Religious Studies Research and Study Opportunities

Thousands of study and academic opportunities in Religious Studies are available internationally. Conferences and summer schools in Religious Studies are organized regularly in the best academic centers of the world. The majority of universities and many foundations also offer BA, MA, and Ph.D. programs in Religious Studies as wells as postdoctoral research grants, awards, and fellowships. Below you will find the updated list of international opportunities available in Religious Studies.

Religious Studies Scholarships

Religious Studies Fellowships

Religious Studies Conferences

Religious Studies Relevant accounts on Twitter 

Religious Studies as a Discipline

Religion is one of the main conversation taboos in everyday life, but not in the academic world. Religious studies' official formation as an academic discipline dates back to the 19th century, and it's still there to support mid-cultural acceptance and understanding. 

Religious studies educate scholars about religion as a key phenomenon in humans' lives, and it's not subjectively related to the propaganda of any specific faith. Students learn to examine religion's impact on society and its main aspects such as traditions, culture, and the general interpretation of life. 

The discipline is especially valued within the 21st centuries' rise in multinational organizations and the increasing demand for mutually respective cross-cultural communication. Religion studies highly contribute to this skill's formation, as it explores one of the essential motivational factors of human behavior. 

As mentioned above, Religious studies as a discipline are not inclined to the promotion of any religion. However, if you want to narrow your attention to a specific religious direction, you might choose more specified religious studies programs. There are options for Ancient Christianity, Islamic Studies, Asian religions, and others you may find in the individual program's descriptions. 

Also, note that Religious studies neutrality refers to the academic discipline only. There are religious schools where students' education on a specific religion goes beyond the neutral objective of providing information. For the described schools, students are prepared to become the carriers of the religion they study. 

Theology and Divinity 

In the context of Religious studies, it’s important to discuss theology and divinity. These two study areas are tightly related to Religious studies, sometimes even referred to as similar. 

Let’s compare theology and Religious studies first. First of all, there are academic universities that combine those two: sometimes Religious studies programs include theology courses and vise versa. However, there is a difference between them. Unlike Religious studies, which is education about religion, theology is religion about God. Theology is more spiritual rather than analytical and prepares students for becoming ordained officials of faith. 

Divinity is the third religious-related study area with unique characteristics different from religious studies and theology. It, however, is closer to theology, as preparing the pastors and the spiritual nature of studies are also characteristics of divinity. The distinguishing characteristic of divinity is that its main religious direction is Christianity

What skills do Religious studies develop?

As a Religious studies major, you learn to identify particular behavioral patterns and life approaches to different nations. This new level of thinking may help assist you in better decision-making in any sphere. 

For example, you may successfully choose business expansion areas by carefully analyzing which religious followers may better accept your product or service. In another case, you may also design smoother business strategies or PR campaigns by pre-considering the potential reactions that people may have towards specific actions. 

For example, Japanese people arose a huge wave of objection when Kim Kardashian named her underwear a "Kimono," similar to Japanese's national women dressing. As a result of that, Kim decided to change its brand name. 

Religious studies can and definitely corresponds to avoid issues like this. It generally supports the comprehensive understanding of how people can react to certain phenomena based on where they live and their religion. 

Therefore, the discipline's career applications are quite high, though it may not seem so at first glance. 

One of the common career paths of Religious studies graduates is to obtain a Ph.D. degree in the field to pursue a career as a university or college professor. As another option, graduates might occupy positions in ministries, social work services, or psychological counseling.

The main skills Religious studies majors develop include:

  • Empathy
  • Diplomacy
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Interpretation of complex writings
  • Awareness of historical debates in the field of religion
  • Approaching the same issue from multiple perspectives
  • Understanding and acting according to historical and cultural contexts

The above-mentioned large spectrum of skills allows Religious studies majors to combine it with related fields, including Anthropology, International Studies, English, Languages, Political Sciences, Business, Economics, History, etc. 

To sum up, Religious studies is the academic approach to one of the most powerful yet mysterious factors influencing our lives as humans. We hope the Religious Studies Opportunities collected here will lead you towards careers in this universal and comprehensive discipline.