Students of religion reflect on their studies
Undergraduate Religion Majors
Reasons
that I study religion: to understand more about different types of religious
sensibilities about which I have only heard, and about some that I have
never heard of.
By delving into different forms of religions by way of
studying religious scholars and thinkers, and those who truly made a difference
in world religions like Martin Luther, Origen, Zoroaster, Mohammed, and
the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, to name a few, one establishes a
point of view that forever changes the way one thinks about living, life,
history, mythology and one's own place in the world, along with never
taking anything that is read at its face value. It makes one think more
deeply and profoundly.
Studying religion has helped me in my other studies;
it has helped me read literature on a deeper level, even reading for pleasure,
outside of academia.
Studying religion rounds out all other studies; it
enriches everything else that one views or holds an opinion about. It
centered me personally, and it has made me think in a broader scheme on
many levels.
Fred Giacinto
Religion Major
Hunter College
I decided
to study religion because, as a freshman at Reed, I couldn't make up my
mind about whether to major in philosophy, history, English, anthropology,
or in a foreign language—so I opted to study what draws on all of these.
As a student of Islam in particular, I have had the freedom to explore
so many facets of Muslim religious culture, from modern Arab short stories
to Iranian cinema, from Javanese wayang kulit theater to African-American
liberation theology. All of these things—literature, film, theater,
cultural studies and more—are part and parcel to studying religion.
In short, then, studying religion gives me an extraordinary freedom to
explore human culture from myriad perspectives. My undergraduate studies as a religion major at the University of Vermont
have been invaluable in my post-graduate life. I am scheduled
to enroll in law school during the fall of 2004. I have found that many
law schools are interested in recruiting students from diverse undergraduate
majors. A background in religious studies is all the more attractive to
these schools because religion is becoming such an important factor in
current lawmaking, U.S. politics and foreign relations. Studying religion
made me well prepared for future academic study and for the workforce
by sharpening my analytical skills while encouraging an open mind and
curiosity in the world around me. In an increasingly pluralistic world, it is absolutely necessary to have knowledge of faith traditions other than one's own. A religious studies (course/concentration/major) allows the student to critically engage the beliefs and practices of various traditions. These opportunities for engagement open the possibility for transformative learning experiences.
Despite the secularist narratives that often dominate our thinking about
modernity and the contemporary world, I believe there are few human experiences
that are beyond the purview of religiosity. Religion truly pervades how
we define and conceive ourselves as human beings.
Brannon Ingram
Religion Major
Reed College
Graduates
Katie Doyle
University of Vermont, Class of 2003
One benefit of a religious studies degree is that it is almost always interdisciplinary. The phenomenon we describe as religion is difficult to separate into its own neat category. Religion is intricately interwoven with all facets of life, thus the approach of study is naturally discursive. So for those of us who have broad interests that defy specialization, religious studies allows us to have our cake and eat it too. In my religious studies classes, I have studied art, architecture, history, literature, music, philosophy, poetry, psychology…
On a more practical level, religious studies students have the opportunity
to develop skills in textual analysis and in written and oral communication.
Barrett Ingram
Millsaps College, Class of 2003
M.Div. Candidate, Vanderbilt Divinity School
