The Center for the Study of Religion at UCLA was established in June 1995 under the auspices of Dean Pauline Yu of the Humanities Division, in order to coordinate research and give a more visible campus presence to the study of religion. Current world developments continue to demonstrate the need for creating effective interdisciplinary institutions and approaches for rethinking the significance of the relations between religion and community. Moreover, we can anticipate that new strategies developed in the analysis of these religious phenomena will continue to result in fresh approaches to the study of culture in general.
The growing need for understanding religion and culture in modern contexts as well as in ancient ones, urged scholars of UCLA to bridge the gap between public and academia and among the academic departments related to the study of religion. Thus, the Center grew out of an informally organized group of faculty and students interested in religion.
This group has held a weekly colloquium and mounted annual conferences and evening lecture series since 1990. UCLA has also had for over twenty years an Interdepartmental Degree Program (IDP) offering an undergraduate major in the Study of Religion.
The Center for the Study of Religion at UCLA
74 B Dodd Hall / Box 145102
University of Califorinia, Los Angeles
Los Angeles CA 90095-1451
phone: (310)
825-8948
fax: (310) 825-6040
e-mail: religion@humnet.ucla.edu