What Types of Skills Are Best for a Religion Major?

Thinking of majoring in religion? The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to know everything about every religion (or even be religion, for that matter) to succeed in the major. Instead, here are four key skills that are must-haves if you want to thrive as a religion major.

Critical thinking skills

Religion majors need to be able to think about a broad swath of topics and how they affected and are affected by religion. In the area of religion, there is never a simple or straightforward problem or answer, and as a major, you must be willing to think about these different issues deeply.

Strong reading and writing skills

Religion majors spend a large amount of their time reading texts (both religious and nonreligious), and often those texts are either translated from another language and/or are difficult to read. The strongest religion majors are those who have a system for reading and interpreting those texts and being able to take cohesive, articulate notes on what they’ve read.

Additionally, evaluation in the religion major is often done through writing, so you must be able to communicate your thoughts clearly and concisely through various papers, reading responses and other assignments.

Communication and public speaking skills

In addition to your written work, you’ll also be in many smaller classes that require you to speak up more and present your ideas to peers and professors alike. The best religion majors are those who are thoughtful before they decide to speak but are also confident in their ideas and arguments when they’re presenting them.

Open-mindedness

If you’re a religion major, you will definitely run into moments where you don’t believe with a text, an argument or your peers. However, the major requires people who are open to hearing the thoughts and ideas of others, even if they aren’t in line with their own notions. By being open-minded, you’ll not only learn a lot more, but you’ll be a much stronger religion major in the long run.

Next, learn more about this college major such as What is a Religion Major and is it Right for Me? and get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as Would You Describe Yourself as a Leader or a Follower?