‘Religion’ is no longer equivalent to Christianity or Judaism; many people in our Western industrial world claim to have religion. If one understands religion as re-ligare (interconnective), then it must be found, on the one hand, where mechanisms function to connect people with themselves (Identity). On the other, these mechanisms are responsible for interconnecting people together in relationships and groups.
In the BA and MA Religious Studies degree program, I gained a foundational knowledge of the traditions of world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hindu religions, Buddhism). Also, I received impulses to see religion from a broader perspective – a perspective which, namely, is currently a time of a worldwide network individualization process and no longer locked into limiting institutions. This multi-faceted view of ‘religion’ will surely be a great help for my career as a High School teacher.
Jonas Widmer (MA Religious Studies)
Globalization also influenced religions. They moved closer together and suffused each other, not least of all due to the process of global migration. The promise of meaning, but also religion’s conflict potential—for conflict opened a world in the West—is no longer mandatorily rooted in a religious tradition and despite this persistently and sometimes uncritically seeks orientation. This is reason enough to learn more precisely about religions, to work with them systematically, and to think about learning to deal with the demands they make of us. The Interreligious Studies program provides an opportunity to acquire knowledge and abilities that are necessary to shape a society that has grown very pluralistic responsibly.
Prof. Dr. Benz H.R. Schär, former leader of the Agency for Migration of the Reformed Church, Bern-Jura-Solothurn and retired Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology, University of Bern
