As a discipline, Religious Studies is both cross-cultural and comparative. It examines the whole of religious history in all its rich diversity, without privileging the truth-claims of any particular tradition, and seeks to articulate those common human concerns and aspirations that give rise to the religious impulse wherever it is found. The task of Religious Studies is neither to defend nor to attack religions, but to move toward a critical understanding of religions and the roles they have played and continue to play in societies The histories of distinctive human cultures and the actions of creative individuals throughout those histories have been so profoundly shaped by religious beliefs and practices that knowledge of the ways in which those symbolic systems of meaning, value, and identity we call "religion" are constructed is essential to an adequate understanding of the human endeavor. Contrary to the view that ours is a "secular" age in which religion has become superfluous to cultural analysis, conflicts in religious visions and claims are at the heart of virtually every political and social crisis in our country and around the world. In a global age, a capacity to appreciate religious diversity and, at the same time, to think across those cultural boundaries and negotiate competing truth claims is as indispensable for success in the marketplace as it is for personal maturity. In addition to this broadened intellectual understanding, courses in Religious Studies will help you develop skills in analytical thinking and effective communication that will prove useful in many areas of life. For more about this topic see Career Options |