Religion Major

College Majors
1

Hello everyone!

I’m looking to major in Religion with intentions of going into law school then international relations and foreign policy.

As I’m looking into the schools which I’m applying to, I’m realizing that there is a chance that some of these schools have religion programs that lead to occupations within the actual religious organizations.

Obviously there isn’t a problem with this but my personal intention with this major is completely academic. Could someone clarify if they know? The schools below are the ones that I am applying to. I’m sure that some of them don’t even have the type of program that I’m looking into, but I know that most of them do. My problem is that I dont know if the major within the school is the type that I’m looking for.

I hope this makes sense, it was a bit hard to find the wording for. If anyone majored in religion and doesn’t have commentary on these schools, I’d still really appreciate any input you have on the major as a whole!

Thank you!

Boulder
Wesleyan
UC Santa Barbara
Boston College
American University
University of Virginia
University of Michiagan
George Washington University
New York University
Vassar
McGill
St. Andrews
Tulane
University of Southern California
Brown
Vanderbilt
Dartmouth

2

At the vast majority of non-profit, non-religiously affiliated schools, the undergraduate religion major is intended for the academic study of religion, not for preparation to be a religious leader. (That is usually done at the graduate level, and the program is usually called something else - like divinity.)

For almost all of the U.S. schools you listed, the religion major is an academic area of study, not preparation for ministry. You can verify this yourself by visiting the religion department website of each of these schools. Here’s a sampler:

Wesleyan: “Our goal in the Religion department at Wesleyan is to understand religion, religions, and how these have been studied. Religion departments, including those with Wesleyan’s distinctive approach, are not in the business of making students religious.” (https://www.wesleyan.edu/religion/)

GWU: “The study of religion at GW promotes analysis rather than advocacy of religion or a particular tradition. The undergraduate curriculum leads the student to knowledge of the world’s religions, their history, literature, and community structure.”

Vassar: “The concentration in religion provides an understanding of major religious traditions, an exposure to a variety of approaches employed within the study of religion, and an opportunity for exploration of diverse problems that religiosities seek to address.”

The one big exception is Boston College, which as a Catholic Jesuit institution has a theology major instead of a religion major. Once again, though, they make very clear the focus of the theology major on their website: “The Undergraduate Program in theology is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for reasoned reflection on their own values, faith, and tradition as well as on the religious forces that shape our society and world. A broad liberal arts discipline, theology encourages and guides inquiries into life’s most meaningful issues.” The major emphasizes Christian and Catholic theology.

Not sure about St. Andrews, though.

3

Thanks so much!!