San José State University offers a humanities bachelor’s degree with a concentration in religious studies, a discipline requiring students, professors and lecturers to set aside bias regarding their religion of practice in order to understand the theologies of religion around the world.
It is estimated that approximately 234,760 students enrolled in undergraduate religion classes in Fall 2017, about 2% of all four-year students in the United States, according to an American Academy survey. From 2013 to 2018, the number of bachelor degrees in the academic study of religion fell 31%, from 5,012 to 3,479.
San José State University’s Department of Humanities offers a concentration in comparative religious studies where students focus on scholarly interpretations of global religious traditions, according to its website.
Arthur Zárate is an interdisciplinary scholar of religion and humanities assistant professor at SJSU whose research explores the relationship between Islamic theological thinking and secularity in twentieth-century Egypt, according to his bio on SJSU’s website.
Zárate’s classes, which include Middle Eastern Traditions and Islam, Politics and the West, aim to introduce students to the diversity of human religions and expressions while highlighting how religious traditions interact with each other, according to the same website.
“I teach the academic study of religion,” Zárate said. “I think that the question of what my religious background is doesn’t really have any significance when it comes to teaching about religion.”
Growing up in a religious household, he said his parents were Buddhists of Tibetan tradition and considers himself to be a practicing Buddist. He also said some of the practices include daily rituals such as praying at a shrine at home.
“The particular form of Buddhism that I’ve become a part of is also something that has been heavily shaped by American culture,” Zárate said. “When my parents became Buddhists, it was at a time when there were a lot of encounters between Americans and Eastern religions.”
He said his familiarity with Buddhist studies and knowledge of Islamic humanities helped when teaching courses that fall into the Humanities Honors Program.
The Humanities Honors Program is a series of globally-focused courses that examine the knowledge of mankind throughout history, including literature, philosophy, culture and social institutions, according to its website.
“One of the fundamental components of the academic study of religion as opposed to if you go to church and learn the perspective of the church ... that’s what we would call the, ‘Insider perspective on religion,’ ” Zárate said. “I approach religion as an outsider secular approach.”
Focusing on the human aspect of religion, Zárate said his classes aim to study the behaviors and beliefs of a group and the institutions mankind has created as religious people.
He also said he strays away from determining if religious teachings are true or false when lecturing because those observations do not concern the human aspect of religious studies.
“Students in my classrooms learn about the human side, and that’s a thing that is completely relevant to every aspect of your life,” Zárate said. “You are always dealing with other human beings, and to be able to appreciate other people’s ideas, beliefs and histories is important to get along in this globalized world.”
Religious studies senior John Wagas is currently enrolled in Zárate’s Middle Eastern Traditions asynchronous course.
“For me, at the heart of it, is engaging in religious conversation in the first place,” Wagas said. “People who are not religious spiritually, people who were raised religious who fell off from religion, people who are still religious ... this great accumulation of what is the Bay Area demographically and personally and being able to foster that discussion is the touchstone of it.”
Wagas said he appreciates that professors and lecturers don’t expect students to have a rich understanding of world religions because each religious studies course is dedicated to a certain discipline.
He said he was able to incorporate elements from other religions and find common beliefs while acknowledging the differences, whether its courses exploring Islam, Buddhism or Judeo-Christian scripture.
“I’ve recognized the commonalities, but also recognized that there are distinctions between us that don’t necessarily divide us,” Wagas said. “But they do help us better appreciate the uniqueness of everything.”
Throughout middle and high school, he said he questioned his faith but tried to find the meaning and purpose behind his beliefs, even applying the same critical thinking to other world religions.
He said the religious studies professors he’s encountered at SJSU put their heart and soul into their courses and approach students with an open mind.
Religious studies lecturer Marianne Delaporte Kabir currently teaches two asynchronous courses at SJSU: Religion in America and Bible History and Literature.
“I am a Catholic,” Kabir said. “It’s integrated into my life outside of campus because I attend church on Sundays and I enjoy reading theology and listening to gospel music.”
Kabir said an interesting aspect about teaching religious studies is that students approach the course with some emotional connection to a particular religion, or sometimes against religion.
She also said people tend to possess a black-and-white approach when it comes to religion and reminds her students to seek out the good and bad traits of all major world religions.
“One of the exciting things that you get to do in religious studies is trying to get everybody to take a step back and open their minds and hearts to different faiths,” Kabir said.
While she remained a devout Catholic, Kabir said her curiosity for other faiths has helped her understand religion from a global perspective as she tries to implement that into her classes.
“There’s all these amazing varieties of faiths, and historically, it’s interesting to learn how they have developed and changed and impacted each other,” Kabir said. “This is a secular university, so we teach it from a secular viewpoint.”
She said the discipline of religious studies is very different from math or science because it is a sensitive subject for students who practice differing faiths.
By implementing a level of trust among her students, Kabir said it allows for a healthy learning environment where students can express their faiths and how it might relate or contrast to the material being taught.
“Usually, students are pretty good themselves,” Kabir said. “I feel like there’s a maturity level where students will say, ‘Hey, this sounds like this,’ and someone says ‘Oh, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.’ ”
Zárate said he encourages students to talk about the similarities and differences of world religions from a human perspective by inviting them to share their personal experiences, but not limiting the discussion to one story.
Being the first in his family to attend graduate school, Zárate said he enjoys teaching first-generation students because he believes that it is part of his duty to help people who are in similar situations.
He also said first-generation students tend to come to class with a rich and deep understanding of their cultural background from immigrant communities.
“I want to hear about where they came from, and when we’re talking about religion, I think it’s valuable to hear those perspectives,” Zárate said. “I want them to use that cultural knowledge that they have in their classes.”
He said he tries to help students both honor their own practices and communities, as well as developing an appreciation for other cultures and religious disciplines.
Zárate said it is especially important for students whose religious representation is lacking in the classroom to uphold their traditions in order to help others learn and appreciate their cultural background.
“These classes are set up so students can learn about the world while not being indoctrinated into any perspective,” Zárate said. “It’s an approach that encourages critical free thinking about religion.”
