did you major in Religion?
Religion was a large part of my high school experience, so entering college it seemed like a natural topic for me to study. Looking back, I don’t think I really understood what it meant to study religion, but the more I understood how religion functions in people’s lives, often in ways we don’t initially realize, and how it intersects with so many other areas of society, the more I knew I made the right choice.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully putting a law degree to good use, but we’ll see in 10 years!
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
There are a lot of courses that I think are absolutely essential, but I’m going to say Islam and Race with Prof. Morgenstein Fuerst because it is relevant to so many other facets of life and addresses topics which are often mishandled or avoided entirely.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
I’ve always loved creative storytelling and working with kids, so I think I would probably want to write (and illustrate!) a children’s book. Maybe a religious literacy for kids book!
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
Snack days in Religion, Nation, and State with Prof. Borchert!
You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!
Taking classes during this pandemic and comparing my experience to those of my friends has reminded me how grateful I am for this major and my professors. Being in small classes with professors who know me and care so much about their students has made all the difference. It’s still hard learning online and having the energy to focus on school with everything else going on, but this department has made it much easier.
In ten years I imagine myself as a middle or high school teacher teaching social studies. There are so many things I wish I was taught in middle/high school that I didn’t learn about until college. We can’t dismantle corrupt systems until we know about them and how they function – so it’s better to start that work as early as possible.
– lexie drew ’21
Lexie Drew ’21
Why did you major in Religion?
My freshman year first semester class schedule was done for me by someone in CAS. I was randomly placed in Professor Morgenstein Fuerst’s “Comparing Religions” class and absolutely loved it. I remember leaving every class feeling like my brain was exploding and growing! I just kept thinking about the discussions, information, and questions that were brought up in each class. I was learning so much and having a lot of fun and so I just kept sneakily signing up for REL classes each semester. Because I didn’t want to go without one, I eventually added it as my minor. Last semester, Professor Borchert and I realized I was only 8 credits away from a major and I decided to go for it. I am so happy I did and feel so proud to be a Religion major.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
In ten years I imagine myself as a middle or high school teacher teaching social studies. There are so many things I wish I was taught in middle/high school that I didn’t learn about until college. We can’t dismantle corrupt systems until we know about them and how they function – so it’s better to start that work as early as possible.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
Oh my, what a tough question. I think all Religion classes are amazing (like actually I am not kidding), so any and all! But these were my favorite:
Islam & Modernity: I loved constantly trying to answer the question of “what is modernity?” and we read some really great books such as “Pious Fashion.”
Religion and Ways of Knowing Loved the books we read and it really expanded my knowledge in terms of the embodiment of religion and how religious meaning is created and found.
Seeing the Sacred: Love the focus of visuality and the senses. Studying Religion by focusing on the body has taught me so much about how it functions.
Religious Literacy: I just feel like this is a really great class to take to understand how important it is to know about religion as it is literally everywhere.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
“How to get the confidence to raise your hand!” Or something about a friendship between a turtle and a dog. Still deciding between the two.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
Gathering around the table in “Religion and Ways of Knowing.” It was so small and intimate. I felt so free to be speak, question, and wonder in that atmosphere. It’s cool to talk about humans and the human experience while being close to other humans! I think it helps things make more sense. That was one of my last classes before COVID.
You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!
Things and people adapt under ever-changing circumstances. Religious communities are made up of people and so it makes sense that these communities change and shift based on particular contexts. Also, despite not being together physically, I still learned a lot virtually and was like seriously always in my pajamas.
Every class that I have taken in the department has taught me so much about how people relate to one another across time and space and the social mechanisms tied to colonial projects and white supremacy that permeate every facet of society, including through how we perceive religious people.
– becca turley ’21
Becca Turley ’21
Why did you major in Religion?
I chose to be a Religion major because I took Comparing Religions and absolutely fell in love with the subject and the department. I was drawn to the ways that the major combined so many different academic disciplines like gender studies, sociology, political science, anthropology, etc. through the lens of religion, which itself is a highly misunderstood topic. Every class that I have taken in the department has taught me so much about how people relate to one another across time and space and the social mechanisms tied to colonial projects and white supremacy that permeate every facet of society, including through how we perceive religious people.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years I hope to be engaging in work that contributes the world in a positive matter; a dream job that I would hope to have in 10 years (or more!) is an ambassador to India or some type of political advisor on a foreign region where I can use the invaluable knowledge I have gained from both the Religion and Political Science departments to foster positive change in the world!
