When you have a Master's degree in Asian Religions you begin to expect strange responses from family, friends, and aquaintances. You expect them to ask, "What kind of job can you get with that?", "Do you practice Asian Religions?", "What's the point of that degree?" and the list goes on. I still expect those responses but most of the time I get no response or the always disinterested "Hmmm, that's interesting." Lately it seems that I am actually the one asking those questions... especially in light of my current job search.
It hasn't even been a year since I completed my graduate studies and I rarely remind myself of why I chose to study religion. I've already lost sight of why I love this field, mainly because I am not active in the study at the moment.
I chose to study religion for a variety of reasons. I love researching historical movements and the way belief systems influence government, culture, art, immigration and more. The thrill of synthesizing information across disciplines drew me deeper into the field; being able to have so much variety in one area of academia brings me way too much excitement. But the driving factor behind my decision was a desire to have a broader perspective of the world and a more genuine compassion for people and the way in which they view existence. With this as my goal, my studies have never disappointed and I have learned (still learning) about my own spirituality and how to relate to others.
In the next few posts I am going to talk about some of the truths and lessons I have gleaned from a variety of the world's religions. We live in a society where religious experience is often negated and rarely glorified but it is important to remember that if we take the time to understand and to listen to those with different worldviews we might gain a new insight into people or the craziness of our world... but if nothing else we can see and experience hope and connection.