Gift launches Religions Studies program at USU
Utah State University scholars are developing a religious studies program that draws on existing courses in history, anthropology, sociology, philosophy and art in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
The religious studies program was launched by a $1.5-million gift from the Charles and Annaley Redd Foundation, which is establishing the university’s first chair in religious studies.
“Utah State University is the ideal place for a religious studies program,” said Gary Kiger, dean of the College of HASS. “We have the credibility, the resources and the reputation. We not only have many of the courses in our curriculum already, we have the library collections to support this type of scholarship.”
By religious studies, Kiger does not mean promoting one belief system over another.
“We are a non-sectarian secular university,” said history department head and professor Norm Jones. “We do not teach religion. We teach about religion – the way it shapes our culture and the way our culture shapes religion. We do not talk about issues of truth. We talk about what people do in the name of the truth in which they believe. The world today is convulsed by religious conflicts. We really need to understand how all these belief systems work.”
Charles Redd’s offspring, who are trustees of the foundation, named the chair in the newly created religious studies program in honor of their father, a cowboy intellectual who built a ranching empire in southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado.
“My father was a well-read, free-thinking Mormon who regarded his religion with affection but who subjected its practice and theology to rigorous examination just like he did with the rest of his life,” said son Hardy Redd, a 1961 graduate of Utah State.
Hardy Redd’s sister Maraley also graduated from Utah State, as did six grandchildren, all of whom are said to follow in Charles Redd’s footsteps. Among Utah State faculty, the Redds are known for their inquisitive minds. When it comes to religion, many Utah State students are curious. Norm Jones’ history of Christianity class, like other religious studies courses in the curriculum, always has a long waiting list.
“Students can’t get enough of this stuff,” he said.
Neither can Hardy Redd, who recently returned from a trip to India, the birthplace of Buddhism and Hinduism.
“A well-educated person ought to have a basic understanding of each of the world’s great religions,” said Redd. “Historically, the religious impulse to believe in a supernatural or divine being and to construct a purpose for human existence is found in all peoples throughout all of recorded history. This impulse is deeply felt by many today, both for good and ill. A religious studies program will begin the process of asking why we believe and act as we do.”