Religious Studies
Buddhism
Buddhism is an Indian-origin religion and philosophy founded in the 5th century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. It teaches the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, emphasizes impermanence and non-self, and has diversified into Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions across Asia and beyond. As of 2020, an estimated 324 million Buddhists—predominantly in the Asia-Pacific—practice a variety of doctrinal, ritual, and meditative forms.
Mythology
Mythology is the study of traditional sacred narratives and the collective bodies of such myths within cultures, addressing origins, deities, heroes, rituals, and cosmological orders. Scholars analyze myths’ forms, functions, and meanings through approaches from anthropology, religious studies, classics, psychology, and literary theory.