About Religious Studies

Why Study Religion?

Only a few students enter Albion intending to study religion or to pursue a major or minor in Religious Studies. Most of our students select a course in Religious Studies as part of their core requirement, and then take more courses with us for one reason: fascination. A survey of the courses we teach, their content, and their methods explains why so many students take more than one course with us.

• Would you like to know about the first century environment of Jesus and the early church?

• Have you wondered about the differences between Judaism and its daughter religion, Christianity, and why they separated?

• What do women's experiences bring to different religious traditions?

• How can an understanding of Islam shed light on current political developments in the Middle East?

• What about the relationship between philosophy and religion? Or science and religion?

• Would you like to know more about Asian religions--Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism?

• What about ethical questions in a time when our society is debating issues such as AIDS, abortion, euthanasia, racism, and other matters that will affect us well into the next century?

Many of these questions have their roots in religious perspectives that are a part of our multicultural inheritance. We cannot afford to ignore them. Religion is a vital part of our world. It is as current as today's news, yet reaches back to our earliest beginnings as a species.

What Can You Do with Religious Studies?

Although Religious Studies may be interesting in and of itself, one cannot live on academic interest alone. Studying religion also has practical payoffs. Students who have graduated from Albion with a major in Religions Studies are now involved in a wide variety of careers. Some have earned graduate degrees in religious studies and teach in leading colleges and universities. Many are in human services of some kind: pastoral ministry in churches, social work, counseling, and education.

Religious Studies, like its sister disciplines in the liberal arts, helps students learn to think critically, not just about religion, but about all aspects of human existence. The study of religion helps students understand themselves and their families' heritage. Religious Studies helps us understand our world, past and present, and to apply this understanding to many areas of life. Accordingly, many of our students end up in the professions: writing, law, business, and industry. Many of our students have chosen to double major in areas like history, anthropology, psychology, or English.

Because religion is concerned with integrating different aspects of human existence, the study of religion has applications, both practical and theoretical, that are far-reaching. We know, from the testimonies of our alumni, that employers appreciate the balance and breadth that the study of religion offers.