Abstract
Distinct patterns in conversations about backgrounds with fellow religion majors lead me to speculate as to whether or not these patterns can be generalized to the study of religion as a whole. Within literature for religious study, evidence pointed towards a bias to white Christian male and a white atheist male viewpoints within the academy. There was little to nothing on undergraduate identities within the field and the adjacent humanities fields of history and philosophy. In part, this lack of knowledge seems to be a result of an administrative view of religion as immensely private, leading to difficulties studying it. This would correlate with the history of religion at Miami University and explain barriers encountered while trying to study the student population of Miami in the present. This theory is further supported by evidence that religious studies is construed by outsiders as either implicitly against religion or as a smokescreen for proselytizing. Surveying a sample of the undergraduate student population at Miami found that prior history of confessional coursework and being born male had statistical correlations with enrolling in religion 101. The small sample size indicates more possibilities should be investigated both within and outside of Miami University, especially given the majority of religion majors at Miami identify as female.Â