诺斯替教，神秘主义和神秘主义（GEM）证书为学生提供了理论指导，他们可以将其应用到他们所选择的集中领域（即非裔美国人宗教，非洲宗教，《圣经》及以后的版本，佛教，基督教，印度教，伊斯兰教，犹太教，美国宗教，新时代和新宗教运动等）。传统上，对宗教的研究优先考虑了宗教专家和秉持正统信仰传统的经文的权威声音。这种传统方法忽略，边缘化甚至有时字面上妖魔化了违背传统或无法适应规范世界观的宗教表达。这些相同的表达也被正统信仰传统确认为异端。长期以来，学者们一直不愿将这种其他材料视为宗教学术讨论的中心或至关重要的内容，而
The Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism (GEM) Certificate provides students with a theoretical orientation, which they then can apply to their chosen concentrations (i.e., African-American religions, African religions, Bible and Beyond, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, American Religion, New Age and New Religious Movements, etc.). Traditionally the study of religion has privileged the authoritative voices of the religious experts and the scriptural texts that uphold orthodox faith traditions. This traditional approach ignores, marginalizes, and even sometimes literally demonizes religious expressions that are against the grain or cannot be fit into the normative worldview. These same expressions have also been identified by orthodox faith traditions as heresy. For too long, scholars have been reluctant to consider this other material central or vital to academic discussions of religion, while these alternative religious expressions have been pejoratively labeled as the stuff of charlatans, the mentally ill, or ignorant folk.