Religious Studies Degree- Studying Religiously

People well versed in religious studies need not espouse any particular religion. It is their job to understand the various religions in the world, their impact on their followers and the rest of the world.

Religious studies degree programs typically do not focus on one religious group or one form of religion. They seek to understand all forms of religious belief in an effort to see the common threads between the belief systems, rather than comparing them to focus on the differences or to prove that one is correct over another.

The College of William and Mary: Religious Studies Degree

The College of William and Mary has a religious studies degree program under the umbrella of the Humanities department. They focus on understanding the religious traditions, proper reading and understanding of religious texts and correct analysis in written and spoken form.

The class sizes are deliberately small to enhance the students’ ability to interact and discuss the various topics that come up in the course studies. There is also a great focus on faculty to student interaction. They believe that religion is a basic element of all cultures and understanding the religious elements helps to understand a culture at large.

Bluffton University: Religious Studies Degree

The religious studies degree program at Bluffton University emphasizes a critical thinking approach to religious texts. Their focus is on the Judeo-Christian religious history, texts, literature, values and philosophy.

They analyze the scriptures of many different types of Judeo-Christian beliefs without pitting one against the other. This program offers a pre-seminary program, youth ministries and minors in biblical studies and theology among others.

Allegheny College: Religious Studies Degree

Allegheny College has a unique religious studies program that breaks their religious studies degree program into three groups: sources, history, and nature of religion. They study the religious scriptures and traditions of various religious groups and discuss their impact on civilization and history.

There is an in depth review of ancient religious literature and the relationship it has to our daily, worldly lives.  Although the focus is on Judeo-Christian religion, there is much study in the other monotheistic religions and polytheistic and pantheistic religious beliefs.