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A Secular Studies Degree? Pitzer College Takes the Lead on a Growing Trend

A Secular Studies Degree? Pitzer College Takes the Lead on a Growing Trend
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Noodle Staff March 23, 2012

We've all hear about a religion major in college, but what about studying secularism?

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Religious Studies, Theology, Jewish Studies: these are all majors we aren't suprised to find at liberal arts colleges across the country, but Secular Studies? Pitzer College recently announced a new degree program in Secular Studies. The Huffington Post reports that interest in Secular studies is on the rise, with the Humanist Institute announcing plans to offer a Master's degree program later this year.

But what exactly is Secular Studies? Founder of the program and Sociology professor Phil Zuckerman tells the HuffPo: "We've been studying religious people for years, but there is a huge chunk of humanity who is not religious, Who are they? I would like to study them with the same vigor we study religiosity."

Students in Pitzer's program will study secularism within the frameworks of philosophy, sociology, history, science and literature. They will also take courses in Religious Studies for a total of 10 core courses.

Click here to learn more about Pitzer's program or here to learn about the Humanist Institute.

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