Religious Studies as an Academic Discipline
Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, are an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.
Before going further in this course, there is one area that has to be clarified and this is the study of religion as an academic discipline.
In this article, you will be concerned with the reasons why religion has to be studied and you will also learn the various fields of study that are available in religious studies.
By the end of this article, you should be able to discuss why religion should be studied, enumerate the various fields of study available in Christian Religious Studies and determine your area of interest.
Why study religion?
“Why we study religion” should be our first basic question in undertaking the study of religion. Some students know exactly why they wish to undertake the study while others have no clear sense of their intention.
We have discovered, however, that students who found themselves in the study of religion soon found out several reasons why they were pursuing the right course, and why others needed to also engage in pursuing
it. We have also noted that others who encountered religious issues in life situations and other careers as in politics, history, ecology, international relations, medicine, etc have seen the need to study religion in a formal and structured system. Studying religion is the path to emancipation from ignorance.
Contrary to the prevalent belief, the ignorant individual is the one who does not acknowledge that there is God. This is why the one of the wise sayings of Israel states that “the fool says in his heart that there is no God”. The fool in the context of that saying does not refer to a moron but rather, to the ignorant.
As in every field of learning, the study of religion leads to the acquisition of information and skills. Consequently, those who study religion become experts in the field they have chosen to study.
The study of religion also leads to an increased appreciation of God and fellow human beings. It leads to an increased appreciation of God in that God seems to be the object of all religions.
It leads to the appreciation of fellow human beings in that you would be able to see how humans of different ages and from different places have been able to grasp the concept of the divine and have attempted to relate with the divine.
What to study in religion: The Scope and Areas of the Discipline
Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, are an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.
Religion today has become a specialized course as there are so many areas that one could specialize in. Looking at Christianity as an example, the following are the areas that one could specialize:
1. Biblical Studies:This is the area of religious study that deals exclusively with the study of the sacred text of Christianity – the Bible. Scholars in this field have two broad areas – the Old Testament and the New Testament.
It has to be noted however that the study of textual criticism (that aspect of biblical studies that deals with the transmission of the correct text of the Bible) is however currently a field of study in its own right but subsumed within biblical studies.
2. Theological Studies: Theological studies are that aspect of Christian religious studies that deals with the understanding of the doctrines and the dogmas of the church. Theological studies have always been approached from two basic angles: the historical angle and the contemporary angle.
Apart from systematic theology that is the systematic studies of theology, the following are the branches of theology that one could specialize in:
Systematic theology, Feminist Theology, Liberation Theology, Catholic Theology, Protestant Theology, Evangelical Theology, African Christian Theology and Islamic Theology. Comparative Studies of Religion In comparative studies, the scholars intend to study other religions from an apologetic point of view.
This means that though they are studying other religions, they are only doing it with the purpose of being able to preach the gospel to the adherents of that faith and to be able to explain their faith to others. The following are the major divisions within comparative studies of religion:
African Traditional Religion: this is the field of study that examines the traditional religions of the Africans. It attempts to systematize their beliefs and theology as well as practices.
New Religious Movements:this is field of study that is dedicated to the study of Oriental religions that have suddenly gained popularity in the world. The religions studied under this umbrella include: Buddhism, Hinduism and the Hare Krishna movement.
Islamic Religious Studies:Islamic religion is often studied on its own because of its global importance to the culture, politics and economy of the globe.
It has to be noted too that the study of Islam is of particular interest to the Nigerians because of the large presence of Muslims in the country.
3. Historical Studies: This is the aspect of religious studies that focus on the history of the church both as a corporate organization and as local parishes. The major field here is Church History.
4. Ethics, Morality and Social Issues: This is the major area of Christian religious studies that has to do with the relationship between the demands of the faith and the society. It examines what is known as the ethics of the religion vis-à-vis the ethics of the society. It also looks at morality issues.
Under this umbrella, the following can be studied Ethics and Morality, Social issues and Society and Culture and cultural issues. There are other specialized fields in religious studies that have grown beyond the confines of Christian religious studies and have become specialized fields on their own and are so pursued.
These are, Sociology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Psychology of Religion and Ecology/Geography of Religion. These courses can be studied on their own and so no comment would be made here on them.
Also read: Common Characteristics/ Features of Religious Traditions
In this article you have been given three major reasons why religion is being studied and you have been exposed to the various fields of study that exist within Christian Theology, which is your field.
Most of these fields have been explained briefly only to arouse your curiosity so that you can learn about them more.
The following are the major points you have been exposed to in this article: Reasons for the study of religion includes: emancipation from ignorance, acquisition of information and skills and an increased appreciation of God and human beings.
The followings are the various fields of study available: biblical studies, theological studies, comparative studies, historical studies and Ethics, morality and societal studies.
