Allen Hertzke’s Perspective on Global Careers

Religious developments at home and around the world have made it more vital than ever for professionals entering all walks of life to have knowledge of, and sensitivity to, different religions and how they interact. Thus, religious studies students actually will have knowledge and skills in high demand and should trumpet that fact in their career pursuits, including in non-obvious contexts like business.

On the domestic front, as Barbara Boyd highlights, there is a burgeoning network of religious non-profit organizations that have all sorts of missions. They increasingly work in partnership with local, state, and national government agencies in welfare programs, drug and alcohol treatment initiatives, refugee resettlement, and the like. This will be a growth “industry.”

What I want to focus on is the global context. Globalization is a profound fact of life and it means that many people will not only work in organizations with global reach but interact with people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. This means that doctors, lawyers, business executives, journalists, and teachers will need this knowledge. So a religious studies background can be a plus even if you pursue one of these paths. In addition, there are a number of more specific career paths for religious studies graduates, including:

• Work with international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). There has been an explosion in the number, size, and scope of international NGOs, both religious and secular. Staff for them may work out of the U.S., Europe, the developing world, or temporarily in hot spots and where humanitarian crises erupt. In the aftermath of the wars in the Balkins, for example, some 600 groups alone were working on reconstruction and development, prevention of trafficking and exploitation, reconciliation initiatives, interfaith dialogue, and conflict prevention. Globally there are large organizations that focus on relief and development work from the different religious traditions, like Catholic Relief Services, Church World Service (a mainline Protestant organization), Lutheran World Relief, World Vision (the largest of the evangelical organizations), Samaritan’s Purse, etc., and there are numerous smaller organizations with specific focuses. There are groups that focus on human rights, others on mediation of conflict, others on health or education.

• Work in the U. S. Government, which increasingly needs people with religious understanding, especially those working in the diplomatic corps and our intelligence agencies. Yes, the State Department, the CIA, and the Defense Department understand the need for people who have religious knowledge and awareness, especially when tied to foreign language skills.

• Global business. Multinational corporations, investment firms, and banks operate in, and have workers and executives from, countries around the world. These operations with have Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists working together, and I have heard from former students how valuable exposure to religious diversity can be. But even smaller businesses are increasingly involved in export-import operations, plants in foreign countries, and the like where sensitivity to cultural contexts (like religious observances) matters.

• Law, Medicine, Journalism, and Teaching. Even professions we associate with the domestic side have potential international dimensions. For example, there is a great interest abroad in teachers of English in numerous programs that do not require educational degrees. And those with degrees in religious studies who do go on to get advanced degrees in other fields have something special to offer. There are religious organizations that hire lawyers to take on religious freedom violations, human rights causes, or justice issues, just as there are religious NGOs that hire doctors and nurses. And journalists who have a grasp of comparative religions will have a leg up in reporting on the increasingly salient religious aspects of global politics.

How to Prepare for such global opportunities?

In many cases you can enter these fields with a bachelors degree, but blending religious studies courses with offerings in such fields as journalism, political science, foreign languages, or international and area studies is a great way to go.

In other cases you will use your religious studies degree as a springboard to advanced education. Here again, being smart about blending religious studies with relevant coursework will give you a leg up. Law schools do not require a particular bachelors degree, for example, but political science is a great foundation. Similarly, religious studies majors who plan to go on to graduate school in other fields – such as history, political science, sociology, or anthropology – can prepare by minoring in such fields or double majoring. In many of the humanities and social sciences you do not have to have a bachelors degree in precisely the same field you pursue for masters or doctoral work. For a link on how to prepare for graduate school and the application process, click here.

Contact:

Dr. Allen Hertzke

ahertzke@ou.edu

405-325-6421

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