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What is Religious Studies? |
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Written by Hillary P. Rodrigues
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Friday, December 25 2009, 8:35 PM |
I went through an entire undergraduate education without even knowing that McGill University had a Faculty of Religious Studies dedicated mainly to the scholarly, secular study of religion. The bachelor of science program there required us to take only a few options outside our major, and so I was contentedly absorbed in choosing from available science courses.
Ironically, I now specialize in the study of Eastern religions and work with ancient texts and anthropological methods. My lopsided undergraduate experience is less likely at the University of Lethbridge, where a liberal education requirement obliges students to take several courses outside of their chosen majors. As a result, many students take an introductory Religious Studies course and thus make their first discoveries about this still mostly misunderstood discipline.
In Religious Studies we research and teach about religion, much as an art historian may study about various genres and periods of art. The human religious response, in all its varieties, through history, and across cultures is the object of our interests. We are, therefore, definitely interested in how Christian scriptures were composed and collated, how various Buddhist schools developed and spread, and what Jews and Hindus consider to be ritually polluting activities and why they do so.
We wish to understand the worldviews promoted by various religions and how their adherents are expected to behave within those realities. Just as anthropologists must enter deeply into the cultures they study, religious studies scholars must go beyond the confines of their personal beliefs to get as full an understanding as possible of the religion being studied. They must then report back on their discoveries in as unbiased a manner as possible.
This can be particularly demanding regardless of whether one is an “insider” or an “outsider.” Imagine a devout Christian trying to examine Christianity or Islam without being susceptible to a true believer’s capacity for partiality towards the former, and with genuine impartiality towards the latter religion. Or imagine the challenges facing a confirmed atheist, who needs to go beyond examining faith from a distance, to better understand why religious people believe and do what they do.
In both cases, religious studies scholars may need to point out historical facts or cultural processes, which may contradict the beliefs of religious adherents. Just as an astronomer may need to assert that the Earth moves around the sun, a religious studies scholar may need to affirm that a particular scripture was probably written in the 2nd century by a human being, even if faith dictates that devotees unquestioningly believe differently. This requires courage and a commitment to the academic nature of the discipline.
While there are many blurred boundaries between “insider” and “outsider,” or objectivity and subjectivity, one thing is relatively clear. The discipline of religious studies is not directed at telling religious people what they should believe or do concerning their religion. That is the task of theologians, religious teachers, monks, priests, nuns, and other religious practitioners.
So what value is there in the academic and secular study of religion?
Religious Studies enables us to learn more about the diversity within the world. It teaches us to understand what are often the most cherished values of others. Such openness may lead to a genuine appreciation of once unknown religious teachings, or at least a measure of tolerance for other people’s beliefs. This broadens our sense of the world.
Even if we totally disagree with the content of other religions, we have learned to do so from a position of knowledge rather than on the basis of misinformation or downright ignorance.
Hillary P. Rodrigues is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Lethbridge. Together with John S. Harding, he is the co-author of Introduction to the Study of Religion (Routledge, 2009).
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