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
ISLAM AND RACE! This was by far my favorite class in the REL department and at UVM because it taught me so much about the racialization of Islam in the United States and how it relates to the delicate racial and social fabric in the US. The materials we read and the ethnographic accounts we read opened my eyes to the US as a surveillance state and inspired me to educate myself on the racialization and politicization of other minoritized identities.
If you could write any book, what would it be?
If I could write any book it would be children’s book about the Black Liberation Movement in the 20th century and the role of religion in the fight for Civil Rights in America.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
I have so many fond memories in the REL department because it was the first place at UVM that felt like a home to me, rather than a temporary dorm or classroom. I would have to say that my funniest (not necessarily favorite) memory of the REL house, aside from receiving my REL mug at the end of REL 100, was getting stuck in the first floor bathroom because the lock got stuck, and I had to wait for someone to kick the door open before returning to class!
You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!
Graduating college in the midst of a pandemic has been a unique and difficult experience, after getting kicked out of my study abroad trip and returning to a city that looked and acted nothing like how I remembered it was very tricky for me. It has taken me a while to adjust to this new learning format, not only because taking class from home can be difficult to learn, but also because this is admittedly not how I imagined my senior year at all. Nevertheless, I have felt incredibly supported by so many people in my life during this transitionary time, and I owe a million debts of gratitude to the REL department for teaching me so much about myself and the world around me (no matter how quickly and dramatically it changes!).
Challenging yourself to think differently comes with the territory of being a religion major: regular unlearning, relearning, and the instability of every question having “yes and no” be the answer have prepared me for anything.
– katherine brennan ’21
Katherine Brennan is one of our Outstanding Major Award 2021 winners!
Why did you major in Religion?
I majored in Religion because I found the study of religion to be the most inclusive, well-rounded, and comprehensive academic study at the University of Vermont. A religion class delivers the full package: you get to learn about cultures, societies, laws, imperialism, colonialism, politics, religions, people, and more – and you get to unlearn all the harmful things ingrained by society.
Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I hope to use the knowledge I gained from the religion department and will gain from my upcoming graduate studies to apply religious literacy to the international legal sphere. I want to make a difference for religious minorities at home and abroad through navigating legal systems.
Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?
My advice to first-year students about REL courses is to take as many as you can. The religion professors are the best of the best, and their one-on-one guidance, expertise, and dedication to both you and their scholarship make the religion program unique. REL courses are meant to force you to unlearn harmful stereotypes, misunderstandings, and false information. You will be challenged: not only academically, but also to be a better person. It’s definitely worth it!
If you could write any book, what would it be?
If I could write any book, I would write a book about (no surprise?!) the ways in which French laws, culture, and politics impact religious minorities in France.
Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?
My first year, every time I passed 481 Main, I commented on how beautiful the building was. At the time, I had no idea that it housed the religion department- but it was by far my favorite building on campus. When I first went to Professor Morgenstein Fuerst’s office hours at 481 Main to discuss changing my major to Religion, it felt like it was simply meant to be. Since I changed my major four years ago, I’ve spent as much time at 481 Main as possible. The building quickly became more than just outwardly beautiful, because it also became the location of some of the most academically and personally challenging and rewarding moments of my undergraduate career. I will miss 481 Main, and everyone in it!
You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!
Finishing college in the midst of a pandemic is not exactly how I pictured everything playing out. However, if there is anything I’ve learned from religious studies it’s that people, cultures, and societies adapt. Religions are constantly changing because people are constantly changing, and part of my work as a scholar of religion has particularly prepared me for change and adaptation. Religion is what people do, and people are as unpredictable as a sudden global pandemic. Challenging yourself to think differently comes with the territory of being a religion major: regular unlearning, relearning, and the instability of every question having “yes and no” be the answer have prepared me for anything. Not to mention, adapting to thinking burdened by the loss of in-person instruction, loss of social activities, and being unable to do the things I’d like to do is reminiscent of the adaptability required of religious minorities burdened by imperialism, for example. With my privilege I do this work, despite the circumstances, and hopefully one day I can make positive change in the world.
