NOTE: The certificate program is still in the initial stages of planning and research. If the RFS Certificate is to become a reality, it must go through several important reviews and approval processes. With these caveats in mind, we offer the following preview of the Certificate in Religious Freedom Studies.
What is a "certificate program" and why offer it instead of a traditional major or minor?
A certificate program is not a degree program, and thus is not necessarily limited to students enrolled at Virginia Wesleyan College. Community members or students from another institution could enroll under the status of special students. For students with an interest in religious freedom issues regardless of major, the certificate provides an educational credential that indicates their completion of and competency in a multi-disciplinary course of study.
What good is it?
Religious diversity is a fact of modern life locally, nationally, and globally. Our communities, schools, and workplaces bring us in daily contact with persons of wildly divergent religious faiths, practices, duties and beliefs. Businesses, schools, government and private organizations need employees equipped with the knowledge and inter-personal skills to ensure that such a diverse group works together to the best advantage of the purposes and goals of the organization. Indeed, the challenge of the century is living, working, and governing together in the face of this diversity. The certificate program in Religious Freedom Studies will educate about our differences and about what we share in common, and will give students first-hand, personal experience working with persons of faiths different from their own.
Are any other certificate programs available at Virginia Wesleyan College?
Yes. The Center for Sacred Music offers a Church Music Certificate Program. This program offers an important precedent and a useful model for the Religious Studies Certificate program.
What requirements do you envision for earning the certificate?
The Certificate in Religious Freedom Studies, as currently envisioned, will have three components:
- Academic: course work providing a basic grounding in the political, legal, social, and religious dimensions of religious freedom and related issues.
- Experiential: an off-campus internship or service-learning experience in which students meet and work with people of faiths and cultures different from their own. These may be arranged through the Center or the College, or students may suggest and develop their own internships. A wide range of possibilities is available.
- Integrative Project: a final paper or other project that integrates the student's course work and internship experiences and reflects on the meaning of these experiences in light of the student's own goals.
How can I find out more about the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom and be kept informed of the progress toward the establishment of a Certificate Program in Religious Freedom Studies?
Send your name and address to csrf@vwc.edu and we'll put you on the Center's mailing list for updates, events and other programs. Be sure to mention your specific interest in the Religious Freedom Studies Certificate Program.