Blog

9/24/2019

Why I want to be a Religious Studies Librarian Even Though I Am Not Religious:

Growing up, I was not religious at all. In fact, I renounced my Catholic faith when I was in elementary school in favor of deciding for myself when I got older. As I have gotten older, my not being a part of a religion has never bothered me. I never give it much thought unless someone pointedly asks what faith I am a part of. Suffice it to say, it is not something I think of personally.

With that being said, why on earth would I wish to obtain a masters degree in Religious Studies and Library Science? Well, apparently I am not the only one. According to Tony Amodeo in his article titled, “HELP! They Just Made Me The Religion Librarian… and I’m Only Spiritual,” he states, “... [theology and religious studies] generates more than eight thousand bachelors and more than seven thousand masters degrees annually in the United States.” (p. 195) Clearly I am not the only one interested in religious studies. What I found most interesting is that in the aforementioned article it states, “... the average American gets overall low marks in religious knowledge, with atheists and agnostics tending to score higher than the average committed Protestant or Catholic Christian…” (Amodeo, p. 195)

I am neither agnostic nor atheist, but why is it that they have more religious knowledge than those who practice or identify as being a part of a faith? The answer will be unique to each individual but I can only attempt to answer this question based off of my own experience.

While I do not wish to be affiliated to any one religion or faith, that does not mean that religious beliefs, practices, attitudes, customs, and its place in society are any less fascinating. On the contrary, they are more because I have an open mindset when it comes to studying them all. People need to understand the difference between theology and the academic discipline of religious studies. I want to study how religion affects society and the importance of it in every culture and how it has shaped our world today.

I believe I wish to study religion even more because it was forced upon me for so many years and this is my way of understanding why it is so important to millions of people; it is something that people kill and are killed for. I believe it is an integral part of society because it has permeated every aspect of life, whether we choose to believe it or not.

Source:

Amodeo, Tony, "HELP! They just made me the Religion Librarian... and I'm only spiritual" (2012). LMU Librarian Publications & Presentations. 11. http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/librarian_pubs/11