The budget cut proposal presented by CLAS last week targeted the Department of Religion as one of the programs set for a substantial cut, threatening its future as a viable program. Founded in 1946, the Department of Religion at UF is an undeniably strong program dedicated and essential to the ideals of a liberal arts education.
The academic study of religion is often misconceived as religious teaching that has no place in public education - hardly the case. To cut the department that allows us to explore and discuss religion as a deep and permeating part of human discourse is to cripple our understanding of the various ways people understand their relationship with the world. It is undeniable that religion shapes and informs political discourse, military conflict, environmental practices, innovations in the sciences, the arts - basically every facet of human life.
Our distinguished faculty engage their students in stimulating and rich discussions concerning issues of diversity, encounter conflict, globalization, ecology, etc. Faculty and students are connected with a variety of interdisciplinary programs, including the School of Natural Resources and Environment, Latin American Studies, Jewish Studies, African Studies, the Centers for Women Studies and Gender Research, Spirituality and Health, the School of Music and the Harn Museum of Art. These connections are reflective of not only the department's commitment to the goals of higher education, but also its commitment to develop in individuals the skills necessary to critically assess the significant and pervasive role of religion in global society.
As scholars of religion, we understand the importance of a holistic approach in higher education, an ideal that CLAS seeks to uphold and celebrate. CLAS' mission statement is "to lead the academic quest to understand our place in the universe, and to help shape our society and environment." Are we able to uphold this mission while simultaneously allowing for strong programs and departments that exemplify these ideals to be reduced substantially and irreversibly?
We need to reconsider what exactly our education means to us and what our diplomas from UF will come to represent.
This column was written by The Society of Academic Religious Studies. They are a group of undergraduates in the Department of Religion.
