Nature of the Program:
The Department of Religion is one of the largest Humanities departments at Duke and one of the most prestigious departments of religion in the country. The contemporary academic study of religion recognizes the virtual ubiquity of religion as a phenomenon in human life and culture, and it thus seeks to understand the nature and role of religion. The academic study of religion has a distinctive multidisciplinary character, drawing upon resources and approaches from archaeology, art, anthropology, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. It also has multicultural orientation, exploring a plurality of traditions and a wide range of behaviors and beliefs.
The Department offers introductory courses in all the major religious traditions, notably Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Other courses offer additional study of these traditions and their texts, often focusing on specific features -- such as gender, ethics, mysticism -- or historical periods. Many other courses examine theoretical or comparative aspects of religious phenomena, especially as they are manifest in the modern world.
A major in religion, like other majors in the Humanities, can be a pathway to a liberal education. Indeed, because religion is arguably the most powerful and pervasive force in the world, the study of religion can help one understand the complex and sometimes volatile relationships between religion and politics, economics, and social structures. In our increasingly interdependent global community, awareness of various past and present features of religious life -- events, texts, personages, ceremonies, rituals, convictions, theologies, artifacts -- can lay the foundation for informed and thoughtful analysis of contemporary life. Such analysis is important in considering international issues and also domestic ones (such as abortion, evolution, faith-based initiaves, civil rights, and school prayer). The study of religion thus helps us to understand the faiths, worldviews, and ways of life of millions of people. At the same time, the study of religion can be a path to self-understanding.
What Can I Do With a Major in Religion?
A major in religion offers intellectual excitement. At the same time, it offers the major the vocational and professional opportunities found in any other Humanities discipline. A religion major offers broad access to many career options. Indeed, the study of religion has broad value because it has an international component, deals with values, and speaks to contemporary issues. All these make it very meaningful as a preprofessional major.
Students may wish to major in religion for a variety of reasons. Most religion majors do not intend to pursue a professional career in ministry or even in the study of religion.
A recent survey of graduates of the Department shows that many diverse careers have been built on a religion major. This underscores the fact that a religion major is valuable in its own right but can also function as excellent preparation for diverse professions and careers.
- 35% are professionals of various kinds -- city managers, bankers, engineers, journalists, etc.
- 19% are in a variety of ministerial professions -- clergy, directors of religious education, etc.
- 14% are educators -- teachers, college professors
- 8% are in legal professions -- attorneys, judges
- 18% are medical professionals -- doctors, dentists, or other health professionals
- 6% are in other fields
