By Roseanne Ayala

Reporter

Amid rumors of closure, the religious studies program is flourishing and continues to be an important asset to the humanities department.

“There was never a formal proposal to put the religious studies program on moratorium, that’s where they no longer allow new majors sign in and that’s usually a sign that the program no longer has long term future, however there was concern because maintaining majors that don’t have huge numbers is difficult,” said Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Chair Steve Gamboa.

Like other departments, the religious studies department is currently making changes to accommodate the quarter to semester transition. They are also anticipating the program to grow.

“We were successful in making the case for religious studies as an important subject, and I should also mention that Dean Collins has really been a strong supporter of religious studies and he was making that case for us at higher levels as well,” said Gamboa. “We are actually looking to make a new hire in religious studies, we are hoping to bring someone else on next year that can teach (non-western) religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.”

Gamboa, as well as professor of religious studies Steve Campagna-Pinto, attribute the past decline in declared religious studies majors to lack of awareness and misconceptions about the program.

“I don’t think students or faculty understand what we do, we don’t teach belief, we don’t teach theology. We don’t encourage students to do so,” said Campagna-Pinto.

Students are asked to leave their religious beliefs outside the classroom and to be remain objective through classroom discussions.

“What we try to do is like the humanities in many ways,…discuss or look…through the lens of religious traditions, ideas, values, and experiences, what it means to be a human being. We look at both the powerful contributions of religions globally in history to form diverse human cultures and we look at the tremendous history of violence we find in religion.”

Campagna-Pinto said students are often preoccupied with choosing a major that leads directly to a job that they pay little attention to the quality of the education they are receiving.

“I have a lot of students who come up to me and say, ‘I really like this and I’d like to major in it but what do you do with it?’ and I say that’s the wrong question. The question should be how do I want to develop myself, how do I want gain both the insight and self-knowledge to make a meaningful life for myself,” said Campagna-Pinto.

Gamboa and Campagna-Pinto said they believe religious studies, as well as the humanities, are cost effective programs for the universities. The programs generate graduates that are successful in the career force, as well as well-rounded individuals.

“Humanities majors do just as well initially and do better in the long run because of education that develops critical reasoning, critical writing, and communication abilities,” said Pinto.

“There is this sense that the arts or humanities are somehow less relevant to career development,” said Gamboa. “Part of our job is to combat that perception across the board, so whether it is in philosophy or religious studies or history or English, to really make the case as strongly as we can that getting an education in these disciplines is what puts you in the best position to succeed in life, not only in your career and professional success, but also in terms of life satisfaction and self development.”

Senior Hala Alnajar double majoring in sociology and religious studies. She decided to double major in religious studies her freshman year after she took a 100-level class that fulfilled general education requirements.

“Religion is such a huge part of society, and if you are going to go into any type of work where you have to interact with people I think its really important to understand the different faiths that exist because that will help you understand the people you’re working with,” said Alnajar.