WHY STUDY RELIGION

The preparation religious studies offers for a wide variety of jobs and careers

The study of religion provides many occasions for personal and intellectual growth, but most departments of religion are also committed to transmitting a set of very practical skills to their students:

In religion courses you'll gain a fundamental cultural literacy.
You'll be trained in the skills associated with data gathering and direct observation.
As a religion major, you are also asked to interpret and express your position on perplexing phenomena, exercising both your analytical skills and your originality.
Your critical intelligence will constantly be tested and developed, along with your ability to empathize with your fellow human being in order to understand his or her perspective.

As many have said, our society thrives on information. In today's multicultural workplace and global economy, basic knowledge about other cultures and religious perspectives is indispensable. In addition, good interpreters of information are in high demand. Gathering data, organizing it, understanding it, and presenting it are vital skills in the study of religion, and in most professions, these skills are absolutely required.

But success in your chosen career is not just about interpreting information: it also depends on making connections with people. Studying religion is about people and their many perspectives. In jobs that require relating to others, reaching out to them, building bridges, or incorporating many perspectives at once, a religion major will provide an excellent foundation.

Starting with a Bachelor's degree in religion, there are many places to go. As an academic major in the humanities (or social sciences), the study of religion is like a history or English major; it imposes no limitations. But it also lends its own particular strengths to a number of different career choices. Religion majors have successfully gone on to professional training in:

Business (particularly international business)
Counseling and Social Work
Education
Journalism
Law
Medicine

Others have moved directly into the job market, taking up positions in:

Event planning, hospitality, or the service industry
The government, foreign service, or the Peace Corps
Marketing and management
Museums and the arts
Non-profit or non-governmental organizations
Publishing

To sample the wide array of possibilities open to religion majors a bit further, go to the following websites, which list the jobs landed by past religion majors: