Religion majors up 50 percent

People looking for a job after graduation are turning to religion.\nBut it's not what you think.\nReligious Studies majors have increased 50 percent during the past two years at IU, said Carolyn Dowd-Higgins, a department advisor.\nMany students are sensing a shift in the way employers think, she said. Businesses are now looking for graduates with a general liberal arts background, something a Religious Studies degree offers.\n"More and more employers are looking for people with a broad-based liberal arts education," Dowd-Higgins said. "This department provides students with a multicultural background for an international environment."\nThe department, which has been ranked No. 1 nationally, also attributes post-Sept. 11 awareness to the dramatic increase of students.\nClasses are filling up fast, Dowd-Higgins said.\nThere are 210 Religious Studies majors enrolled this fall, the highest total ever for the department. Two years ago, there were 140 majors and last year there were 180 majors.\nFreshman Elizabeth Foster plans on interacting with youth after graduating and is looking for an education that will provide her with a rich, multicultural background. She feels majoring in Religious Studies at IU will help her reach her goals. \nStudents also understand the importance of being knowledgeable about the diversity of the world. \nBrianne Williams, also a Religious Studies major, is graduating this coming spring and plans to go into genetic counseling. She realizes the ability to relate to others will play a key role in her career. "(Religious Studies) helped me to have compassion and understanding for other people," Williams said.\nDowd-Higgins said the department is very popular for post-graduate students and those who are hoping to go into the corporate world simply because the department provides the student with such a broad area of information.\nMiller said interest in Religious Studies majors rose immediately after Sept. 11. For example, a class on the ethics of war and peace in Western religion filled quickly, as did a class on Islam.\n"Generally (after Sept. 11), people are more aware, and they don't want to just assume anymore. They want to know what's going on around them," Foster said. \nThe Religious Studies Department was ranked as the No. 1 Religious Studies department in the nation in 1996, Dowd-Higgins said.\nThe department's birth in 1972 stirred a small ripple of controversy, with many asking whether religion should be taught at a public college, according to the IU Alumni Magazine. However, the department continued to grow to what it is today.\n"Looking back at my experience with professors and classes, I can't imagine going anywhere else and getting the same quality of education," Williams said. \nMost Religious Studies students are eager to apply their knowledge to the real world.\n"You should try and learn about different types of people," Foster said." (Religious Studies) is an important department because you are learning diversity and opening up your eyes to how the world really is"