5 things that surprised me about studying Religion

This blog was written by Asya.

Religion helps us learn about each other

Religion is an extremely relevant topic, study, and lifestyle that we may all encounter within our lives. I believe that studying Religion here at King’s opens up an amazing opportunity to talk to new people from different religious groups as well as to atheists. I was able to grasp a better understanding and appreciation of why different people hold certain views or beliefs on specific topics, such as ‘why people may or may not believe in a God?’ It makes for an interesting conversation starter within classes too! You get to meet people in your classes who are from diverse backgrounds and learn new things about everyone in such a friendly and safe environment. Interfaith dialogues are also a great form of learning something new about different religions as well as correcting any misconceptions that you may have had!

The TRS department is amazing!

Although we are a fairly close-knit department within King’s, we are all very open with each other. Both the teachers and students get along really well and students are made to feel comfortable when they need to resolve any issues or get help from their module tutors! It is truly one of the safest and warmest departments within Kings, and it is one of the reasons that motivated me to study Religion specifically within this university!

Job prospects in Religion

As mentioned in my first point about Religion allowing us to learn more about each other, it also allows the students who study this course to become more open-minded and considerate of other people’s beliefs. In this sense, it is a great skill to network with people from all sorts of backgrounds. This key skill of communication makes people with Religious or Theology-related degrees look more desirable to employers especially within the fields of Journalism or Education. This is because the skills that you learn from studying Religion-related courses here at King’s are tailored to help students become well-rounded individuals, starting from their academic conduct all the way to becoming better people within our society.

Class Trips!

One of the things that I love about my degree is that you have the opportunity to attend class trips (depending on the specific modules you pick)! It is a great way to socialise with my friends whilst having fun and learning about the module content. For my first semester, I took a Buddhism module where I had the opportunity to go to different museums within London, such as The Victoria and Albert Museum. Here, I learned about interesting facts on the life of the Buddha that I never knew!

Readings are always interesting

One thing that surprised me about my degree is that the readings for almost all of my modules have always been so interesting and made me want to question many things and seek answers to my questions. I can seek answers to my questions either by having a friendly conversation with my peers, discussing a matter with my teachers, or just researching on my own to get a better grasp of a topic that I am interested in. This cycle of continuous learning helps me get a better understanding of each of the modules that I am taking and also helps me to do better within my assignments.