The number of students taking Religious Studies at GCSE level has risen for the twelfth year running. At A-level, the number taking the subject has risen each year for the past seven. 63 universities and colleges currently offer Religious Studies degrees in the United Kingdom, with many offering 40 or more different courses.
But if 18-24 year olds are the demographic group least likely to identify themselves as belonging to a religion, why are so many choosing to study the phenomenon?
The “A-Z of Degrees” on The Independent website suggests a student might consider taking Theology and Religious studies:
"Because [he’s] ready to ask the big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? And what does it all mean? Because [he’s] interested in religions in general or Christianity in particular, and by the relationship between faith and society.
[...] "Religious studies is hot right now, with religion persistently making news since 9/11. Theologians also have plenty to say about today's big ethical debates – cloning, GM crops and sexuality."[1]
Children are no longer dragged to Sunday School week after week. They’re not, whatever some angry atheists claim, having religion constantly shoved down their throats at school. The worldview surrounding most of them is not one that assumes the existence, let alone the overriding authority, of a deity. Yet still their interest in religion is growing.
One reason for this may be that they are curious about religion as a sociological phenomenon. Why, in a world where science is explaining more and more of the things that were previously attributed to God, do so many people continue to believe? To study the phenomenon of belief, though, it would be better to undertake courses in psychology, sociology or anthropology. Religious Studies will tell you what people believe and, as The Independent suggested, how that belief is worked out in society.
Perhaps a more likely explanation is that today, as always, young people are seeking answers to the big questions of the meaning of life and are not finding them in their science, maths or even history classes. Perhaps religion has something to offer after all?
People who believe in one or more of the 2,890 gods on one Theos blogger’s list often seem to have a greater sense of purpose in life. They have an assurance about themselves and their place in the world, and a framework through which to understand the events that happen to them and those around them. They also tend to be happier.[2] This sense of rootedness, of being part of something bigger than oneself, and of direction can be very appealing, particularly to teenagers embarking on their independent journey through a confusing, uncertain, challenging world.
It seems that many decide the facts don’t stack up, find the required lifestyle changes too demanding or choose to reject the claims of various religions for any number of other reasons. Still, the very fact that so many are interested in the subject in the first place suggests that science and secularism are unable to supply the answers to every question, especially the biggest ones.
Over a quarter of a million teenagers took
[1] http://www.independent.co.uk/student/into-university/az-degrees/theology-amp-religious-studies-754588.html [2] See, for example, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7302609.stm and the Theos report Doing God, https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Files/MediaFiles/TheosBookletfinal.pdf.
Jennie Pollock is Executive Administrator at Theos.
