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Why Pursue Religious Studies

Are you innately curious about the world? Are you interested in history, politics, philosophy, or literature? How about the arts? Do you plan to study law or medicine? Or perhaps science is your thing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we invite you to learn more about the most interdisciplinary field in the university: Religious Studies.

Religion shapes, and is shaped by, every other dimension of human society. It is impossible to fully understand politics, law, history, or science without understanding religion. To grasp this complexity, the faculty in the Department of Religious Studies approach the study of religion in a variety of ways, ranging from textual studies, history, and ethnography, to the study of law, theology and critical theory, to name a few. Our students, too, become familiar with these different tools for understanding our world.

Religious Studies offers students a range of skills – critical thinking, close reading, multicultural awareness, and clear communication in speech and in writing – that is valued by a variety of careers: business, medicine, law, journalism, teaching, politics, and many more.

If you are a First-Year student, or are contemplating a Religious Studies major or one of our new interdisciplinary concentrations, check out First-Year Focus.

For more information on how Religious Studies can prepare you exceptionally well for a range of careers, check out Career Paths.