Comparative Religion
(Major)
I have always had an interest in religious studies - I found religion fascinating, the way that you could find elements of some faiths integrated into and strewn across others, and while applying to universities in high school I had placed high hopes on an acceptance to Chicago University - known to have a notable comparative religion department (I was ultimately wait listed). While I knew that my fields of study would likely extend into the area of social sciences (as I don't generally enjoy hard math and sciences), I decided that I would rather not declare a major right away to save on the potential costs of switching majors several times. Ultimately, I spent about two years taking whatever classes I felt like taking until the University notified me of a hold on my academic account until I declared - at that point I was only a few courses away from getting a standard undergraduate degree in comparative religion so I decided I would just stick with what I was closest to and call it good.
Unfortunately, it is one of those majors that tends to get a lot of questions and assumptions from the average Joe who hears about it. Despite the presence of the word "comparative" I am often asked which religion I study in particular. Many mistake me for being a religious person myself and some assume that I have hopes for becoming a member of some clergy or another. It's far more accurate to say that I simply received credit for taking whatever classes I thought sounded interesting at the time (from a class focusing strictly on the Song of Songs to a class on the Japanese Tea Ceremony). My schoolwork at the University is as interwoven as the religions I study. Just as you can see elements of one religion in the next, many of the classes I have taken at the University of Washington have applied towards my completion of additional programs. Two years of Biblical Hebrew work helped not only to achieve some necessary credits for my religion major, but also contributed to the requirements for departmental honors in comparative religion and fulfilled language requirements necessitated by my linguistics major. The class on tea ceremony gave me four credits towards comparative religion but counted as five credits towards a Japanese minor. This lesson certainly extends beyond religion and beyond school. Life is full of ripple effects, and it is surprising how often you find connections in those things you believed to be totally opposite. |
Cover image: The streets of Tzfat, considered one of the most mystical cities in Israel.