Religious Studies Degrees
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Salaries For Degrees in Religious Studies
People with a degree in Religious Studies can work in a variety of jobs. It is impossible to say what you personally will do with a degree in Religious Studies, our survey panel picked the following jobs as likely options:
- Directors, religious activities and education
- Clergy (Best salary!)
Salaries are highly dependent on how skilled one is at negotiation, experience, your employer, region, and a host of other factors. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.
Where does this come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a army of freelancers to solicit their opinion on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.
From this, we calculated the average salary for Religious Studies degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.
What Can a Religious Studies Student Expect to Learn?
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, relevant classes towards a religious studies degree can seem like an intellectual patchwork. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism – the five major religions of the world – are covered in some depth in the core curriculum, but electives spin out into subject matters as diverse as Hebrew language studies, the impact of religion upon American and world history, world religions and their attitudes towards reproductive technologies, minority religions, and science and religion.
While some of these the subjects may be esoteric, the skills students learn while studying them are very practical. Students will develop first-rate research skills as they sift through unfamiliar information. They will develop facility at critical thinking, interpretation and evaluation as they begin to approach complex issues not from the standpoint of a canonical believer, but from the perspective of an analyst. Perhaps most importantly, it is almost impossible to come away from the study of faith’s impact upon the world we live in without developing empathy and a deep sense of compassion for one’s fellow human beings.
Other academic disciplines that teach religion are:
• Divinity: Practical preparation for religious leaders eyeing the ministry or seminary practice. Divinity schools can be associated with a Christian denomination or they can be non-denominational.
• Holistic Theology Studies: The study of how God in any of His manifestations integrates with science and physics (natural philosophy.)
• Pastoral Counseling studies: Pastoral counseling studies seek to combine the practice of spiritual counseling with insights drawn from psychology and other behavioral sciences.
• Religious Education: Religious education focuses on the doctrines, beliefs and rituals of specific religions. Bible schools and Christian colleges are well known examples of religious education, designed to help ministers, missionaries and other church functionaries gain a deeper understanding of their faith.
What are Religious Studies?
Religious studies is the study of comparative religion. In contrast to theology which is the study of religious practice and experience within the guidelines of a particular faith, religious studies is not concerned with proving or refuting basic religious tenets; rather religious studies attempts to look at how these tenets have manifested themselves in different religious faiths at various times throughout history.
A religious studies major is a good choice for any student seeking a broad-based liberal arts degree. Students learn research and observational skills as well as analysis and abstract reasoning. These skills prepare students who major in religious studies for professional education in the fields of law, education, public service and business, or for further studies at the graduate level in religious studies or related disciplines. Some students go on to pursue ordination through seminaries or divinity schools.
Religious studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws on concepts, theories and methodologies from many other academic curricula and disciplines including anthropology, art, history, economics, languages, political science and even cognitive science. In many ways, religious studies can be seen an investigation of multiculturalism within a theistic framework.
Online Schools Offering Religious Studies Degrees
According to industry reports, one hundred and thirty-one online institutions offer degrees in what the schools describe as “religious studies.” Upon closer examination, many of these programs are distance learning religious education programs, designed for Christian practitioners, ministers and pastors.
Two online schools that do offer instruction in interdisciplinary religious studies are:
• Grand Canyon University (GCU): Both Fortune Magazine and the Online Education Database rank GCU as one of the top five online education programs. The institution is physically located in Phoenix, Arizona and was founded in 1949. GCU is accredited through the North Central Association’s Higher Learning Commission.
• Warnborough College: The name “Warnborough College” is associated with on-site programs both in the U.K. and Ireland that also have long distance learning components. Warnborough College UK awards certificates and degrees rather than diplomas, and its accreditation is not recognized in the states of Texas, Oregon, Michigan and Maine. Warnborough offers a Master of Arts in Humanities diploma that combines philosophy, literature, art history, psychology and religious studies.
Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Religious Studies Degrees
• Williams College: Williams College’s religious studies program is an interdisciplinary major that focuses on the nature of religious belief. Coursework includes anthropology, psychology and other behavioral sciences, mythology, scriptural and textual analysis, and the history of specialized faith communities • Amherst: Amherst College’s religious studies program focuses on religion as a force throughout history, examining religious phenomena in human societies within the context of culture, place, and time.
• Swarthmore: Swarthmore College’s religious studies program focuses on the religious dimensions of world cultures, and aims to give students a basis for understanding different philosophies, mythologies, systems of morals, and ritual practices throughout the world.
• Middlebury: Middlebury College’s Department of Religion believes that a thorough knowledge of religion is a prerequisite to a true understanding of global politics and international conflict resolution.
• Bowdoin: Bowdoin College’s Department of Religion teaches students to examine the significance of religious belief in the context of literature, philosophy, and other cultural expressions.
Five Well Known Masters Degree Programs in Religious Studies
• University of Missouri, Columbia: The University of Missouri’s Department of Religious Studies teaches students to understand and interpret religious texts, while exploring fundamental questions about human experience.
• Miami University in Ohio: Miami University’s Department of Religious Studies examines the changing relationship between religious beliefs and politics, art, economics, literature, and social constructs.
• University of Colorado, Boulder: The University of Colorado’s Department of Religious Studies examines the relationship of religion to the dynamics of contemporary social and political issues.
• University of Kansas (KU): KU’s Department of Religious Studies explores religion from a phenomenological perspective, examining the forms in which religion has been described, organized and practiced throughout history.
• University of Arizona: The University of Arizona’s religious studies programs aims to teach “religious literacy” as a means of understanding the values and concepts by which men and women lead their private and public lives.
Five Well Known Doctoral Programs in Religious Studies
• The University of Chicago: The University of Chicago’s religious studies program focuses on the historical development of specific religious traditions, and how they shape – and are shaped by – human culture.
• Princeton University: The Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University is an interdisciplinary initiative committed to examining religion, both comparatively and empirically, in its historical and contemporary manifestations.
• Harvard University: Harvard University’s religious studies programs focus on religion as a critical force shaping cultures and civilizations. An understanding of religion is essential for a true understanding of art, literature, music, history, politics, and even public health.
• Brown University: Brown University’s Department of Religious Studies offers doctorates in Asian Religious Traditions, Religion and Critical Thought, and Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean.
• Duke University: Duke University’s Department of Religion focuses on specific areas of study at the graduate level, including the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the New Testament, Early Christianity, European Christianity, American Religion, the History of Judaism, Islamic Studies, Christian Theological Studies, Religion and Modernity, and Asian Religions.
Famous Religious Studies Students
Believe it or not, the Today Show’s jovial meteorologist and on-air centenarian Happy Birthday well-wisher Willard Scott graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religion.
Other famous people who’ve taken coursework in religious studies include actors Harrison Ford (pictured right) and David Duchovny.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (who earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Crozer Theological Seminary),
Other students include past California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
