Importance of Studying Religion as an Academic Discipline

Religion is an academic discipline that studies religion beliefs, religion systems, their origin, theories and evolution. It also studies human behavior from different perspectives. That is to say, it is based on such sciences as psychology, anthropology, philosophy, sociology, and history of religion.

Why should we study religion?

Religion has always been the main instrument used to control people. It influenced literature, politics, law, art, history and economics. Religious beliefs inspired people for heroic deeds and forced them to commit the acts of terrorism. They were the ground for human rights, social justice and toleration. According to the religious beliefs, people established their national traditions, clothing and ethic rules. It is impossible to open a magazine or watch television without and not to run into religious debates or discussions.
Religion encourages students to discuss the questions of ethic and moral, thus it makes them more educated in these issues and improves their critical thinking.
Through religion young people come to the understanding of different cultures and historical events. They learn to evaluate the better world and to see the essence of many things.
Religion encourages people to learn about themselves and about relations with other people. Students learn about the past in order to have a glance in the future.
Today, most people assume that we live in the world without religion due to the scientific and technological discoveries. Moreover, some religious issues were disapproved, however, people always rely on God in difficult situations. In addition, we still find religion everywhere around us, in movies, songs, TV shows and in the everyday life.

Overall, religion is a part of life of every person as well as the of the whole world. It helps us to understand the essence of our existence and to learn about the world around us. Studying this science, we broaden our minds and change our attitude to the world.