BU Religion Announces New Minor: “Religion in Science & Medicine”
This semester, the BU Department of Religion introduced its Religion in Science & Medicine minor as its eighth undergraduate study track. Two professors in the department, April Hughes and Anthony Petro, set this initiative in motion. Hughes and Petro see this new minor as a way to address two of the department’s goals: to meet the demand of popular classes and to encourage the study of religion. In order to stand out in an increasingly competitive pre-professional environment, as well as learn to address the “controversial” relationship between religion, medicine and science, students would be well served by taking up Religion in Science & Medicine.
Hughes and Petro hope the Religion in Science & Medicine minor brings to the fore a greater understanding of religious, cultural, and ethical aspects of science and medicine. Religion classes that address the intersections of religion, science, and medicine have been increasingly popular at BU, such as CAS RN106 Death and Immortality, CAS RN209 Religion, Health, and Medicine, and CAS242/HI203 Magic, Science, Religion. Hughes and Petro noticed this trend and proposed the minor as a way not only to engage more students in the study of religion but to provide a coherent framework for students with these interests. This new minor addresses the common misconception that religious studies are “reserved for people wanting to join a church or clerical order.” As Hughes and Petro point out, “understanding religious motivations prepares students for careers in international work, social services, media, law, government, and education.” They suggest the minor will “set students apart as noteworthy applicants for all types of professional schools.”
The Religion in Science & Medicine minor is not the first course of study at BU to combine the humanities and STEM. It joins the growing list of joint programs including the Philosophy & Neuroscience BA as well as the Mathematics & Philosophy BA. Hughes and Petro are excited to continue this trend, hoping to show that humanities and STEM are both stronger when they work together. They believe that humanities approaches are necessary to solving modern scientific and medical problems: “The more that scientists understand how we think about our bodies along with the long cultural history involved,” Hughes notes, “the better they can serve the public.” Through an integrated understanding of the humanities, medicine, and science, students will be prepared to encounter the diverse human perspectives that they will face in their careers, “allowing them to understand their clients or patients – and themselves – more holistically,” claims Hughes.
Hughes and Petro also discussed the importance of studying humanities to pre-health students. The more medical practitioners understand their patients from multiple different religious and cultural backgrounds, the better doctors they can be. In order to understand these backgrounds, it is crucial that pre-health students learn about the various ways that religion and health interact. The new minor is designed to offer classes that foster these connections. Some examples include classes that relate to cultural aspects of eating such as CAS RN248 Food and Religion, ethics courses such as CAS RN246 Sex, Death, and the Buddha and CAS RN345 Shariah Law, and a course focused on “religious futures,” CAS RN356 Religion in the Digital Age. There is also a special topics course, CAS RN450, that offers innovative seminars relating to medical science and religion. The topic for the Spring 2022 special course is HIV/AIDS, Art, and Religion in America.
The Religion in Science & Medicine minor has emerged at a time when current media narratives often pit core values of religion and medical science against one another. However, Hughes and Petro believe that these values work better when they complement each other. They note that there is currently an association between white evangelicalism and resistance to COVID vaccines and wearing facemasks, but there are many other Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists in the U.S who welcome these measures and see them as a religious imperative to look out for one another’s lives. The perceived conflict between religion and medical science brings forth “bigger epistemological questions about what it means to ‘know’ something,” Hughes says. “Just as people view science as ‘truth,’ just like religion, science has a history in which ideas and concepts evolve and shift over time.” Hughes and Petro believe it is imperative to see that religion, science, and medicine have been “in harmony” at times and “in competition” at others. As they say, “Learning about these intersections is important not only because it enriches our historical understanding, but because it helps us to imagine better futures.”
The Religion in Science & Medicine minor is now available to all Boston University undergraduates. Learn more about the minor at the Department of Religion’s website or email Professor April Hughes at adhughes@bu.edu for more info.