Why Study Religion at UF?
Religion is arguably the most powerful and pervasive force in the world. Studying religion at UF will give you deeper insight into cultures, values, and world events. Majoring in religious studies will help you understand the complex and sometimes volatile relationships between religion and politics, economics, and social structures, as well as the ways in which the past (scripture, tradition, history) has helped shape the present. In our increasingly interdependent global community, awareness of the dynamics of religious faiths can lay the foundation for informed and thoughtful analysis of contemporary life.
In the Department of Religion you’ll enjoy small class sizes and personal attention from world-renowned scholars. In addition, the religion major complements other programs in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. A number of our students have double-majored in fields like Anthropology, History, Psychology, and Political Science.
Majoring in religion can also help you succeed professionally and improve your chances of getting into professional or graduate school. Scroll down to see some of the careers that engage our graduates and learn more about why religion majors do well in graduate school.
Career Impact
Whether you go to law school or decide to pursue a career in the sciences, majoring or minoring in religion will help put you ahead of the curve. That’s because religion requires the exercise of advanced analytic skills that are inseparable from being able to think well.
Here’s the evidence:
- Religion majors as a group consistently score second highest on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
- They score in the top fifth of all majors on the verbal and analytical sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Moreover, they score high among the humanities majors on the quantitative portion of the GRE, and ahead of many math-intensive disciplines.
- Humanities students also have higher rates of medical school acceptance than many science majors. (So much for the idea that humanities majors can’t compete with STEM students.)
- Perhaps more interestingly, religion majors on average score higher than business majors on the GMAT, the entrance test for graduate business school. (If business is your path, religion is your major!)
Possible Careers
- Lawyer
- Editor
- Educator
- Health-care professional
- Conflict resolution specialist
- Development specialist
- Diplomat
- Journalist
- Non-profit administrator
- Counselor
- Chaplain
- Policymaker
- Public service worker
- Social worker
- Writer
Recent graduates are working in a range of positions, including:
- A law clerk for a superior court in Washington state
- Academic dean at Metropolitan University
- Assistant Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
More Information
To learn more about our full selection of courses, click here.