Religion matters: It inspires individuals to make peace, and to commit unspeakable violence. It transforms cultures and societies, and is transformed by them. In the Department of Religion at Boston University, we explore religion in its many manifestations. Our aim is not to make students more (or less) religious, but to explore with them the beliefs and practices, symbols and rites that have moved the faithful throughout time and across the globe, and to explore perennial questions about the meaning of life and death.