Dr Sara Rahmani, a lecturer in religious studies at the university (pictured), voiced her concerns about the potential impact of eliminating the programme in a recent interview with RNZ's Wallace Chapman.

Victoria University is currently facing a budget shortfall of $33 million, leading to the proposal to cut 260 jobs.

Among the departments under review is the Religious Studies department, which is the sole institution of its kind in New Zealand.

In her conversation with Chapman, Rahmani explained that religious studies is distinct from theology.

Instead, the programme aims to examine religion and non-religion within New Zealand.

She expressed her surprise that New Zealand does not actively engage in or encourage conversations about religion, describing this as detrimental to the nation's overall well-being.

Rahmani further explained that religious studies explore the role of religion in people's lives, analyses its impact on society, and delves into the influence of beliefs on behaviour, culture and social life.

She emphasised the importance of studying this subject, stating that it is often misunderstood. Consequently, the programme's closure would be considered a significant loss for the country.

Although the Religious Studies department consists of only four staff members, Dr Rahmani emphasised that any potential cuts would have a substantial impact.

At present, the proposal includes a list of programmes that may be cut, but no definitive decisions have been made.

During the discussion, Wallace Chapman sought feedback on the relevance of religious studies in modern society. Respondents from diverse backgrounds shared their thoughts on the matter.

One agnostic contributor explained that her interest in religious studies stems from a fascination with the functioning of communities. The discipline provided her with a greater understanding of what makes people whole and well-rounded.

At the other end of the spectrum, a Catholic man with six children expressed his support for the teaching of religious studies, citing the need for a deeper understanding of humanity on a global scale. He emphasised the interconnectedness of people and the importance of comprehending the reasons behind this unity.

"We're all interconnected. Ukraine, whatever happens in Turkey, whatever happens in Hong Kong, we're all interconnected. And, somehow, we've got to understand why that is," he told Chapman.

Another correspondent highlighted the positive impact of religious studies, stating that it broadened her worldview and fostered acceptance and tolerance towards individuals from diverse backgrounds and faiths.

The fate of the Religious Studies department at Victoria University remains uncertain as discussions and reviews are ongoing. The potential loss of this department raises concerns about the future of open dialogues and understanding surrounding religion in New Zealand.

Source

• RNZ
• Religious Studies Department - Victoria University of Wellington
• RNZ - audiio

For me as a professor of religion and chair of a department, I wonder about how best to "pitch" a religion major to undergraduate students, many of whom come into college thinking about—in too many cases more like obsessing about—pre-formed and fairly rigid professional aspirations and trajectories.

Forget about learning for learning's sake, the life of the mind, or the enriching freedom of being "undeclared."

The politicians tell them, their parents tell them, and their schools tell them: figure out your career.

That makes it very difficult to promote religion, or better, religious studies, to students.

• Political science major? Clear path to law school.
• Biology? Premed.
• Economics major? An entrepreneur in the making.

Those majors make sense and lead students on a well-trodden path from student to professional, from youth to adult, from dependence to independence.

At least that is what they hope and their families are banking on.

So they are a "tough sell" as they say in the business, and require a proactive if not proselytizing move to bring more sheep into the Religious Studies fold.

A religion major?

Unfortunately we have history working against us, as the assumption that studying religion means being religious is burrowed deep in our culture and impossible to avoid.

Everyone thinks that if you study religion you're planning to be a priest.

However, as we all know, people like — no love — to talk about religion, whether they are for it, against it, or somewhere in between.

So when folks hear that religious studies exists as a major or an option in graduate studies, they are often pleasantly surprised, though others have been offended by the very idea.

I'm getting ready to teach religion and sexuality in the fall.

This will be the third go round with the course and enrolment is already up to 200 students, who seem to be very interested.

The topic, of course, sells itself for 18 to 22-year-olds. What is not so self-evident, and therefore the point of the pitch I will have to make, is that the study of religion may be one of the most significant and rewarding intellectual pursuits in a college education.

• Is it "relevant"?
• Does it have "practical" value?
• Is it a "stepping stone" to adult professional life?

To help answer these urgent questions, I present my top five reasons to study religion.

1. It will help you get a job and make lots of money.
2. It will blow your mind.
3. It can be used to make the world a better place.
4. It's a social magnet: people love more than ever to talk about religion.
5. Knowledge is power. Continue reading

• Gary Laderman is Chair of the Department of Religion, Emory University and Editor of Sacred Matters Magazine

Professor Joseph Bulbulia of Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand, say religion was "intensely important" to him, but "as for an afterlife, or God, I have no idea".

He migrated to Wellington from the United States in 2000, having left the priesthood after one year, and later marrying.

Bulbulia, says he hasn't been to church for 20 years, other than to please his mother, but said research showed that some events, such as the Christchurch earthquakes, renewed people's religious beliefs.

He is one of 109 researchers who will receive a total of $59 million from the Marsden Fund over the next three years.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Human Rights Commission

Traditionally, in western society, Religious Studies has been taught doctrinally. Indeed, what has passed as Religious Studies has frequently been ‘Christian Education' and then often with a narrow, dogmatic idea of what constitutes Christianity. Moreover, even comparative religions have been taught from a doctrinal perspective, failing to recognise religions (or aspects of religions) that do not fit the doctrinal mould. As a result, false distinctions have been constructed and a multitude of religious experiences and practices have been trivialised, ignored, or remained simply invisible to western scholarship.

Ninian Smart's approach to the teaching of religions is to look at different aspects or ‘dimensions' of religion in each religious tradition. Thus he looks at the practical and ritual dimension; the experiential and emotional dimension; the narrative or mythical dimension; the doctrinal and philosophical dimension; the ethical and legal dimension; the social and institutional dimension and the material dimension of the different religions. By taking such an approach, Smart avoids the difficulties of trying to define religion while providing a framework within which religions can be compared with each other and with secular ideologies.

Smart's progressive, even Hegelian, view of religions is one commonly adopted in the teaching of Religious Studies. Lloyd Geering , the father of Religious Studies in New Zealand takes a similarly progressive view, strongly reminiscent of Sigmund Freud's Future of an Illusion. It is a view that lends itself particularly well to the ideology of globalisation. But this is by no means the only approach.

• Continue reading Teaching religious studies in schools
• Image: The Guardian